Tiner, Ron
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Artist.
(1940- ) UK artist initially best known for his work on children's Comics, then as a book illustrator, and latterly as an educator and author in the fields of Comics, sf and fantasy illustration. For financial reasons he was unable to attend art college, so originally followed a career in telecommunications. At age 25 he turned to teaching art in schools, producing Comics art in various genres including sf under the pseudonym Ron Tiner (which name he now uses for all purposes) to conceal his identity from employers and students alike; his first professional commission was drawing the strip "Spring-Heeled Jack" for the comic Hotspur. In due course he began drawing for grown-up Comics as well, such as Oink! and Brain Damage; his "The Striker Wore Pink Knickers" for the latter was especially popular. He did three episodes of "Tharg's Future-Shocks" for 2000 AD: "Fugitive" by Phillip Greenaway (June 1978), "Brain Drain" by Steve Moore (January 1979), and "Mister, Could You Use a Sponge?" by Alan Moore (November 1981). He also adapted six of Enid Blyton's Secret Seven stories in the 1980s as graphic narratives for Gutenburghus's Enid Blyton's Adventure Magazine.
As the UK Comics field crumbled in the latter part of the 1980s, Tiner turned to book Illustration, with nonfiction titles such as In a Monastery Garden (1988) by Elizabeth and Reginald Peplow for adults; the fantasy novel The Far-Enough Window (2002) by John Grant; Mind Reader (1998) and Mind Reader: Blackmail (1999) by Pete Johnson for young adults; and, for children, two titles in Usborne's Library of Fear and Fantasy series, Tales of Robin Hood (1996) by Tony Allan and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1996) by John Grant, retelling the Robert Louis Stevenson classic. He illustrated many other books from the late 1980s through the early 2000s, including, for both Oxford University Press and Penguin Puffin, contributions to series of simplified texts for EFL students or slow learners; examples are The Thirty-Nine Steps (1995), adapted by Nick Bullard from the John Buchan novel, and Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (2000), retold by Margaret Murphy from the Washington Irving tales.
Tiner's books on art techniques include Figure Drawing Without a Model (1992), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy & Science Fiction Art Techniques (1996) with John Grant, and Drawing from Your Imagination (2009). About fellow artist John Harris he wrote Mass: The Art of John Harris (2000). He contributed articles to the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993) ed John Clute and Peter Nicholls, and was a Contributing Editor to The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997) edited by John Clute and John Grant. He is currently at work on a major illustrated Sherlock Holmes project. [JGr]
Ronald Charles Tickner
born Borden, Kent: 8 May 1940
works
- Figure Drawing Without a Model (Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles, 1992) [nonfiction: graph: hb/Ron Tiner]
- The Encyclopedia of Fantasy & Science Fiction Art Techniques (London: Titan, 1996) with John Grant [nonfiction: graph: hb/various artists]
- Mass: The Art of John Harris (London: Paper Tiger, 2000) [nonfiction: graph: hb/John Harris]
- Drawing from Your Imagination (Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles, 2009) [nonfiction: graph: hb/Ron Tiner]
works illustrated (selected)
- John Buchan. The Thirty-Nine Steps (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), retold by Nick Bullard [pb/Ron Tiner]
- Tony Allan. Tales of Robin Hood (London: Usborne, 1996) [chap: hb/Ron Tiner]
- Robert Louis Stevenson. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (London: Usborne, 1996) retold by John Grant [chap: hb/Harvey Parker]
- Margaret Mahy. Operation Terror (London: Puffin, 1997) [pb/Ron Tiner]
- Tony Strachan. The Joke Shop (London: Puffin, 1997) [pb/Ron Tiner]
- Pete Johnson. Mind Reader (London: Puffin, 1998) [pb/Ron Tiner]
- Pete Johnson. Mind Reader: Blackmail (London: Puffin, 1999) [pb/Ron Tiner]
- Washington Irving. Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (London: Penguin, 2000) retold by Margaret Murphy [pb/Ron Tiner]
- John Grant. The Far-Enough Window, or The Reclaiming of Fairyland (Bristol, England: BeWrite, 2002) [pb/Ron Tiner]
links
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