Born in 1949, William Stout is an American illustrator whose work spans from comics to film, specializing in fantasy, sci-fi and paleontological art.
Stout began his career in comics and graphic novels in the late 1960s and early 70s, and in 1973, started illustrating bootleg album covers for acts such as The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and the Yardbirds. In the late 70s, Stout became one of the first American contributors to Heavy Metal Magazine. In 1977, he painted his first film poster, for Ralph Bakshi's animated feature, Wizards, and has worked on advertising artwork for over 120 films since. Stout was also a storyboard artist for Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Michael Jackson's Thriller, and became close friends with fellow comic illustrator, Dave Stevens, creator of the Rocketeer, during this time.
Other films that Stout has worked on are both 80s Conan films, First Blood, Pan's Labyrinth and Masters of the Universe. In 1981, Stout published what many consider to be his magnum opus, a book called The Dinosaurs: A Fantastic New View of a Lost Era, where he used his expertise on Dinosaurs to create an illustrative and educational resource. Stout has also been hired as an accuracy consultant on films such as Jurassic Park, based on this valued expertise.
Stout's work is influenced by legends in the industry such as Frank Frazetta, Robert Crumb and Moebius, among many others, and continues to work to this day.
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