Busy at work in his studio in Rockland County New York, William is currently working on new projects for several different publishing companies, as well as new expansions for some of the most popular trading card games, as well as concept designs for upcoming products. As always he will be attending several trade shows and conventions making personal appearances.
On the private side, William O'Connor is working on several projects for future publication, including a book of Dragons, as well as an illustrated edition the Italian epic, "Orlando Furioso". William also has a children's book in the works, as well as several studios paintings for exhibit.
Keep checking this web site for new updates.
December 2009
• ImagineFX magazine in their Christmas issue gives Dracopedia a five out of five "magnificent" review calling the book "A great idea masterfully realized."
To see and purchase the book:Amazon.com-Dracopedia
September 2009
• Dracopedia:A Guide to Drawing the Dragons of the World, is set for release on September 25! To preview the book and purchase a copy visit:
Amazon.com-Dracopedia
August 2009
• William O'Connor was honored as a guest of Wizards of the Coast at the 2009 Gen Con Game Fair in Indianapolis. Thanks to all the fans and Wizards for making it an unforgettable week!
March 2009
• The New York Science Fiction Association awarded William O'Connor, Judges Chioce for his new painting "Alcina's Gambol", as well as 2nd place Best Professional Artist of the Year at their 52nd annual convention in New York.
October 2008
• William O'Connor Studios has moved. No longer in New Jersey William has moved north and back to his native New York and into the Hudson Valley.
July 2008
• Dragons are coming!! I am happy to announce that a William O'Connor book of dragons is slated for release in the Fall of 2009. Currently in production with IMPACT Books I will developing an artists source book filled with dragon illustrations, reference and instructions. Keep checking back to learn more, and see the web page as it develops.
DRACOPEDIA
June 2008
• D&D 4th Edition is here! After almost two years of concept designs and illustrations the three corebooks, as well as a several supplements, are now hitting shelves. To see some of the images go to: Games Page
March 2008
• THe New York Science Fiction Society awarded William O'Connor "Best B&W" at their annual art show , Lunacon.
December 2007
• Joseph Mack passed away on December 26, at age 86. Joe was my mentor and teacher from 1980 to 1988 at The Huntington School of Fine Arts. Joe Mack's legacy includes the thousands of young artists that he taught over the past thirty years, and I personally owe much of my success to him. He will be missed.
November 2007
• "Fantasy Art Now" ,an exciting new collection of contemporary art compiled by Harper Collins, is released this month and features a couple of William O'Connor's paintings.
• At the 71st annual Philadelphia Science Fiction convention that was held Nov.16th-18th William O'Connor was awarded "Best Artist" for his work, and "Best Monocromatic" for his drawing The Order of the Coatyl.
Summer 2007
• William O'Connor Studios is excited to announce the launch of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition! Slated for release in the Summer of 2008 at Gen Con, William has been a leading concept artist in the development of this monumental project. Hundreds of drawings and paintings are planned to roll out over the next year. As they become available, you will be able to find many of these images on the concept page:
Concept GalleryCheck back often for frequent updates.
Spring 2007
• Welcome to WOCSTUDIOS!!
wocillo is now wocstudios! The new website is now up and running, enjoy!
Fall 2006
• In October two books containing William's work will be released. "The Complete Guide to Star Wars Aliens" and Spectrum 13 will be arriving on bookstore shelves.
Spring 2006.
• "Zephyr's Tomb", a new composition by William was awarded a judges choice award at the 2006 New York Science Fiction Association's annual convention, and was accepted into the 13th annual Spectrum journal of the year's best fantasy art.
Also, The painting "Paladin's Flight" was nominated for a Chesley Award by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists for year's best unpublished color image, as well as "Keeper of Water" for Best Gaming art. Thank you to the ASFA nominating committee.
December 2005.
• New at this website William demonstrates his painting technique from start to finish in a new forum. Be sure to check out Painting Demonstration
August 2005.
• At this year's Gen Con Game convention William O'Connor received a special honor from Alderac Entertainment Group. For a decade of contributing artwork for the Legend of the Five Rings game, William helped unveil the 5000th card and received a gift of appreciation from AEG's president John Zinser at the game's tenth anniversary rally at this year's convention. William would like to thank all of the talented artists, writers, art directors, designers, and the millions of players worldwide that have made L5R such a success and looks forward to another ten years of exciting stories and images.
William was also one of four jurors at the 2005 Gen Con Game fair artshow. Congratulations to all the winning artists.
July 2005.
• The Chesley Awards, given out annually by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (ASFA) has nominated William O'Connor for "Best Gaming Related artwork" for his contributions to Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons and Dragons Game. To view all the nominees, or to become a member of ASFA in order to submit a ballot visit their website at: www.asfa-art.org Awards will be given out in September at the World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, Scotland.
April 2005.
• William O'Connor is proud to announce that the New York Science Fiction Society awarded William the "Best Body of Work" and "Best Costume Design" (for Keeper of Water) awards, at the 2005 Lunacon Convention in March.
• In April William attended the 24th I-Con Convention on Long Island and earned the first place prize for his painting "Merlin and Arthur".
• Announcements were also made in April that William's painting "Fire and Water" will be included in the Spectrum 12 annual of the year's best science fiction art due to be released this October by Underwood Books.
Convention Schedule
March 19-21, 20010. Lunacon. Ryebrook, NY.
March 27, 2010. NJ Art Expo. Summit, NJ
April 16-18, 2010. C2E2. Chicago, IL
August 5-9, 2010.Gen Con Game Fair. Indianapolis, IN
October 6 - 8, 2010. < A HREF="http://www.nycomiccon.com">New York Comic Con. Manhattan, NY.
Nov. 2010.Illuxcon. Altoona, PA
I hope to see you all there!
If you are interested in having William O'Connor speak or give a demo at your convention, school, or arts association feel free to contact the artist to discuss scheduling.
Links
For more information on many of the products and companies that William O'Connor
has worked with, see these great sites:
wizards of the coast
IMPACT Books
dover publications
white wolf publishing
alderac entertainment group
Links to William O'Connor Blogs and Networking Sites
William OConnor Studios@Blogspot.com
William O'Connor @ Facebook.com
Wocstudios@YouTube.com
Wocstudios@Deviantart.com
Links to Artist's Sites
For a complete listing of the publications containing William O'Connor art work see: bibliography
Call for Models
If you are living in or will be visiting the New York/New Jersey area or will be attending any of the conventions listed above, and would like to be a model for a future painting or illustration by William O'Connor please send a photograph and letter of introduction to the e-mail attached below.
Male and female models of all ages and ethnicities are needed, and expressive and athletic faces and figures are required. Modeling experience a plus.
Call for Apprentice
Interested in studying professional illustration? William O'Connor is looking for a mature, responsible art student that would be interested in taking on part time duties in his studio. Mac OS, Photoshop, and some art training required. Please send querries to the e-mail below to learn more.
Explanation of Copyright
The downloading or copying of images off of this website (or other sites legally containing these images) is strictly forbidden by the US Copyright Code. The purchase of any original or print does not grant the owner any reproduction rights. Owners of original artwork are only allowed to reproduce the artwork for the purposes of inventory, cataloguing, or advertising the artwork as a work of art. The use of these images may only be used with the express written consent of the copyright owner. The status of the image copyright and its respective owners accompanies each image on this site. The purchase of reproduction rights in part or in total may be available on a per image bases, and should be notated with a "reproduction rights available" tag. Please contact the artist to inquire as to the rights availability of each image, or to learn who owns the copyright in order to license its usage. The granting of reproduction usage licensing does not transer copyright ownership. The purchase of any copyright or usage in part or in total does not purchase the original piece of artwork.
Contact Information
To request autographs, commission information, or a portfolio send inquiries to:
William O'Connor
woconnor@wocstudios.com
