Illustration
Randy Palmer / Dayton Daily News

No one ever mistook newsprint for a Renaissance artist's easel, yet Randy Palmer was able to pop bright, eye-catching colors from the Daily News' pages with his "Austin Powers" graphic.

"I used an airbrush and transparent dyes to do most of the illustration," he said. "After rendering the face, hair and body. I cut a paper doily for the ascot and cuffs.

"The illustration was scanned into the computer and I used Adobe Photoshop to render the pop art background. I've found that using the transparent dyes on a brilliant white illustration board results in pretty good reproduction."

The Dayton native graduated from Sinclair Community College with an associate degree in commercial art technology in 1979.

"Between college and the Daily News I worked for a government contractor providing graphic support to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base," Palmer said.

"I worked on many confidential and secret documents that I'm not allowed to talk about. I also worked for a company that provided graphics to the auto industry where I learned to draw nuts and bolts really well."

He joined the Dayton Daily News as a staff artist in January 1984.

He and his wife, Jenny, have two daughters, Adrienne and Madelina.

He has won awards for his page designs and illustrations from the Associated Press, Society for News Design, "Print's Regional Design Annual," Society of Illustrators and Society of Professional Journalists.