Dana MacKenzie has been working as a professional illustrator and designer since graduating from the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, in 1994. At that time, Dana was inspired by another graduate of ACAD, Doug Fraser. Dana was blown away by the boldness of Doug's images and the confidence that was inherent in each piece. So, with that Dana aimed to produce work that had strength and power. Bold images. Memorable images. Images that had a consistency in approach, attitude and style.



This tactic worked out well, as Dana was able to establish a solid client-base in Calgary, producing spot illustrations for local magazines, and larger illustrations for local design firms. In addition, Dana produced a series of high-end clipart packages for Image Club Graphics, which was later acquired by Adobe and currently distributed through FotoSearch.com. Described as "Iconic images that are totally unique, fun, and functional." … "Well defined shapes and sharp edges that add a modernistic dimension, in a quirky modern style" both Dana's Neo Retro and Neo Techno Packages have been top-sellers for the last 10 years.




After working for several years in Calgary, Dana decided to expand his knowledge-base and hit the books again to finish off post-graduate studies in Computer Animation at Sheridan College, outside of Toronto.



With that training, Dana has been working both as a freelance illustrator, as well as a graphic designer within the videogame development industry for the last 10 years. His games career has involved working with Electronic Arts Canada in Vancouver, Universal Studios in San Jose, Neversoft Entertainment in Los Angeles (makers of the Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero franchises), and Sony Computer Entertainment America in Bend, Oregon.



In recent years, Dana's freelance career has taken a bit of a back-seat to his gaming work until recently, when Dana was inspired to re-develop danamacdesign.com -- and to take all of his professional experience in game development, and reinterpret it back into his illustration and design work. With this, you'll see that Dana's work covers a wide spectrum of themes from hip and urban designs to more sleek and technical pieces for automotive, fashion, food & beverage, consumer products, direct mail, and technology industries.



Dana produces digital vector work in Adobe Illustrator, as well as traditional work using acrylics, china marker and ink on a variety of surfaces including pebbled art board, and corrugated cardboard, as well as canvas.



At the moment, Dana is developing illustration and television work as well as custom skate deck designs in conjunction with design firms and skate shops in Bend, Oregon (where he currently lives). He has also established new clients in Malibu and Los Angeles.



Dana is interested in expanding his work into other areas of application including textile graphics for t-shirts, snowboarding graphics, band posters, CD covers, billboards, packaging, graphic novels, as well as children's books.