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{{Short description|American artist (1958–2005)}}
{{for multi|the rugby player|Keith Parkinson (rugby league)|the English footballer|Keith Parkinson (footballer)}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Keith Parkinson
| image = KeithParkinson.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Keith Parkinson
| birth_name = Keith A. Parkinson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1958|10|22}}<ref>"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JTXM-2Q7 : accessed 12 Feb 2013), Keith A Parkinson, 26 October 2005; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).</ref>
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==Early life==
Keith Parkinson was born in [[West Covina, California]]. Because of his father's career at [[Ally Financial|GMAC]], Parkinson spent his childhood in various cities in the United States including [[San Diego, CA]], [[New York City|New York, NY]], [[Miami, Florida]], and [[Lansing, Michigan]].<ref name="Dragon #113">{{cite journal
| title = TSR Profiles
| journal = [[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]
| issue = #113
| pages = 60
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| location = [[Lake Geneva, Wisconsin]]
| date = September 1986
▲ | format = }}</ref> From an early age, Parkinson took an interest in [[science fiction]], particularly in [[Spacecraft|spaceships]], and used his artistic abilities to explore his interest.<ref name="Dragon #113"/> However, by the age of twelve, he became more interested in music than art; in an interview he stated, "I got involved with a rock & roll band in high school, and played semi-professionally all the way through high school and into college. For several years, my band toured on weekends. We were into [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] and played stuff by [[Blue Öyster Cult]], [[Rush (band)|Rush]], [[Led Zeppelin]], and other heavy metal monster groups."<ref name="Dragon #113"/> At one gig, Parkinson met his future wife, Mary, who later became the ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' Magazine Advertising Coordinator.<ref name="Dragon #113"/>
==Career==
===Art and illustration===
Parkinson graduated from [[Kendall College of Art and Design]] in 1980. His first job was with a company called Advertising Posters, where he worked on the artwork for [[pinball]] games and early [[arcade game]]s, including ''[[Tron (arcade game)|Tron]]'' and ''[[Krull (video game)|Krull]]''.<ref name="Dragon #113" /> Parkinson was heavily influenced by [[Frank Frazetta]] and [[Roger Dean (artist)|Roger Dean]] in his own fantasy work.<ref name="Dragon #113"/> At Advertising Posters, Parkinson was introduced to ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' by a coworker. Parkinson recalls, "The first night I played a [[Ranger (Dungeons & Dragons)|ranger]] in B1 {{Sic}}<!-- In the original; it's actually B2. -->, ''[[The Keep on the Borderlands|Keep on the Borderlands]]'', and I was hooked. We played every week."<ref name="Dragon #113"/>
In November 1982, he went to work at [[TSR, Inc.]]: "I
After five years working at TSR, Parkinson left and pursued a freelance career for seven years. During this time, most of Parkinson's work was painting covers for the New York publishing market. His clients included [[Bantam Books]], [[Palladium Books]], [[Penguin Books]], and [[Random House]]. Some of the authors that he painted covers for include [[Terry Goodkind]], [[Margaret Weis]], [[Tracy Hickman]],
During the 1990s, Parkinson created many of the book covers for the multi-genre role-playing game ''[[Rifts (role-playing game)|Rifts]] and its supplements.<ref name=mahg />
===Game design and books===
In 1995, Parkinson's first attempt at game design, ''[[Guardians (card game)|Guardians]]'', was published by Friedlander Publishing Group (FPG),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=19122 |title=Artist Keith Parkinson Passes|author=Damon White|publisher=[[GamingReport.com]] |date=28 October 2005 |
In 2000, Parkinson devoted more of his time to writing and shifted his commercial art to the game industry. He produced art for [[THQ]]'s ''[[Summoner (video game)|Summoner]]'' and painted the well-known artwork for the original ''[[EverQuest]]'' as well as its first three expansion packs. In painting the box art, he also created the character Firiona Vie, who has adorned the cover of almost every expansion since.
Parkinson was hired as the art director and co-founder of [[Sigil Games Online]],{{when|date=July 2014}} and worked there on the [[MMORPG]] ''[[Vanguard: Saga of Heroes]]'' until his death in late 2005. Although Parkinson became ill before he could create the box art for ''Vanguard: Saga of Heroes'', he did create the game's three 'mascot' characters: Jeric, Eila, and Idara. According to Brad McQuaid, when Parkinson knew he could not finish the box art for ''Vanguard'', he hoped that his friend [[Donato Giancola]] would complete it. The left side of Donato's painting emulated Parkinson's personal style, as a tribute to him (the left was used for the box art, similar to ''EverQuest''). Moving to the right, the painting transitions into Giancola's style. As a further tribute to Keith Parkinson, Giancola put a character resembling him into the painting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.silkyvenom.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3722 |title=Vanguard Box Art Revealed|date=11 May 2006|
==Reception==
In his 2023 book ''Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground'', RPG historian Stu Horvath reviewed the role-playing game ''Rifts'' and commented, "[''Rifts''] should be a mess, but the art holds it all together. Keith Parkinson, an iconic '80s ''D&D'' mainstay, delivered many of the best covers for ''Rifts'' books, including the core rulebooks, and it is gratifying to see the game's weirdness fuel the artist's expansive vision. His cover for ''World Book 16: Federation of Magic'' (1997) exemplifies how ''Rifts'' pushed his art well beyond the fantasy standards of ''D&D''.<ref name=mahg>{{cite book| last = Horvath| first = Stu| title = Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground| publisher = MIT Press| date = 2023| location = Cambridge, Massachusetts| pages = 208 | isbn =9780262048224 }}</ref>
==Death==
After a long battle with [[acute myelogenous leukemia]] (AML), Keith Parkinson died on 26 October 2005.<ref name="kpbio"/> He
==Awards, honors, and tributes==
In 2002, Parkinson was nominated for a [[Chesley Awards|Chesley Award]] from the [[Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists|ASFA]], for Best Product Illustration, for his work on ''Shadows of Luclin''.<ref>(October 2002). "Newsnotes: Award nominations", ''[[DNA Publications|Chronicle]]'' '''24''' (10): 6–9.</ref>
After his death, an art expo
In August and September 2008, Parkinson's alma mater [[Kendall College of Art and Design]] at Ferris State University, honored him and his TSR contemporaries [[Larry Elmore]] and [[Jeff Easley]] with a gallery exhibit called "Out of the Dungeons". Director of Exhibitions Sarah Joseph stated, "We wanted to honor Parkinson [...] It seemed fitting to include Elmore and Easley, since all three of them worked together for a number of years."<ref>{{cite web |title=Fantasy artists are focus of show |date=24 August 2008 |url=http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2008/08/grand_rapids_science_fiction.html|
In 2014, Scott Taylor of ''[[Black Gate (magazine)|Black Gate]]'', named Keith Parkinson as #7 in a list of The Top 10 RPG Artists of the Past 40 Years, saying "He was never one that got Elmore or Easley props, but he had a style that he continued to evolve and hone until it turned from very, very good into simply outstanding. He was lost too soon to the industry and yet his legacy is something many artists have used to try to model their own careers."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blackgate.com/2014/02/12/art-of-the-genre-the-top-10-rpg-artists-of-the-past-40-years-2/ | title=Art of the Genre: The Top 10 RPG Artists of the Past 40 Years – Black Gate | date=12 February 2014 }}</ref>
▲In August and September 2008, Parkinson's alma mater Kendall College of Art and Design at Ferris State University, honored him and his TSR contemporaries [[Larry Elmore]] and [[Jeff Easley]] with a gallery exhibit called "Out of the Dungeons". Director of Exhibitions Sarah Joseph stated, "We wanted to honor Parkinson [...] It seemed fitting to include Elmore and Easley, since all three of them worked together for a number of years."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2008/08/grand_rapids_science_fiction.html|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20120904152046/http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2008/08/grand_rapids_science_fiction.html|archivedate=4 September 2012|title=Fantasy artists are focus of show}}</ref>
==References==
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==External links==
* [http://www.keithparkinson.com/ Keith Parkinson's official website]▼
* {{
* {{
▲*[http://www.keithparkinson.com/ Keith Parkinson's official website]
* {{Find a Grave|31424742}}
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[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:Deaths from leukemia in California]]
[[Category:Game artists]]
[[Category:People from West Covina, California]]
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