Bill Mayer

Bill Mayer (born October 25, 1951) is an American illustrator who works in a variety of media and combinations of media, gouache, oil, airbrush, scratchboard, pen and ink and digital, as well as a variety of artistic styles. In 2021, he received the Hamilton King Award.

Early life and education Mayer was born in Birmingham, Alabama and until the age of five, lived in a home built by his parents on the property of his grandfather. He was the oldest of six children born to Louis A. Mayer and Lorene Cruse Mayer. The family would relocate to Memphis, where he first attended public school at Willow Oaks Elementary. At the age of eight the family moved to Rochester, New York and Mayer attended Cobbles Elementary in Penfield. The family moved to Decatur, Georgia in 1963, and Mayer attended Southwest Dekalb High School, Towers High School and graduated from Columbia High School in 1969.

Mayer began attending the Ringling School of Art at age 19, and it was there that he met his future wife, Lee. stamps in which Mayer created his interpretations of a hamster, a fish, a dog and a parakeet, with designs by Carl Hermann. The USPS printed 180 million stamps in this collection.

Beginning in 1997, Mayer established a long-running relationship with the Hartford Stage, in which he was annually commissioned to do the poster for their production of A Christmas Carol. His 1999 poster and 2002 poster won gold medals from the Society of Illustrators.

Between the years 1986 through 2016, Mayer created 17 cover illustrations for albums for the band The Rippingtons.

A reoccurring theme in Mayer's work is the use of animals, particularly frogs. The annual Dellas Graphics Calendar, art directed by Jim Burke, was a long-running frog-themed calendar and Mayer participated as a contributor in several of them. His 2008 contribution to the calendar was additionally used as the cover of Workbook in 2010; his 2011 contribution won the Patrick Nagel Award for Excellence from the Society of Illustrators West;

Product art Working with the design agency Needham, Harper & Steers, Mayer created original packaging illustrations for Big League Chew, in 1980.

In 2004, Cartoon Network distributed character-based tarot cards illustrated by Mayer as a promotional item. The cards, art directed by Jay Rogers, were never sold in stores.

Mattel commissioned Mayer for board game packaging illustration in 2017 with the release of Flippin Frogs, art directed by Tim Douglas; in 2018 and with Rhino Rampage, with art direction by Mark Rosenbluh; and in 2005, with the release of Piranha Panic, art directed by Ninnette Wood.

In 2020, Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Co. released a 24-year-old whiskey under the brand name Muckety-Muck, with label art by Mayer.

Film Mayer provided character designs for the 2007 DreamWorks Animation film Bee Movie, as well as character designs for the 2011 20th Century Fox film Rio.

Mayer's poster illustration for the film General Orders No. 9, released in 2009, was art directed by Bob Persons.