The Art of Stephen Youll

“This is the story of a kid who grew up loving science-fiction and had a dream of becoming an artist. He got to live that dream and still is…”

From a small North English working-class town and reconstructing medieval paintings in a 1000 year old cathedral to becoming one of the most popular fantasy and science fiction book cover illustrators of our time in New York City, the ultimate metropolis of our time, Stephen Youll's career is as exceptional as his artwork, many of which can be found on some of the best selling books today.

Stephen Youll has been in the business for almost 20 years and after more than 150 cover illustrations he is still as enthusiastic about his profession as he was on day one.

Art Scene International presents: Stephen Youll.

"I have never imagined myself being anything else but an artist", Stephen Youll admits (...) Stephen had grown fond of the tiny single cinema that often played the old black and white versions of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. "The old science fiction movies captivated me. I was always looking for something that emphasized my passion for fictional things. Besides, there were TV series like Star Trek and finally the ultimate space saga - Star Wars!"

Art Scene International:

Stephen, your artwork looks so realistic that - in times of digital illustration - many viewers might think that they are Photoshop illustrations.

Stephen Youll:

Yes, they might – today’s software applications are so good that you can simulate real art techniques quite well. But no, I am still a craftsman and my work is mainly created with an airbrush.

(...)

Stephen Youll:

Yes, this was my first job after graduation. It was a program financed by the city of Durham. I had to travel all over Britain and study artifacts and objects in churches and museums to depict them in the artwork of the cathedral. Portraits were also included in the task. I liked the whole project very much, but it was not exactly what I wanted to do.

Art Scene:

Fantasy...

Stephen Youll:

Yes, right. Honestly speaking, I continued doing my own stuff besides the job in the cathedral. I would work on my assignment during the day and do my science fiction and fantasy stuff at night. In 1987 my brother and I presented these works at a science fiction convention for the first time. Two days after the exhibition I got several phone calls from well-known publishers in New York, offering jobs for book covers. Just imagine that, we had never worked on a professional level before and now suddenly the most renowned publishers called us, the guys from the back of beyond. That is just incredible!

Six months later I quit my job in Durham Cathedral and started working as a full time book cover illustrator.

For more information and artwork by Stephen Youll, please visit his web site:
www.StephenYoull.com

In the next issue of Art Scene International we will publish a workshop by Stephen Youll where he explains about his working techniques in detail.

Read the whole article in issue 77.