Howard David Johnson (born 2 September 1954) is an American photorealist illustrator (drawer, painter, digital artist) of portrait, historical, mythological/religious art.

[3][6][7][8] Born in Mötsch (a district of Bitburg), West Germany, the son of an American Air Force officer stationed at Bitburg Air Base.

He was trained at the University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Art and began his career working as a scientific illustrator for their School of Paleontology reconstructing dinosaurs in 1974.

[1] Johnson has illustrated for books, magazines, games, television programs and computer software.

Clients include the National Geographic Society, Oxford University Press, Universal, Paramount and Disney Studios, PBS television, The History Channel, ABC TV, CBS TV, Warner Home Video, Adobe Photoshop, Doubleday, and Penguin.