The art community morns the loss of Artist Timothy Hildebrandt, who died on June 11th, of 2006. Tim Hildebrandt and his twin brother Greg, were staples in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Art Community, having worked on posters and visual art for Star Wars, and over seventy J.R.R. Tolkien inspired calendars.
It was at the tender age of 2 years old that the brothers first showed their artistic flair when they borrowed their father’s pencils and crayons and they haven’t looked back since. Needless to say, their father didn’t get his crayons back and the brothers grew up to draw and create what they loved best – fantasy art. Throughout their young lives their major influences ranged from the ever popular characters of Marvel and DC Comics such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Green Hornet to the children’s favourites created by Walt Disney, for whom they dreamed of working. It was this burning ambition and a rumour that Disney only hired people with formal qualifications that led the brothers to enroll in Meinzinger’s Art School. Sadly for the brothers, and to a certain extent Disney, their dream of becoming animators never came to fruition, that’s not to say they haven’t had a part to play in the animation world since… They have, over the years, given several talks and seminars on techniques and the like to the chief animators at Walt Disney Studios and have had more than a slightly beneficial impact on the company.
Their remarkable career has spanned over 4 decades and they continue to enchant and amaze the world with their epic fantasy masterpieces, perhaps the most notable of which being the original movie poster for the enduring classic “Star Wars: A New Hope” in 1977. The brothers had previously illustrated calendars based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s series of novels “The Lord of the Rings” in 1976 and 1977 and went on to produce another one for 1978. These calendars were the brothers first foray into the serious world of illustration and it was with these works that they finally made a name for themselves. A year later they were back on the movie scene and making posters for the 1979 re-release of “Barbarella” and later, in 1981 for the fantasy adventure “Clash of the Titans”. This would be one of their last major projects together for some 12 years, during which time the brothers created many wonderful works of art and earned themselves respect and admiration, as well as a few awards along the way, both individually and in collaboration with one another.
Their own fantasy novel “Urshurak”, which they wrote and illustrated with the help of their good friend Jerry Nichols, made the New York Times bestseller list. They have also received awards from the Society of Illustrators (Gold Medal), the Child Study Association (Children’s Book of the Year) and the Golden Eagle award for their short film “Project Hope”. Tim, while working independently, received the Award of Merit from the Society of Illustrators’ annual show.
Timothy Hildebrandt is survived by his mother, Germaine, sister Janie, wife Rita, son Charles, nieces Mary, Laura and Elisabeth, nephew Gregory Jr., the other half of the Hildebrandt brothers, Greg Hildebrandt. They were with him when he died of complications due to diabetes. He was 67 years old.
Links
The Official Greg and Tim Hildebrandt Website
Article wrote by Aleka (CL3)
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