The Creator
Derek Tonks is a self taught artist filled with a passion for art. Never having taken an art class, Derek has learned to create works of art by careful observation of the world around him. Derek is Seventeen years old and attends Bonita High School in La Verne California. He is the youngest of five children raised by his loving and widowed mother Shannon. Most if not all of what has come out of D-Tonks Studios is because of his mother's patience in allowing him to pursue his artistic talents. Shannon is not the supplier of the artist genes, but his father David, who died when Derek was only two. Derek has become what he is today all because of his mother's realization of his talents and her love for him allowing him to pursue them. If it were not for Shannon you would not be reading this page.
Derek has always had a fascination for art and learning. At a very early age Derek began to draw and paint. One day when Derek asked his mother if he could get some paint and she agreed to purchase some for him. Not only did his mother allow him to experiment with tubed water color paint purchased at the local craft store, but the following week she purchased a set of acrylic paint, and oil paint the week following that. Derek insisted on finding the medium he liked and by allowing him to test his limits, Derek's mother cleared the field for his artistic seed to grow. At age five, Derek entered three paintings in the L.A. County Fair and won three Blue ribbons for his work. Derek began sculpting at the age of eight, starting out with simple oil base clay busts from his favorite fantasy movie. His mother also purchased a decent quality airbrush the day he found his father's old broken one. These basic skills led the path to his current medium.
Halloween has always been one of Derek's most enjoyed holidays. His costumes have always been self made and far too elaborate. Each Halloween his costumes became more intense and construction of them began earlier and earlier. Eventually he stumbled on a website describing prosthetics. With about two summer weeks of intense research and hours of planning, Derek began creating his first prosthetic piece. One thing has led to another and now Derek is selling his variety of work on the internet. He has participated in the creation of several local short films and is growing bigger and bigger. His home business supplies funds for more and more project allowing his range of medium and knowledge of the subject of special effects to grow. Derek has no mentor and has learned all he knows about special effects and creature creation from the internet, books, films, and experimentation. On top of all this Derek is a member of his High School's Swim and Water polo teams, he plays piano, and he has a 4.43 GPA. Derek's idol is the late Stan Winston who continues to inspire him even after his passing. Derek loves what he does!