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Scott Gustafson is an American illustrator based in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. His career has spanned over twenty-five years, and during it, he has worked as a freelance cartoonist and contributed illustrations to various magazines and children's books. During the later years of his career, he wanted to write a story lengthier than a thirty-two page children's book. In August 2011, his only novel ''Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe'' was published. His art style is inspired by the Golden Age of American Illustration. Due to this, his work has a fairytale-like appearance and many of his illustrations feature fantastical and Biblical characters and settings.


Personal life

Gustafson was born and raised in
Marengo, Illinois Marengo is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States on the Kishwaukee River. It lies approximately 60 miles west northwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,568. Geography Marengo is located at . The north edge o ...
. He enjoyed drawing as a child and his dream was to become an artist. During high school, the works of
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
and the Warner Brothers inspired him to pursue a career in animation. He attended college at the
Chicago Academy of Fine Arts The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...
. While he was there, he focused on animation classes and only took one illustration class. The school experienced internal troubles and had to close down. This caused Gustafson to transfer to
Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...
. He continued his pursuit of animation but started to consider a career in children's books when he took a children's book illustration class. Gustafson is married and has a son. He works at home with his wife, Patty. She handles the computer and digital aspects of their business, while he works in his studio. Due to this, he has stated that he is computer illiterate. In an interview with “Insights from Illinois Authors,” Gustafson stated that he started out using
gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache h ...
, acrylics, and
watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
for his works. He mainly relied on acrylics, however, because they dried quickly, enabling him to meet deadlines. When he began work on his first trade book, ''
The Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...
'' by
Clement Clarke Moore Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an American writer, scholar and real estate developer. He is best known as author of the Christmas poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Moore was Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature ...
, he started to use
oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
due to having a more relaxed deadline. Once he learned how to use oils more effectively and mix
Liquin Liquin is a quick-drying medium for oil and alkyd paint. Used as an additive in many forms of artwork, Liquin is produced by Winsor & Newton and has a number of uses. Origin Alkyd resin medium for artists was first invented in the 1970s by Arthur ...
with them, they became his preferred medium to work in.


Career

Gustafson graduated from college with a degree in animation. Despite this, Gustafson worked as a freelance artist after college instead because he learned that working in the field of animation was more restrictive than working in the field of illustration. When asked about this career choice, Gustafson has stated, “The opportunities of animation, in terms of subject matter and creative control, weren’t nearly as interesting or rewarding as those of illustration. As an animator, your contribution to a given film is, by necessity, limited to whatever character you’ve been assigned. But as an illustrator, you’re responsible for locations, sets, costumes, props, lighting, and character designs, not mention the overall mood and emotion of a given painting. It’s about the best job there is." During his early years, he illustrated for small presses in the Chicago area and magazines. Some time later, he received a call from New York and worked on a storybook version of Clement Clarke Moore's ''
The Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...
'' a few months later. In 1997, The Greenwich Workshop Collection released “treasures for the child in each of us.” It is a collection of three-dimensional art created by Gustafson. Gustafson has been commissioned by various publishers and companies such as ''
Celestial Seasonings Celestial Seasonings is an American tea company based in Boulder, Colorado, United States, that specializes in herbal teas (properly called "tisanes"), but also sells green, white, black, and chai teas. As of 2006, the company's annual gross s ...
'', ''
Playboy magazine ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'', ''
Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'', ''The Bradford Exchange'', and
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
.


Books

Gustafson has stated that he has planned out stories on the side while he has worked on children's books, but those ideas never got approval from his editors. He then realized that the stories he wanted to tell would not work as a short picture book. He then got the idea for ''Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe'' and decided to attempt to write a longer story. The idea was approved, and in 2011, the book was released. Gustafson stated that his goal when writing ''Animal Orchestra'' was not for it to just be entertaining for children but also educational. His goal with ''Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe'' was to introduce young readers to the work of
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
in hopes they would explore his writings. Books by other authors that feature his work include: ''
The Night Before Christmas ''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...
'' by
Clement Clarke Moore Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an American writer, scholar and real estate developer. He is best known as author of the Christmas poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Moore was Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature ...
, ''Peter Pan'' by
J.M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
, and ''
The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
''. His own works are: ''Alphabet Soup'', ''Animal Orchestra'', ''Classic Fairy Tales'', ''Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose'', and ''Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe''.


Awards

Gustafson has won multiple awards over his career. He has been awarded a Chelsea Award by the
Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, ASFA, is a non-profit, educational association, whose membership is made up of amateur and professional artists, art directors, art show managers, publishers and collectors involved in the vis ...
and an Independent Publisher Book Award for Best Children's Picture Book. He has also received a Chesly Award (2005) for Best Interior Artwork and a CA Illustration Award.


References


External links


Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustafson, Scott American children's book illustrators American speculative fiction artists 20th-century illustrators of fairy tales 21st-century illustrators of fairy tales Fantasy artists School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)