John Sibbick

John Sibbick is a British freelance illustrator, perhaps best known for his reconstructions of prehistoric life in several media.

Contents

• Fossil friday john sibbick s pterosaur fossilfriday
• Art by john sibbick fantasy
• Notable publications
• References

Sibbick studied Graphics and Illustration at Guildford School of Art (now University for the Creative Arts) in the south of England. Thereafter he worked for design studios in London, embarking upon a career as a freelance illustrator in 1972.

Sibbick's artwork has toured group shows like "Dinosaurs: a Global View", and he has had many one man shows in the United Kingdom, including at the Natural History Museum, London, the Museum of Scotland, Glasgow and Sea Dragons Gallery in Bristol, and abroad, such as at the Gamagori Museum, Japan. Sibbick designed the dragons for Animal Planet's The Last Dragon docudrama, whilst the pterosaur Ludodactylus sibbicki was named after John Sibbick in 2003. A set of postage stamps featuring Dinosaurs designed by Sibbick was issued by Royal Mail in 2013.

In addition to his natural history work, Sibbick is also known for his work in the fantasy genre, having produced fantasy illustrations for Time Life Books, and numerous covers and interior illustrations for Puffin's Fighting Fantasy line. During the late 1980s, Sibbick became associated with Games Workshop when he provided the cover painting for the first edition of the company's Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay rules. He went on to produce covers for the third edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle and the first edition of Warhammer 40,000, an image later used by death metal band Bolt Thrower for the cover of their album Realm of Chaos, as well as a cover for the Warhammer supplement Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness. A number of these pieces graced the covers of various issues of White Dwarf, and he provided an original illustration of the titular White Dwarf himself for the cover of issue 90. Sibbick and his work were featured in an Illuminations exposè in White Dwarf 83.

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.

Notable publications

Spirits, Heroes & Hunters from North American Indian Mythology (1981)

Gods & Pharaohs from Egyptian Mythology (1982)

Heroes, Gods & Emperors from Roman Mythology (1983)

Warriors, Gods & Spirits from Central & South American Mythology (1983)

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (1985)

Druids, Gods & Heroes from Celtic Mythology (1986)

Dinosaurs: a Global View (1990)

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs (1991)

Prehistoric Life, the Rise of the Vertebrates (1994)

The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia (2001)