| Francis Tsai | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 14, 1967 |
| Died | April 23, 2015 (aged 48) |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | comic book artist, illustrator, conceptual artist, author |
Francis Tsai (April 14, 1967 – April 23, 2015) was an American comic book artist, illustrator, author and conceptual artist. He was of Taiwanese and Japanese ancestry.[1][better source needed]
Tsai was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Lubbock, Texas. He initially studied chemistry, before receiving a graduate degree in architecture.[2]
In 1998, Francis Tsai joined Presto Studios as Conceptual Designer where he provided visual development and game design for the video games Myst 3,[3] and Star Trek: Hidden Evil.[4] In 2003, Tsai joined High Moon Studios where he was principal concept artist for the video games The Bourne Conspiracy and Darkwatch.[5]
Tsai had illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.
In 2009, Tsai worked on a five-issue graphic novel miniseries called Tracker for Top Cow Productions. A preview was released at that year's ComicCon.[6]
Tsai also contributed covers and interior art for Marvel Comics.[7][8]
Tsai provided interior artwork for Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology,[9] as well as covers and interior artwork for the serialized graphic novel Mercy Thompson: Homecoming,[10] which reached number eight on the Comics Bestsellers list in October 2009.[11] In a generally favorable review of the novel, Martha Cornog wrote, "Francis Tsai's and Amelia Woo's painted art, especially their beautiful wolf depictions, make this all visually believable."[12] Tsai also created interiors for trade paperback Impaler.[13]
Tsai provided interior artwork for a number of Dungeons & Dragons manuals for Wizards of the Coast, including Sharn: City of Towers, Monster Manual III, d20 Future, Races of Eberron, Lost Empires of Faerûn, Explorer's Handbook, Tome of Magic: Pact, Shadow, and Truename Magic, Power of Faerûn, Drow of the Underdark, and d20 Future Tech.[14] Tsai created the artwork for the Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition Dungeon Masters Screen.[15]
Tsai provided visual development in the TV and film industries contributing concept artwork for Motion Theory's Gatorade "Inside Crosby" and Lenovo Thinkpad "Rollcage" commercials[16][17] as well as the film TMNT - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[18] Tsai worked on Tracker, a miniseries from Top Cow Productions and Heroes and Villains Entertainment about an FBI agent who has contracted a virus that turns him into a werewolf.
He was a regular contributor to ImagineFX magazine, where he has created a series of workshops including topics such as using 3-D in 2-D, effective character design and game concept art.[2]
Francis Tsai wrote and illustrated the book Fantasy Art Academy: 100 Ways to Paint the Coolest Fantasy Figures for F&W Publications and recently released another book Extreme Worlds in November 2009.
Tsai won numerous professional awards for his work.[19][20][21][22]
In 2010, at the age of 42, Tsai was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The disease cost him the ability to move his arms and hands; he was unable to hold a pencil after early 2011. He discovered he could digitally paint on his cellphone with his right big toe while holding the cellphone with his left foot.[23] Once he lost the ability to move his feet, Tsai began using the PC Eye from Tobii in conjunction with a Kiosk Tablet to communicate. By early 2012, Tsai began creating art again using the eye-gaze technology with drawing programs Sketchup and Photoshop.[24] His eye-gaze art had been featured in the media including CNN and computer art magazine ImagineFX (August 2013).[25]
Tsai met his wife Linda when they were architecture students at the University of Texas, and they lived in Austin, Texas.[26] He died April 23, 2015.[27]
