Dave Dorman literally stood at the door of opportunity when he took his nascent art portfolio to the epicenter of the highly competitive and unforgiving commercial art business in New York City in 1982.  Imbued with a passion and innate talent for artistic deftness and detail belying his football linebacker physique, the affable low-key Dorman stared directly in the face of the harsh, fussy and ego-driven art business armed with a steely resolve and toting the early seeds of what would become a prodigious contribution to the art world….if only he could get passed the “No walk-ins” barriers he encountered at every turn.

Dorman struck gold on this visit leading to a body of work in the area of photo-realism that has adorned products ranging from movie posters, to comic book covers, package design, and trading cards – all carrying the characteristic fine detail and style that is his trademark, eventually earning him the title of “The Star War Artist” by his legion of fans and making him one of most highly-acclaimed and sought-after fantasy painters in the industry.

For the Shalimar resident there was no single epiphany leading him to pursue art.  He simply enjoyed the childhood passion of comic books, not so much for the stories as the artwork involved.  “I would buy comics and flip through them but I wouldn't bother to read them, I would just look at the art work,” he notes. “How I learned to draw was by copying those drawings I saw in the comics.”  Dorman began drawing in the sixth grade.   “As I got older I started to dabble with paint a little bit. It wasn't until I got into high school that my interest in art took off a little bit more.”

Dorman’s father, an Air Force veteran and avid aircraft modeler, and mother gave him his sense of art and detail. “My eye for detail came from my Dad who built small radio-controlled model airplanes, one of the best in the country. He really enjoyed putting every single rivet on the airplane.”

But a banged up knee playing football in school altered the course of Dorman’s career.  With his dreams of a football scholarship stymied and the encouragement of his parents, Dorman sought schools that would allow him to hone his craft, a quest fraught with challenges and frustrations.  “One of the toughest things was to find a school that would teach me,” Dorman laments.  “I ended up in St Mary's College in Maryland for a year, but they weren't teaching me what I wanted to learn so I went to an illustration school in New Jersey.”

Frustrated that the school only taught black and white and had no color curriculum, Dorman packed up the experience and moved back in with his parents to begin self-teaching himself.  “My parents basically gave me everything I needed to pursue getting better at my craft, which was time,” he notes.  “About 3 to 4 years later I began to make money at it.”

Dorman’s New York City experience in 1982 unfolded at the offices of 21st Century Communications in New York City, owner of the National Lampoon as well as the science fiction comic Heavy Metal, an American version of the French magazine Métal Criard.  "The company had a strict policy of no walk-in solicitations,” says Dorman.  “I had this sample I just wanted to show them.  I am only going to be there a short period of time but didn't want to leave it with them.” 

After beseeching the company’s staff over the phone he was allowed to bring over a sample.  His sample so impressed the staff member that within minutes he was whisked through a phalanx of bureaucratic layers ending up in the opulent office of Matty Simmons, the company’s president (Simmons produced the National Lampoon comedies, Animal House, Vacation, & European Vacation among others).  “I never expected this,” Dorman recalls.  Matty took one look at his work and told him “yeah we want to use this for one of our covers.”   Dorman was speechless at hitting such a prestigious mark in his industry. “From there I got jobs at Marvel and Epic comics, all on the same trip, I was in heaven.”

His work eventually caught the eye of Hollywood.  “My work with Star Wars was the most well known and most popular that I have done,” Dorman beams.   “I‘ve also done Batman, Aliens, Predator, Indiana Jones, Superman, Spiderman, Harry Potter and G.I. Joe. You name it and I have probably painted it. But Star Wars was a great body of work and gained me a lot of recognition in the science fiction and art field.”

Some of Dorman’s fans include “Star Wars” actor Mark Hammill, and Director George Lucas.  Actress Erin Gray is also a big fan. Gray starred in the former TV series Silver Spoons and is presently starring opposite Stacy Keach in the to-be-released film “Caught In The Headlights, an action-adventure about two aging mercenaries. Gray met Dorman when she was signing autographs at a comic book convention.

“When I was first introduced to his posters I was taken with how lifelike his interpretations were,” says Gray, especially with actors that I knew personally. He is so good at capturing the likeness of the actors.  He can create a montage of images that is so powerful and conveys strong emotional images.”

Dorman’s loyal following includes some of his closest illustrator colleagues. “I discovered his work when I was still in college,” notes 45 year-old Manhattan denizen Ray Lago, an illustrator known for his work on Playboy Magazine’s Annie Fannie character. “I discovered his work on comic book covers and was very impressed – I bought the issues very often just for the covers.  He was the same age as I was and already published. I was ‘Mr. Art Student’ while he was already doing professional work. He set a pretty high mark for the rest of us. He is known pretty much as the consummate professional. He is a highly respected and regarded illustrator.”

“Dave Dorman is a powerhouse of sci-fi and fantasy art," notes Steve Wang an artist and special effects supervisor whose work includes the movies “Godzilla”, “Predator” “Harry and The Hendersons” and the soon-to-be-released “Hellboy.” 

Even when a client commissions Dorman to create a particular illustration or painting, he still uses his own imagination to make it unique. “I am hired by somebody to create an illustration for their project whether it is for a book cover, magazine cover, comic book or movie production,” Dorman notes.  “It is all pretty much given to me as a general idea of what the client wants.  I'll take that and run with it, elaborate on their ideas, do sketches and make things more realistic as far as the artwork; and develop it beyond what they have given me verbally or sketched or written out.  The idea does come from somebody else but it is just a germ of an idea, they rely on me to come up with an interesting way to twist that idea to make it more interesting for the viewer to look at.  It is my interpretation that brings it to life.”

While Dorman relies on the ideas of others to ply his trade, that source is also the most difficult aspect of the job.  “The biggest difficulty as a commercial artist is you have to try and read the client' s mind as far as what they want,” he laments.  “Ninety-nine percent of my clients are not artists, so they don't know how an artist will interpret ideas and I can't get inside their heads to see what they are thinking of.  Some people don't verbally describe very well what is in their head. It is a juggling game - what they want and how I can achieve it without seeing the finished art that's in their head.  That is the toughest part of the work that I do.”

Dorman eye for detail has helped him find his own unique niche in the industry.  “Artists have their own particular vision,” notes Dorman.  “But in the industry they would call my style photo-realistic interpretation.  I The artists I admired when I was growing up and learning how to paint from were all fairly loose in their style.  They tended to be realistic painters but very broad in their brush strokes.” 

Dorman’s commissions range from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars depending upon the client and its intended use.  But the process is one of several steps regardless of the size.  “For an average book cover or magazine cover I usually block a week's worth of time,” says Dorman.

“After contact with a client I begin by render rough sketches and send to the client via fax or email,” Dorman notes. “After I get feedback from them and it is approved I move on to preparing the art work. This involves getting people to come over and pose for me and take photos.  I pull all this material together and then start my drawing.”

“A good drawing is the basis I work from,” Dorman emphasizes.  “I create a full size drawing of what I am going to be painting in pencil. At this point I take the drawing and transfer the image via graphite paper on to the board that I will be painting on.  I will have basically another image on my board from where I will start painting. Once I start painting I will usually finish 4 or 5 days later, depending on the project. Sometimes it takes up to 10 days.”

According to his wife and publicist, Denise, he usually paints from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., pauses for breakfast, and then continues painting until 1 p.m., He breaks again to work FedEx transfers and errands, returning to work by 2 p.m. and continuing until 4 p.m. On Wednesdays, Dorman visits the comic book store TBS Comics in Fort Walton Beach to check out what's new in the comic book market.

While the commercial work has been very successful, Dorman is now producing art that is of his own creation versus a client’s concept, work he hopes to show in venues along the Emerald Coast.

“I pursue images that interest visually and artistically,” notes Dorman.  “I lean toward elements that are texturally different, like a girl standing next to an old rusted-out locomotive engine.  When I was searching elements to paint, trains and locomotives grabbed my attention since they symbolize the west and I am a western fan.  I like working with varied textures and elements of interest within the piece.  I like to challenge myself and make myself learn from each piece.”

Dave and Denise shunned the harsh winters of Chicago where they met through a business relationship for the pleasant temperate climates of the Emerald Coast. Not surprisingly they enjoy “visual recreation” in their spare time. Dorman loves reading science fiction, horror, and other offbeat writings. He enjoys cinema, particularly Sergio Leone and Jean Pierre-Jeunet movies, perusing art galleries, bowling, tennis, PlayStation^® and X-Box^® video games as well as online computer games, especially the popular "Star Wars Galaxy™."  He is intrigued by the work involved in developing realism in the games. “I enjoy a lot of the sophisticated artwork in some of the computer games to see what can be done,” he notes.

But clearly Dorman’s true passion is his art.  “A lot of my recreational time is painting and drawing,” he says.  “It’s a wonderful feeling doing something that you love so much--eventually you get this surprise in the mail, it’s a check, ‘thank you for doing this work.’”