Luis Royo

A leading figure in the Spanish school, Royo creates a fantasy world marked by a dark, carnal realism. His women are sculptural, sensual... and deadly. His mastery of airbrushing and painting results in intricate compositions that straddle the line between heroic fantasy and gothic eroticism. 

Highly regarded on the international scene, Luis Royo’s artworks rank among the finest in fantasy illustration and frequently fetch several thousand euros. 

To preserve your works on paper, we recommend that you never expose them to direct light, as UV rays can damage the mediums used. Paintings made with pastel or charcoal require special care to avoid rubbing. Works containing watercolor are particularly sensitive to light, unlike gouache and acrylic.
We advise you to display them away from windows, and to use frames made from pH-neutral conservation materials and “Museum” glass with anti-UV and anti-reflective treatment. If you prefer to keep your works unframed, we recommend storing them flat, in drawing cartons, with sheets of pH-neutral permanent paper in between. Keep them away from light and humidity.

Born in 1954 in Spain, Luis Royo studied painting and technical drawing in Zaragoza before devoting himself to large-format painting beginning in 1972. Influenced by Moebius and Enki Bilal, he published his first stories beginning in 1981 in Rambla, Cimoc, and El Víbora, before making his mark in the pages of Heavy Metal. His meeting in 1983 with Rafaël Martínez and the Norma agency in Barcelona opened the door to the international market—leading to work with DC Comics, Marvel, Penthouse, and to projects for video games, album covers, and tarot cards. He created a universe of femmes fatales and post-apocalyptic landscapes in a series of collections that have become global benchmarks: Women (1992), Malefic (1994), Secrets (1996), III Millennium (1998), Dreams (1999), Prohibited Book (3 volumes, 1999–2003), Evolution (2001), Visions, and Conceptions (2002–2003). In collaboration with his son Rómulo, he created the Malefic Time saga (2010), a graphic novel set in an apocalyptic Manhattan in 2038. Complete biography.