Artist Showcase

Participating Artists - Didier Graffet

Didier was born near Lyon, France but his ancestors are from Normandy, where his family has lived for the last four generations. After graduating from the art school Emile Cohl in Lyon in 1994, one which specialized in illustration, he began working as a freelancer. Working mainly for French publishers, Didier produced many fantasy covers for authors such as David Gemmell ("Legend" and "Waylander") and Stan Nicholls ("Orcs") for Bragelonne Editions.

Attracted by the sea and the idea of imaginary travel, in 2001 Didier illustrated Jules Verne's fabulous novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, published by Editions Gründ, followed by Mysterious Island in 2005. He later joined the studio team Jules Verne Adventures, for which he produced several posters for festivals in Paris and Los Angeles. He is currently working on a film in pre-production with Studio Jules Verne. He says "I gain inspiration from the places I've been that appeal to me, like Scotland, Bretagne, or even my childhood in Pays d'Auge (the farmlands of central Normandy). It's my way of making them come alive, when I can't actually be there ... A foggy hill, or a lake with black waters, a path that runs deep into the wood - whose destination is unknown."

Graffet is equally passionate about myths and legends. He illustrated a novel about the Knights of the Round Table (Editions Gründ), a graphic novel about the Legend of the Ring des Nibelüngen (Editions Soleil) and the Black Company series by Glen Cook published by French publishing house L'Atalante. In 2010 he created his first cover for Ballantine Books, New York: The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien.

Today, in addition to commissions, he devotes himself increasingly to painting and developing specific themes relating to Jules Verne, Steampunk and fantasy.