Tony DiTerlizzi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tony DiTerlizzi
|
|
|---|---|
DiTerlizzi in 2015.
|
|
| Born | September 6, 1969 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, illustrator |
| Notable awards | Caldecott Honor |
| Spouse | Angela DiTerlizzi |
| Signature | |
.jpg) |
|
| Website | |
| diterlizzi.com | |
Tony M. DiTerlizzi (born September 6, 1969) is an American artist who creates amazing fantasy worlds. He is also a children's book author and illustrator, and even a movie producer!
He is well-known for his art in popular games like Magic: The Gathering and the Planescape line for Dungeons & Dragons. Tony DiTerlizzi also co-created The Spiderwick Chronicles book series with Holly Black. He was even an executive producer for the 2008 movie based on the series. He won a special award called the Caldecott Honor for his book The Spider and the Fly.
Contents
Tony DiTerlizzi's Early Life
Tony DiTerlizzi was born in Los Angeles in 1969. He was the first of three children. His family name, DiTerlizzi, means "from Terlizzi", a village in Italy.
He grew up in South Florida and went to South Fork High School. Later, he studied at the Florida School of the Arts and The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. He earned a degree in graphic design in 1992.
What Inspired Tony DiTerlizzi's Art?
DiTerlizzi says many artists influenced his work. These include famous painters like Norman Rockwell and the beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.
He wanted his art to look different from other fantasy artists. So, he looked for inspiration from many places. These included old masters like Hieronymus Bosch and Leonardo da Vinci. He also liked magazine artists from the early 1900s, like Maxfield Parrish.
Classic children's book illustrators such as Arthur Rackham and Ernest Shepard also inspired him. He even found ideas from unique modern fantasy artists like Brian Froud and Jim Henson.
Tony DiTerlizzi was a big fan of art from role-playing games, even before he started working on them. He especially loved the Monster Manual from Dungeons & Dragons when he was a child. He would often copy the drawings from that book.
He also loves the classic fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault, and the Brothers Grimm. Other authors and illustrators who inspired him include Maurice Sendak and Shel Silverstein.
Tony DiTerlizzi's Career Highlights
After college, DiTerlizzi moved to New York. He started working as a freelance illustrator for TSR. This company made the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. He was very excited to work on the 1993 Monstrous Manual.
He also worked on the 1994 Planescape Campaign Setting. For this, he helped create a new look for the "Outer Planes" world. He wanted the buildings and people to look "rusted" and "organic." This style fit his art very well.
DiTerlizzi continued to work for TSR. He also created art for other games like Changeling and Werewolf. He drew many cards for popular games like Magic, Blood Wars, and Rage.
He also illustrated books by other authors. These included Giant Bones by Peter S. Beagle in 1997 and Dinosaur Summer by Greg Bear in 1998.
Tony DiTerlizzi's Own Books
Tony DiTerlizzi started writing and illustrating his own books in 2000. His first book was Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-this-World Moon Pie Adventure.
In 2001, he published Ted. This book won the Zena Sutherland Award in 2002.
His next big project was illustrating Mary Howitt's classic poem, The Spider and the Fly. This book became a New York Times Best Seller. For this work, he received the 2003 Caldecott Honor Medal. This is a very important award for children's book illustrators.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black created The Spiderwick Chronicles series. This series was bought by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and Nickelodeon Movies in 2002. The first book was published in 2003. It became very popular and was translated into 30 different languages!
In 2005, they released Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. In 2008, Paramount Pictures made a live-action movie based on the series. Tony DiTerlizzi was a co-executive producer for the film.
A new series called Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles started in 2007 and continued until 2009.
Other Works
In 2010, Simon & Schuster published The Search for WondLa. This was the first book in a trilogy that Tony DiTerlizzi both wrote and illustrated. The next books were A Hero for WondLa (2012) and The Battle for WondLa (2014).
Dark Horse Books released Realms: The Roleplaying Art of Tony DiTerlizzi in 2015. This book showed a collection of his artwork and photos from his early career.
DiTerlizzi also wrote and designed Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. This book was published in 2014 by Disney Lucasfilm Press. It featured illustrations by the famous artist Ralph McQuarrie.
In 2015, Tony DiTerlizzi teamed up with author/illustrator Mo Willems. They worked together on the book The Story of Diva and Flea. This book was inspired by Willems' time living in Paris. It also became a New York Times bestselling book.
Tony DiTerlizzi's Personal Life
Tony DiTerlizzi lives and works in Amherst, Massachusetts. He lives with his wife, Angela DiTerlizzi, who is also a children's book author. They have a daughter named Sophia.
Images for kids
-
Tony DiTerlizzi in 2015.
-
Tony DiTerlizzi's signature.
-
First Lady Laura Bush just after reading from the DiTerlizzi adaptation of The Spider and the Fly, 27 October 2006.
See also
In Spanish: Tony DiTerlizzi para niños
