This is one time I hope everyone does not show up and it allows me to play. I feel my Ranger just might survive the 3rd room.
DiTerlizzi would be my first choice. In my opinion, his work on Planescape helped to start changing what I hated so much about the 2nd edition artwork: girl (or sometimes guy) posing with dragon and looking at the camera. Everything was so STATIC. I have a strong dislike of Elmore and Caldwell for this reason.
I think the art department at White Wolf really helped to revitalize the genre. When I started playing Vampire in the mid to late 90's I was amazed at how DYNAMIC the art was. I really think it helped (along with DiTerlizzi) pave the way for the awesome artwork that we now have and come to expect with our RPG books. Wayne Reynolds is the current master of this style, but Josh Timbrook, Christopher Shy, Guy Davis, Vince Locke, Tim Bradstreet, and Leif Jones would all be welcome additions in my opinion.
Probably just sound repetitive, but Elmore and Easley. I appreciate the rest, but they really defined things for me.
Dave Trampier, Jeff Dee & Erol Otus stand out as 1st edition artists for me. Yet when I think of the current 3.x artwork, and what's been done for PF/Golarion, I have to say I'm not sure I would see their artwork as fitting in to the setting.
But when it comes to 2nd edition, my favorite artists have to be Brom (got me into Dark Sun in a big way) and DiTerlizzi (ditto for Planescape). An earlier poster had a good idea; Tony for the First World & fey. As for Brom...well, he could draw most anything in Golarion and make me want it.
I am so getting voted off the message boards for this, but I've never been a huge Otus fan.
I am so getting voted off the message boards for this, but I've never been a huge Otus fan.
Honestly, the appeal nowadays is nostalgia. So many parts of 1st edition had his very distinctive artwork that it brings back good memories seeing it or newer pieces (like in some 3.x Dungeon Crawl Classics covers).
If I had started D&D w/ 2nd edition or later, I'm not sure I would see what the big deal is about his artwork. Though for all I know you DID start w/ 1st edition, and it's just a matter of taste ;-)
I would like to see art by Kevin McCann. He was, imho, the best b&w illustrator in the 2nd Edition era.
Errol Otus, no doubt.
Todd Lockwood.
- Zorg
I am so getting voted off the message boards for this, but I've never been a huge Otus fan.
Nah.. You'll notice that even though I was the first to bring him up, I'm not sure I've have him doing iconics. In fact, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't.
(Actually, I'd guess I'd say Elmore for iconics)
But in 1978, before I realized that this game would be some small part of my life.. for the rest of my life.. Erol Otus was the guy on the scene. His art was part of the defining moment, right along with all the guys who made this game.
His art isn't the best, sure.
But the early music of the Beatles, Jackson Five, Elvis, and the Rolling Stones wasn't terribly sophisticated or complex. Taken into a modern context, we probably wouldn't make very much of it. ("She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah")
Erol Otus was just the guy who helped us visualize the dawn of the game.
But you don't have to think he was all that good, in the modern context.
I am so getting voted off the message boards for this, but I've never been a huge Otus fan.
Honestly, I wouldn't say I was either, though I like some of his works. I may have started playing with his illustrations, but the artist I miss the most--as it is clear this thread has left the rails--is LOCKWOOD.
See? I was good for a long time.
Honestly, the appeal nowadays is nostalgia. So many parts of 1st edition had his very distinctive artwork that it brings back good memories seeing it or newer pieces (like in some 3.x Dungeon Crawl Classics covers).
If I had started D&D w/ 2nd edition or later, I'm not sure I would see what the big deal is about his artwork. Though for all I know you DID start w/ 1st edition, and it's just a matter of taste ;-)
Well, I started with the funky reddish (not the red) Basic set, then moved on to 1st edtion AD&D when I read Oriental Adventures for the first time at the book store.
If I remember correctly, I think that was an Otus cover on that Basic set (with the spellcaster and the dragon in the underground cavern with the river in it).
I guess I didn't really start identifying with artwork until I stared seeing Elmore, Parkinson, Easley, and artists like that. Then again, now that I think of it, I didn't really get into the art side of D&D until I started reading Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels . . .
I like Otus' stuff because the guy's got a style. I think he drew the Sin Dragon in Testament - and it's really, really great. Artists like Elmore leave me kind of cold, although I know plenty of folks who just love it. As for Pathfinder, though, I think it's found a style that works. Outside of some fringe product or other, it should probably just stick to what's working. I'd rather see Otus doing a non-world specific tome of horrors or something than mucking about in the well-defined world of Golorion.
Oh yeah, this thread should in no way be taken as any sort of complaint about the current artists being used and I will Mike Tyson the ears off anyone who tries to hijack it for that purpose.
Much love to Reynolds, Hou, Prescott, Wilderman, Yan and every other artist that has shown up in Pathfinder so far. Keep on keeping on.
Meh, Reynolds is overrated. Just kidding! ... or am I? ;)
But seriously, I'm going to agree, DeTerlizzi would be my first choice, especially for Fey, Outsiders, Cthulian entities, and other eldritch things. I loved his expressive, otherworldly style.
I hadn't thought of Phil Foglio until someone just mentioned him, but that'd be cool as heck. He's great at giving a sense of humor and to things, in the same way as Kyle Hunter does these days.
Jim Holloway would be another favorite choice of mine. His work was excellent, and I was particularly fond of his black and white art. Great use of stark shadows to create a sense of light, dark, and dimension. Look at B4, The Lost City, if you want to know what I mean.
Tony DiTerlizzi. He made Planescape and Changeling. I love his stuff so very, very much. He and WAR are my favorite D&D artists.
I'm pretty sure this artist has never done anything for D&D, but Luis Royo would be amazing.
I'd also love to see some Thomas Canty...couldn't you picture him doing a set of tarot cards?
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I'm pretty sure this artist has never done anything for D&D, but Luis Royo would be amazing.
I'd also love to see some Thomas Canty...couldn't you picture him doing a set of tarot cards?
I don't THINK he ever did anything for D&D, but then if Paizo wanted to keep things PG13, not sure he'd be the best choice! Darn amazing artist though.
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I don't THINK he ever did anything for D&D, but then if Paizo wanted to keep things PG13, not sure he'd be the best choice! Darn amazing artist though.I'm pretty sure this artist has never done anything for D&D, but Luis Royo would be amazing.
I'd also love to see some Thomas Canty...couldn't you picture him doing a set of tarot cards?
Considering there's a pic in the Pathfinder Beta book of Seoni where you can CLEARLY see the outline of her nip, then it might still be considered PG13 if Luis puts them in SOME clothes :D
Considering there's a pic in the Pathfinder Beta book of Seoni where you can CLEARLY see the outline of her nip, then it might still be considered PG13 if Luis puts them in SOME clothes :DI don't THINK he ever did anything for D&D, but then if Paizo wanted to keep things PG13, not sure he'd be the best choice! Darn amazing artist though.I'm pretty sure this artist has never done anything for D&D, but Luis Royo would be amazing.
I'd also love to see some Thomas Canty...couldn't you picture him doing a set of tarot cards?
Not all of Royo's work has been nudes. In fact, he has done numerous Fantasy book covers. Elizabeth Hayden's Rhapsody, a number of David Gemmel and Patricia Briggs' works have Royo covers . . .
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Considering there's a pic in the Pathfinder Beta book of Seoni where you can CLEARLY see the outline of her nip, then it might still be considered PG13 if Luis puts them in SOME clothes :DI don't THINK he ever did anything for D&D, but then if Paizo wanted to keep things PG13, not sure he'd be the best choice! Darn amazing artist though.I'm pretty sure this artist has never done anything for D&D, but Luis Royo would be amazing.
I'd also love to see some Thomas Canty...couldn't you picture him doing a set of tarot cards?
Not all of Royo's work has been nudes. In fact, he has done numerous Fantasy book covers. Elizabeth Hayden's Rhapsody, a number of David Gemmel and Patricia Briggs' works have Royo covers . . .
I think they Paizo should get him to do at least ONE picture for them of an iconic.
... but just to disappoint most the men, have him do like Seltyiel instead while they keep thinking they're getting Seoniville.
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Larry Elmore no doubt.I concur, but Easley would be good too. I miss Parkinson.
True enough on both accounts.
I guess Elmore always just felt iconic to me with fantasy art. I was really impressed and felt it right that he did the last cover to the Dragon Magazine with him being older iconic while Wayne Reynolds, newer blood, did the last Dungeon. It was just a good match up.
I'm trying to remember who it was that did that "soft" black/gray/white art in some of the Ravenloft books(and the Shadow Elves supplement for Mystara) too...Yu're thinking of Stephen Fabian, who had quite a career in pulp fanzines before working on Ravenloft.
Yeah Stephen Fabian gets my vote too - loved all the interior art that he did for the Basic D&D Gazeteers... him and Clyde Caldwell kinda defined my formative rpg years, so would be great to see something from either
Considering there's a pic in the Pathfinder Beta book of Seoni where you can CLEARLY see the outline of her nip, then it might still be considered PG13 if Luis puts them in SOME clothes :DI don't THINK he ever did anything for D&D, but then if Paizo wanted to keep things PG13, not sure he'd be the best choice! Darn amazing artist though.I'm pretty sure this artist has never done anything for D&D, but Luis Royo would be amazing.
I'd also love to see some Thomas Canty...couldn't you picture him doing a set of tarot cards?
Not all of Royo's work has been nudes. In fact, he has done numerous Fantasy book covers. Elizabeth Hayden's Rhapsody, a number of David Gemmel and Patricia Briggs' works have Royo covers . . .
Royo...oh yeah.
Michael Whelan would be excellent...
Whelan sometimes has that Otus feel, but always with high quality art.
I just HAVE to go with Erol Otus on this one. Whenever EO art work was shown "back in the day", you just KNEW you were heading into a world of hurt. And you would love every minute of it.
Erol Otus without hesitation.
ON Track
Elmore ( Any paperback that featured his artwork was usually purchased by me as well )
Tony DiTerlizzi ( Planescape... his artwork..wow.)
OFF Track
T Lockwood ( loved his version of the iconics in 3e)
WAReynolds ( I actually was of mixed feelings of his work until the updated psionics book for 3.5, now I am a fan)
Janet Allusio ( yeah, I know.. she was Earthdawn and Shadowrun..but her {yipes, stick in the word that means lots of dots that form a picture ..stippling? } style fantasy ALWAYS won me over.
PD Breeding-Black ( the critters from Talislantia that this one did ... oh my. NICE. Not sure about color work... but the B&W stuff NICE.
And as for Jeff Dee. He was the reason I purchased V&V and TopSecret. Maxwell Toth AKA Mammoth is still a staple villain in any supes game I run. And the TOP Secret illustration of the guy leaping with the black sweater and holding the automatic has been the basis of many a character for me. But I just don't see him for Pathfinder. Such is the limitation on my imagination. :P
Cool idea for a thread though.. got me thinking alot.
wasgreg
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I met Jeff Easley at the Texas Ren Fest last year, and he was a cool mofo (and my favorite "second wave" D&D artist), so he definitely gets my vote. Trampier was my favorite "first wave" guy, so he gets my vote as well.
And no one does hotties like Elmore, so he'll do for the iconics...
Brom and DiTerlizzi would be cool as well.
Fun story, I took a friend of mine to his first Ren Fest last year, he happens to be an artist and we wandered into Easley's shop. I'm kinda browsing, my friend is 'talking shop' with Jeff. As we were getting ready to leave my friend noticed a print that he liked (maybe a Dragonlance piece, I don't recall) and he says, 'Oh I always liked that one how much is this?' Jeff says 'Five Thousand.' My buddy about died.
(Niether of us had looked closely enought to notice that it was an original piece, not a print.)
I'd love to see him do some PFRPG art. Or Caldwell. Or Elmore. Or... yeah, pretty much any of them. ;)
I've always liked this one by Caldwell:
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I met Jeff Easley at the Texas Ren Fest last year, and he was a cool mofo (and my favorite "second wave" D&D artist), so he definitely gets my vote. Trampier was my favorite "first wave" guy, so he gets my vote as well.
And no one does hotties like Elmore, so he'll do for the iconics...
Brom and DiTerlizzi would be cool as well.
Fun story, I took a friend of mine to his first Ren Fest last year, he happens to be an artist and we wandered into Easley's shop. I'm kinda browsing, my friend is 'talking shop' with Jeff. As we were getting ready to leave my friend noticed a print that he liked (maybe a Dragonlance piece, I don't recall) and he says, 'Oh I always liked that one how much is this?' Jeff says 'Five Thousand.' My buddy about died.
(Niether of us had looked closely enought to notice that it was an original piece, not a print.)
I'd love to see him do some PFRPG art. Or Caldwell. Or Elmore. Or... yeah, pretty much any of them. ;)
I've always liked this one by Caldwell:
When you come over Sunday, I'll let you touch my autographed Easley print :)
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I am so getting voted off the message boards for this, but I've never been a huge Otus fan.Honestly, the appeal nowadays is nostalgia. So many parts of 1st edition had his very distinctive artwork that it brings back good memories seeing it or newer pieces (like in some 3.x Dungeon Crawl Classics covers).
Amen, let's face it, while EO is definitely synonymous with early D&D art, it's due to nostalgia and not for his artistry that we like him =)
Amen, let's face it, while EO is definitely synonymous with early D&D art, it's due to nostalgia and not for his artistry that we like him =)I am so getting voted off the message boards for this, but I've never been a huge Otus fan.Honestly, the appeal nowadays is nostalgia. So many parts of 1st edition had his very distinctive artwork that it brings back good memories seeing it or newer pieces (like in some 3.x Dungeon Crawl Classics covers).
Actually I rather like his artistry and style. Most D&D artists aren't exactly Leonardo when it comes to artistry (or especially - anatomy).
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Got to thinkin (scary) & you might as well just add the iconic artists of D&D. It would be a neat idea to bring them all back into the fold. At least just once.
Easley thou I'd have to say his D&D/TSR heyday thou, his later artwork to me, kind of is a let down, & of course you couldn't get Parkinson, but Elmore, Clyde Caldwell (epically in the style of the D&D Basic rules Gazetteer covers. Jim Holloway would be awesome for goblin hi-jinks & the rest of the gang, damn that would be some works of art for me!!
Erol Otus was ok, but I never was much of a fan, his style did work for early D&D but I don't think so for today's. The artwork much like the game has a in your face feel to it & I Erol's simple style wouldn't fit.
RM
Larry Elmore!