Dan Paladin

Daniel Joseph Paladin (born September 14, 1979^[1]), also known as Synj, is an American video game artist, designer, and co-founder of the video game company The Behemoth.

He began collaborating with Newgrounds creator Tom Fulp and in the early 2000's designed several Flash-based browser games: Sack Smash 2001, Chainsaw the Children, Dad n' Me, and, most notably, Alien Hominid.^[2] In 2002, he, Fulp, John Baez, and Brandon LaCava founded the video game company The Behemoth. Paladin designed the critically acclaimed remake of Alien Hominid, as well as the hack-and-slash game Castle Crashers, with his 2D style becoming signature for these games.^[3][4]

Aside from working for The Behemoth, Paladin has also worked for Gratuitous Games and Presto Studios. He also composed the polka-style closing credits tune for the Cyanide & Happiness animated shorts.^[5]

Paladin lives in San Diego, California, where The Behemoth is located. He was an active member of Newgrounds.^[6]

Castle Crashers, a game Paladin is credited as the art director of, won two awards in Independent Games Festival 2007: "Excellence In Visual Art" and "Audience Award".^[7][8]

• Dan Paladin's profile at Newgrounds
• Paladin's site
• Some of Paladin's sketches on Castle Crashers