Daniele Serra is an Italian illustrator. Three-time winner of the British Fantasy Award as Best Artist (2012, 2017 and 2021) and finalist at the World Fantasy Award 2021, his work includes covers, internal illustrations and comic adaptations for such highly esteemed authors as Stephen King, Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale and Joyce Carol Oates.
His main influences and inspiration come from the world of weird and horror literature from H.P. Lovecraft and William H. Hodgson, Ridley Scott’s films, Japanese horror and the works of Clive Barker.
Through his keen fascination with horror fiction, dating back to before his career started, he soon established his own distinctive style. Playing on striking contrasts between bright colours and darker tones, his work blends curves and shadows to create deeply atmospheric artworks, for the most part using watercolours, as well as Indian ink and charcoal.
As a comic artist he has worked with DC Comics (Pray for death, by Nicholas Doan), Image Comics (Fade to Black by Jeff Mariotte), BOOM! Studios (Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Bestiary, Vv.Aa.), Titan Comics (Dark Souls, Vv.Aa.), Seraphim INC (Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Anthology Vol. 1-2, Vv.Aa.), SST Publications (I tell you, it’s love, also in Italian for BD Comics under the title Fidati è amore, based on a story by Joe R. Lansdale), Mondadori (Murder Ballads, by Micol Beltramini), Bonelli (Gentleman’s Hotel based on a story by Joe R. Lansdale). He was behind the artwork for all three volumes of Stephen King’s Tommyknockers (PS Publishing).
Daniele’s own art book was published by PS Publishing, with an introduction by Clive Barker.
He has illustrated more than 300 novel covers released by labels all around the world. Amongst these, certain collaborations stand out, including those with Clive Barker, J. R. Lansdale, Paul Tremblay, Gwendolyn Kiste, Tim Lebbon, Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones and publishers such as PS Publishing, Thunderstorm Books, Dark Region Press, SST Publishing, Cemetery Dance, Buchheim Verlag, Raw Dog Screaming Press, Season of Mist, Fanucci, Solferino, Corbaccio e Sperling and Kupfer.
His work was also used for the scenography of the film adaptation of Cell by Stephen King, directed by Tod Williams and starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson (International Film Trust). He also provided the illustrations for the opening and closing credits for Yoshiki Takahashi’s film, Rageaholic (Kokuei Company).
A musician with a keen interest in music in general, he has also worked on a number of album covers and sleeve designs for bands such as Shining (IX, Season of Mist), :wumpscut: (Madman-Szpital Box, Beton Kopf Media), So Hideous (Laurestine, Prosthetic Records) e Hapax (Exile, Swiss Dark NIghts).
Daniele lives on a Mediterranean island, in his house-studio with his wife, his cats, various exotic insects and a vast collection of horror movies and books.
A word from Daniele’s collaborators:
“Let us be clear about one thing: Daniele Serra is in full control of his chosen mediums. In short, he is a magician”.
“This book is comprised of sublime states of being, brought to life with a mixture of natural talent and a level of skill that requires years of disciplined practice. That is all you need to know. Any other attempt to describe or critique the otherworldly glimpses into Daniele’s unique and visionary mind would only serve to discredit the power contained within his work”.
“There are no words for what Daniele does. It must simply be witnessed”.
-Clive Barker
“Daniele Serra makes art of great sensitivity and subtlety – he can communicate more in the shape of a line and the shade of a tint than many painters convey in an entire canvas. Look into his world and it looks deep into you.”
-Ramsey Campbell
“Unique and stunning. Daniele is a fantastic artist.”
-Joe R. Lansdale