Erik M. Gist began his formal study of art in 1996 with Jeff Watts at Watts Atelier of the Arts, and he has been a professional artist since 1998. Erik began his career designing video games for Gratuitous Games, but when the opportunity to teach at Watts Atelier presented itself, he took it. This allowed him enough spare time – which the rigors of a video game career did not – to follow his dream of becoming a visual storyteller. To date, he has painted numerous illustrations for book covers and games, including work on the series Forgotten Realms: Dungeons and the revival of the Dungeons and Dragons-based Ravenloft novels. Erik's clients include Tor Books, Wizards of the Coast, Upperdeck Entertainment, DC Comics, Boom! Studios, Palladium Books, Blizzard Entertainment, Viking Childrens Books, Monkey Brain Books, Quarto Publishing, and Chiat-Day. His work can be seen in Spectrum: The Best in Fantastic Art 11-14 and Aphrodesia: Art of the Female Form 1. Erik shares his life with his lovely and talented wife, a dog, two cats, a rat, and two birds.