Luis ROYO

Luis Royo © Luis Royo

Luis ROYO is a Spanish author and comic book artist, as well as an illustrator and painter.
It was in 1972 that he exhibited his first paintings. His hyper-realistic style naturally led him towards comic books, and from the early 80s onwards, he published panels in Spanish magazines such as Rambla, El Vibora, and Heavy Metal.
During the same period, his highly detailed visuals and impactful style led him towards illustration. This is where he would find international success. The United States, Sweden, and Great Britain started commissioning visuals from the artist, both for periodicals and literature covers. This is how Royo entered the visual universe.
Specialized magazines like Heavy Metal and the famous National Lampoon in the USA, a humorous periodical, would turn Royo's visuals into posters sold in thousands of copies. His style and graphics established him as one of the creators most in tune with his time.
Naturally, video games, which were starting to reproduce true artistic visuals, also sought his talent.
From the 90s onwards, the international recognition of his work allowed him to exhibit more and work freely on original pieces. He then had the opportunity to start publishing books such as Women (in 1992), which achieved great success. (The magazine Penthouse even dedicated an article to him).
Royo's illustrations are now available as merchandise (playing cards, calendars, posters, t-shirts, CD covers, mouse pads). Royo imposes his visuals, and his visuals grant him recognition far beyond the realm of comics. In 1996, Penthouse published one of his works on the cover (something unprecedented).
In 1999, Dreams, an album/compilation of his work in various fields, achieved great success. The Prohibited Book (4 volumes in total), where Royo explores eroticism, also had strong international distribution.
In 2006, in collaboration with his son Romulo Royo, he created a gigantic mural in a dome in Moscow. Still alongside Romulo, starting from 2011, he published a trilogy Malefic Time that unfolds into a multimedia project (books, illustrated works, novels, figurines, manga, role-playing games, etc.).
In 2014, Royo had the pleasure of illustrating the reissue of The Ice Dragon, the novel by George RR Martin (the author of Game of Thrones).
Recognized and celebrated, Luis Royo is one of the main illustrators of our time who has managed to impose his style, rooted in the fantasy world, on a much broader and all-age audience.