John Sibbick
NationalityBritish
Alma materGuildford School of Art
Known forPalaeoart
Fantasy art
Websitewww.johnsibbick.com

John Sibbick is a British freelance illustrator and palaeoartist, known for his depictions of prehistoric life and for his fantasy art.

Early life

John Sibbick began drawing in his childhood. His earliest art involved drawing figures and copying cartoons. Sibbick practiced drawing in a sketch club at his school and at age 11 he entered for the exams of the Royal Drawing Society, passing with honours. Sibbick began taking weekend classes at the Guildford School of Art at the age of 15. The next year, he began a full-time education[1] in graphics and illustration[2] at the school, lasting four years.[1]

Sibbick was from an early age interested in fossils, natural history and astronomy. As a palaeoartist, his influences have included Zdeněk Burian, Rudolph Zallinger, Doug Henderson, Mauricio Antón, and Peter Trusler.[1]

Career

After finishing his studies,[1] Sibbick spent four years at various design studios in London before he in 1972 went on to become a freelance illustrator.[2][3] He initially worke as a general illustrator without any plans to specialize in any particular direction. The earliest books illustrated by Sibbick were largely children's reference books on a variety of subjects, sometimes including extinct life. Both his palaeoart and fantasy art careers began in the 1980s. He first gained wide recognition when his artwork was commissioned for a series of illustrated 1980s books on mythology and folk tales.[1]

Sibbick's entry into professional palaeoart came when he in the early 1980s was commissioned to produce artwork for palaeontology books written by David Norman.[1] Sibbick's 1980s and early 1990s palaeoart made him famous for his reconstructions of prehistoric life, particularly since they were published in accessible and popular books, one of the most notable of which were Norman's The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (1985).[4]

Sibbick has since the 1980s continued to produce both palaeoart and fantasy art,[1] though he is probably best known for his depictions of dinosaurs.[5] In terms of palaeoart, Sibbick has produced artwork for popular books, academic works, magazines such as National Geographic and GEO, museums, and exhibitions.[1][5] He has also made concept drawings for television shows and films featuring prehistoric animals.[1] In 2013, a series of dinosaur stamps were issued by the Royal Mail, featuring illustrations by Sibbick.[6] In terms of fantasy art, some of Sibbick's most well-known work comes from his association with Games Workshop in the late 1980s. Sibbick painted the cover art for the first edition of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay rules, and for numerous later releases.[7] His artwork was also used as cover images for the magazine White Dwarf.[8] Sibbick's Warhammer artwork was highlighted in an Illuminations exposè in White Dwarf 83 in 1986.[7]

Sibbick's colour work is executed in gouache on artist's board, and often benefits from the production of detailed preparatory sketches and even 3D models for reference.[7] When commissioned for artwork on a prehistoric animal, Sibbick begins with examining the fossil evidence and consulting specialists, whereafter he produces sketches of anatomy, surface detail and behavior before working on the actual painting.[5] Sibbick's 1980s and early 1990s work was in terms of anatomy influenced by interpretations of earlier artists, such as Charles R. Knight and Burian, which means that some of it was outdated at the time it was made. In the late 1990s, Sibbick adapted to the then growing more "rigorous" approach to palaeoart, championed by artists such as Gregory S. Paul.[4] Sibbick has stated that his depictions of prehistoric life may at times seem conservative, though he noted that choices for how to depict a particular animal often resulted from the opinions and suggestions of the palaeontologists who commissioned him.[1]

Influence and legacy

Sibbick is world-renowned as a palaeoartist[1][9] and his work is considered to be highly influential.[10] Sibbick's artwork has been particularly noted for his attention to detail and minutiae; in 2000, Paul Sereno and John Lanzendorf dubbed him the "don of detail".[11] In 2003, the pterosaur Ludodactylus sibbicki was named after Sibbick.[1]

Notable publications

  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (1985),[12] by David Norman
  • Dinosaurs: A Global View (1990),[12] by Stephen A. Czerkas
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs (1991),[12] by Peter Wellnhofer
  • Prehistoric Life: The Rise of the Vertebrates (1994),[12] by David Norman
  • The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia (2001),[12] by David Burnie
  • The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs (2005),[12] by David E. Fastovsky and David B. Weishampel

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 White, Steve (2012). Dinosaur Art: The World's Greatest Paleoart. Titan Books. pp. 102–114. ISBN 978-0-85768-584-1.
  2. 1 2 "Island connection wins name a dinosaur competition". Isle of Wight Council. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Schmidt, Ute (28 May 2007). "Entstehung des Lebens: Urwesen aus dem Wasser". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 Witton, Mark P. (2018). "The Reformation: 1970–2010". Palaeoartist's Handbook: Recreating prehistoric animals in art. The Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1-78500-462-9.
  5. 1 2 3 Fastovsky, David E.; Weishampel, David B.; Sibbick, John (2021). Dinosaurs : a concise natural history. Cambridge, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-1-108-47594-5. OCLC 1255884661.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ↑ Auster, Peter (2013) "David Brockhurst – Royal Mail’s Stamp of Approval!", Hastings & District Geological Society Journal Vol. 19 (December 2013), p. 32
  7. 1 2 3 Blanche, John (November 1986). "Illuminations: A foray into the art crypts". White Dwarf. 1 (83).
  8. ↑ Vela, Larry (12 December 2022). "Warhammer 40K: Behold the Best of 1980s White Dwarf Covers". Bell of Lost Souls. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Thimmesh, Catherine (2013). Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled: How Do We Know What Dinosaurs Really Looked Like?. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-547-99134-4.
  10. ↑ Black, Riley (8 August 2012). "Artists Bring Dinosaurs Back to Life". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Lanzendorf, John J. (2000). Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art: The Lanzendorf Collection. Academic Press. pp. xv. ISBN 978-0-08-053042-0.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "John Sibbick Illustration". johnsibbick.com. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
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