Jason Cole was born and raised in the lakeside town of Alpena, Michigan. His summers were spent swimming, fishing, and bicycling around town with friends. Nothing in his childhood would indicate a future desire and interest in pursuing a career as an illustrator. Sure he doodled in the margins of his notebooks. Sure he read comic books. Sure he played Dungeons & Dragons. What kid didn’t?
A commercial, an 800 number, a catalog, an application, a summer spent moving furniture, and a 2,000 mile relocation from Michigan to California saw Jason enter art school in the fall of 1995. The Academy of Art was his first real introduction to the word Illustration. It also was his first introduction to life drawing, oil paints, gouache, and his Fiancé, Emy. Tim Racer’s history of illustration class really opened his mind up to what illustration was, is, and could be. Jason spent two years in San Francisco before accepting a double scholarship to The Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. There he studied under guys that worked in the Detroit studios of the 1960’s and 70’s; illustrators like Mike Mikos, Bob Blanchard, and Chuck Gillies. There, he also studied under children book illustrator, Matt Faulkner. When he graduated in the Fall of 1999, his portfolio was mostly editorial in nature; sprinkled with life drawings and paintings.
Today Jason lives in somewhere in Brooklyn, with Emy. His portfolio has shifted from editorial work. He has committed to a career of fantasy illustration with an emphasis on concept art. He is currently in the middle of his M.A. in Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has been blessed with a second round of great instructors, the likes of which can only be brought together in New York City. He has had the privilege of study under Burt Silverman, Melanie Reim, Murray Tinkelman, Vincent DiFate, Raul Colon, and Greg Manchess.
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