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Imagination has always been the key element in the artwork of William L. Eaken.As a child he was inspired by storybook illustrations, and consequently, by his early teens was writing and illustrating his own tales. A major influence on Bill happened at the age of ten when he read Coleridge's "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" and saw the illustrations for it by the 19th century artist Gustav Dore. This left a powerful and lasting impression on him and the poetic, philosophical, and mystical continues to be at the core of his work.
In 1981 Bill entered college to study art yet quickly found himself concentrating on philosophy instead. But in 1984, returning to his first love, he transferred to California State University, Fullerton, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree four years later. For the next ten years he enjoyed an exciting and varied career as an artist in the entertainment industry, creating everything from advertising and poster art, computer animation, and magazine and book cover illustration. A highly versatile artist, Bill has done traditional painting, computer animation, storyboarding, cartooning and concept design for books and films. He has created work for Rhino Records, Paramount Pictures, Steven Spielberg, and NASA, to name a few; and worked three years at Lucasfilm.
