Costa Rica artist Jose Sanchez is a winner in the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest earning him a trip to Hollywood, a week-long master-class workshop and his winning story will be published in the international bestselling anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 39.
Jose Sánchez was born in 1979 in San José, Costa Rica, a small country with a unique beauty thanks to its exuberant nature. Jose has a BFA in Fine Arts from the University of Costa Rica, majoring in graphic design, however his real passion is illustration and animation which he has studied in a self-taught way. As part of his formal studies he also completed a one-year diploma in Concept Art at Vancouver Animation School.
His work was initially related to the advertising field mainly as a motion designer, though after a while, his career took a decisive turn towards the animation industry then he moved to Japan to work as a Concept Artist. Parallel to his work in the studio and due to his passion for art, Jose has always kept producing personal pieces of art and illustrations which have allowed him to experiment with various styles, as well as themes ranging from science fiction to fantasy for both adults and children. His illustration work is characterized by giving special importance to the use of color and lighting as a fundamental storytelling skill.
Currently Jose is still working to break into the world of illustration so he can dedicate himself fully to what he loves so much, which is to tell stories hand in hand with writers of books, comics and graphic novels.
A very prestigious writing and illustrating competition
The Contest, one of the most prestigious writing and illustrating competitions in the world, is currently in its 40th year and is judged by some of the premier names in speculative fiction.
The Writers of the Future Contest judges include, Tim Powers (author of On Stranger Tides), Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert (Dune prequel series), Robert J. Sawyer (Quantum Night), Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn series, The Stormlight Archive), Larry Niven (Ringworld), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game), Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death), David Farland (Runelords), and Katherine Kurtz (Deryni series) to name a few.
The Illustrators of the Future Contest judges include, Bob Eggleton (11 Chesley Awards and 7 Hugo Awards), Larry Elmore (Dungeons & Dragons book covers), Echo Chernik (graphic designs for major corporations including Celestial Seasonings tea packaging), Rob Prior (art for Spawn, Heavy Metal comics and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ciruelo (Eragon Coloring Book).
Following the 1982 release of his internationally acclaimed bestselling science fiction novel, Battlefield Earth, written in celebration of 50 years as a professional writer, L. Ron Hubbard created the Writers of the Future (writersofthefuture.com) in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers of speculative fiction to get that much-needed break. Due to the success of the Writers of the Future Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was inaugurated five years later.
Very successful mentoring process
The intensive mentoring process has proven very successful. The 382 past winners of the Illustrating Contest have produced over 6,000 illustrations, 360 comic books, graced 624 books and albums with their art and visually contributed to 68 TV shows, and 40 major movies.
The 452 past winners of the Writing Contest have published 1,150 novels and nearly 4,500 short stories. They have produced 32 New York Timesbestsellers and their works have sold over 60 million copies.
The Writers and Illustrators of the Future Award is the genre’s most prestigious award of its kind and has now become the largest, most successful and demonstrably most influential vehicle for budding creative talent in the world of contemporary fiction.
Since inception, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests have produced 38 anthology volumes and awarded over $1,000,000 cumulatively in prize moneys and royalties. For more information about the Contests, go to www.WritersoftheFuture.com
