William Stout

William Stout
William Stout in 2006
Born	(1949-09-18) September 18, 1949 (age 67)
Nationality	American
Education	Chouinard Art Institute/California Institute of the Arts
Known for	Painting, Illustration, Entertainment Design
Movement	Paleoart
Awards	full list

William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worked on over thirty feature films, doing everything from storyboard art to production design. He has designed theme parks and has worked in radio with the Firesign Theatre.

William Stout grew up in Los Angeles, California, and earned a full scholarship to the Chouinard Art Institute. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the school (which at that point had become the California Institute of the Arts).

Stout began his professional career as an illustrator for comic books and graphic novels, with his first job coming in 1968 with the cover for the first issue of the pulp magazine Coven 13. In 1971 he worked as Russ Manning's assistant on Manning's Tarzan of the Apes Sunday and daily newspaper comic strips. In 1972, Stout worked for Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder on Playboy's "Little Annie Fanny".

In 1973 Stout began drawing album covers for the Trademark of Quality bootleg record label. He created over 30 sleeves for the label, including the Rolling Stones' All-Meat Music (his first), the Yardbirds' Golden Eggs and More Golden Eggs, and the Who's Who's Zoo and Tales from the Who. He became associated with the Firesign Theatre, and designed his first official album sleeve, In the Next World, You're on Your Own, in 1974. Stout also designed the original Rhino Records logo in 1978.