Cherry served as Lecturer and Head of the Art Department as well as Head of the master's degree Program for artists at The Guildhall at SMU (Southern Methodist University), a graduate college dedicated to studies for people who want to work in the game production industry.

As an illustrator of literary works, Cherry has illustrated or done cover art for the works of such authors as Stephen R. Donaldson, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Lois McMaster Bujold, Terry Brooks, William Shatner, David Brin, L. Sprague de Camp, Poul Anderson, Piers Anthony, John Brunner, and his sister, C. J. Cherryh, among others.

received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship pursuant to which she obtained a Master’s degree in Classics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

back to Oklahoma City and John Marshall High School where she became a teacher and had Cherry as a student during his senior year for Latin and Ancient History.

[2] He graduated in 1972 scholastically in the top ten percent of the nation with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Latin, General Honors, and admission to Phi Beta Kappa.

Cherryh's novels were published by DAW Books and Cherry accompanied her to the 1976 World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City.

[7] There he met many writers, editors, and publishers as well as a number of the artists who were doing paintings for science fiction and fantasy book covers.

[6] Later that evening Cherry was able to meet Michael at a dinner that C.J.’s publisher, Donald A. Wollheim of DAW Books, had invited them to.

Cherryh encouraged Cherry to do the cover and interior illustrations for Ealdwood, a fantasy novella C. J. was bringing out with Donald M. Grant Publishing.

[9] The Chesley Awards are presented annually by ASFA, The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists to honor excellence in the field.

[8] That same year Artist's Market published a lead article by Cherry entitled Research Turns Fantasy Into Reality in which Cherry provided an insider's view into the day to day effort involved in operating a successful business as a freelance illustrator.

[2] Since 1980, Cherry had lived on Pineoak Drive in Edmond, Oklahoma and worked out of his studio there, but in December 1999 he and his family moved to McKinney, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

[2] Once settled in, Cherry accepted an offer from William Fawcett to do the cover and all of the interior illustrations – color and monochrome – for an oversized, coffee table book for Ballantine Books which would be entitled The World of Shannara, a companion guide to the fantasy world created by Terry Brooks.

[1][2] The World of Shannara, by Terry Brooks and illustrated by David Cherry was published by Ballantine Books in 2001.

During the development of the game, Cherry's job description at Ensemble Studios had begun to morph to suit the changing artistic needs of the project, which resulted in him "preparing marketing materials: ads, brochures, magazine covers, etc.

At the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2001, his box cover art was displayed seven stories tall directly over the entrance to E3.

[2] Eventually, Cherry taught himself how to work in 3D Studio Max and joined the Ensemble Modeling Team.