Talon developed an interest in art at an early age. He received his Bachelors degree in Fine Arts (BFA) from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), then received his ISDP Master’s Degree (MA) from Syracuse University in the United States. In 2007, he received the terminal degree of Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration from the University of Hartford.

Durwin used his education to get a job as a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He taught in the Sequential Art, Illustration, Graphic Design and Computer Art departments.

After almost a decade at SCAD, Durwin moved to Indiana to teach at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

In August 2007, Talon left IUPUI. He has since resumed instructing Illustration at SCAD.

His first book, Panel Discussions from TwoMorrows Publishing, is an overview of techniques for developing sequential art by some of the most notable names in the comics field. It has been described as "indispensable reading for anyone interested in the subject of sequential art."

His second book, Comics Above Ground, also from TwoMorrows Publishing, features top comics professionals talking about their inspirations and training from the comics profession and its effects in "Mainstream Media," including: Conceptual Illustration, Video Game Development, Children's Books, Novels, Design, Illustration, Video Game Animation, Motion Pictures and other media.

His artwork has been featured on the covers of Batman ("Officer Down"), Skinwalker, and Queen & Country. A review of Skinwalker #3 commented that "[t]he covers by Durwin Talon are a wonderful blend of pastel and oil that prompt you into wishing we could read a whole book that looks like this."

He has contributed artwork for Marvel Comics and DC Comics as well as worked on games and trading cards for Upper Deck, White Wolf, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast. His sequential artwork has been accepted into the Society of Illustrators' 49th Annual Exhibition.

He worked on his own comic Bonds, and Beautiful Scars: A Life Well-Lived, in collaboration with Guin Thompson. The first two issues of Bonds were released by Image Comics in 2007 and issue #3 shipped and completed the series in 2009. Beautiful Scars is a three-issue mini-series being published by Archaia Studios Press, and will be released in October 2009.

Until August 2007, Talon was an Associate Professor, in the New Media Program at the School of Informatics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He now teaches in the Illustration department at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Books

Books include:

• Panel Discussions: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2002, reprinted July 2007, ISBN 1-893905-14-4)
• Comics Above Ground: How Sequential Art Affects Mainstream Media (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-893905-31-4)

Comics

Comics work includes:

• Bonds (Image Comics, August 2007)
• Scars: A Life Well-Lived (with Guin Thompson, 3-issue mini-series, Archaia Studios Press, Spring 2009, forthcoming)

Covers include:

• Batman: Officer Down (DC Comics)
• Queen & Country (Oni Press)
• Skinwalker (Oni Press)

Games

Works in the gaming arena include:

• Upper Deck
• White Wolf, Inc.
• Wizards of the Coast

Interviews

• CBR News: Durwin Talon "Bonds" with Comics, Comic Book Resources, July 11, 2007
• Interview, Slushfactory, July 16, 2007