Spotlight on Art: Darko Tomic

Anyone that reads my blog, or looks at my Facebook page, knows I am a fan of Darko Tomic. He is an amazing artist. I first met Darko on a graphic design web site, and since then he has done several of my book covers. The newest one was for my novel, Wrath of the Fallen.

Recently, Darko was kind enough to agree to an interview with me. I am excited to share that with you today, so you can get to know this talented artist better. Enjoy!

1) Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born in Belgrade, Serbia.

I grew up in the capital’s suburb surrounded by nature and had a happy and active childhood.

I think of myself as a simple man with simple ambitions. I do not like a lot of the urban lifestyle.

I love nature, animals, music and art.

I live with my wife (a magnificent artist, wife and mother), our two wonderful and unusual kids and our two dogs.

2) Have you always wanted to be an artist?

Yes, from an early age I needed to be creative. As a kid I had an ambition to become a comic book author. Drawing follows me all my life. This is my best way of communicating with the world. 

3) Who, or what, inspires you?

I've always been attracted and inspired by unusual, extraordinary  subjects, ancient civilizations, mythology, and fairy tales.

That's why I'm most comfortable when dealing with projects related to epic fantasy and horror.

I'm also inspired by many artists engaged in the field of traditional arts as well as artists engaged in the entertainment industry.

I can mention some with no intention to neglect many other fantastic artists...

DaVinci, Daumier, Gauguin, Paja Jovanovic, Ivan Mestrovic, Frazetta, Viktor Titov, Dan Milligan...

4) Is there anything you would like to achieve with your art that you haven't yet?

I’m actually never completely satisfied with the achieved. This is a good feature because it’s permanently pushing me forward, driving me to develop even more creative thinking thus improving my artistic skills.

Therefore, what I want to achieve is to constantly evolve and enhance my work making future artworks always better then my previous ones :)

5) Are you a self-taught artist, or did you train or study somewhere?

I was educated as a traditional artist. I graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts, University of Belgrade, department of sculpture.

I was very lucky and honored to learn from really great artists at the Academy as well as beyond.

As for the digital art which I do use in the past few years, I’m mostly self-educated.

6) What are some of your other hobbies and interests?

My other great love is music. My favorite hobby is playing guitar. Besides playing guitar, I spend my free time in reading books and playing video games.

7) Can you share any details about a current project you are working on?

I'm currently working on covers and illustrations for two books written by Marie F. Crow.

“The Risen Dawning - Anniversary Edition” is a reissue of the first book in a excellent zombie apocalyptic series. It's a great horror story, well written with unusual descriptive style.

The second is a new book in the children's books series called “Abigail and her pet Zombie”. This is very unusual, funny and sweet book series for children, with wonderful and moral message. Very interesting projects. 

8) If you weren't an artist, what would you be doing?

Musician - definitely.