Alan Pollack was born in New Jersey in 1964. Influenced at an early age by artists such as Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo, Alan knew that fantasy illustration would be his career of choice. After graduating from high school, he studied at several colleges. At the School of Visual Arts in NYC, the illustration team of Martucci and Greisbach convinced Alan to dabble in oils. He was so inspired by hid first attempts that he began developing a portfolio of fantasy illustration. In his early twenties, Alan worked part-time as a silk screener and a photo retoucher while continuing to build his portfolio. In 1991, after much rejection from New York publishers, Alan was assigned his first cover illustration for Dungeon magazine with T.S.R Inc. In 1994, work became steady and he left his part-time job. Alan then found an agent in NYC, but, shortly thereafter, he was offered a staff position at T.S.R Inc. He spent the next few years surrounded by great artists and continued to hone his skills. In 1997, Alan went out on his own once again but this time with some experience and much needed skills under his belt. Since then, Alan has worked for many of the industries RPG companies, including Wizards of the Coast and T.S.R ,and has graced the covers of most of the leading book publishers in this country, including Harper/Collins, Daw Books, Del-Rey, Baen Books, Tor Books, ROC and the Science Fiction Book Club. Alan has also had the honor of being chosen as the cover artist for Spectrum, an illustration annual which focuses on the year's best science fiction and fantasy art.