- Dinosaurs Illustrator (Paleoartist) - Concept Designer - Illustrator and Painter - Teacher - Costume Designer -

At age five and a half, while his classmates were playing with toy soldiers, Fabio Pastori was sketching images of Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus in his notebooks. A native of Milan, Italy, Fabio followed his dream of becoming an artist and studied art at the Liceo Artistico di Brera and then Scuola Superiore d'Arte del Castello Sforzesco, where he began to teach drawing at age 18.



While he was teaching and later directing a course in illustration, he continued his training as a hyper-realistic illustrator and learned to render photo-realistic images with a three-dimensional quality. His exceptional work caught the eye of advertising agencies and publishers in Italy and abroad. He began working with art-directors, directors and photographers creating backdrops for commercials.



"In the 90's I started my real journey into the world of paleoart, studying and illustrating dinosaurs in a variety of applications that comprise the paleontological field such as publishing, museums, education, scholars and collectors. I always used the traditional techniques while pursuing my great interest and passion for nature, animals and particularly dinosaurs."



His first drawings of prehistoric animals done in a hyper-realistic style were published by Mike Fredericks in Prehistoric Times magazine in 1992. His work attracted immediate attention because of the level of realism he achieved and his innovative use of color. He was selected for the Annual Illustrators (non-fiction) in Bologna Children's Book Fair ('97/'98/'99/2000).



In 2000 Fabio rendered a series of stunning concept illustrations for an early version of Rex Riders that was conceived and pitched as an animated cartoon series. JP Carlson recalls seeing the illustrations for the first time and being amazed at the renderings: "At that time, no one illustrated dinosaurs the way that Fabio did. His use of color and perspective was very unusual. The animals literally popped off the page. I don't think his influence on paleo-illustration is appreciated and recognized because his work wasn't seen much here in the States. I think that's going to change in the next few years."