February Artfest: My Lasting Memory

All of us have a cover that says everything about the game; that has shaped our views of where the game came from and what it could be, and this is mine. I picked up the classic D&D boxed set as my first purchase and I've been chasing that fantasy that was inspired by its cover ever since.

As this is my last entry in the February Art Fest I just wanted to take a minute and say thank you to the men and women who made this hobby what it is today, and who continue to inspire my imagination, and the imaginations of so many of us. Thank you to the artists who gave us the visuals that have shaped us, and the authors whose words directed us. Thanks to the editors, playtesters, and all the unsung heroes who have made this hobby something that is more than just a game.

Thank you all.

February Artfest: Untitled by John Berkley

Untitled by John Berkley

I absolutely love this painting by John Berkley.

It has everything I think about when day dreaming about floating in space and being attacked by some unknown force. The ship seems to phase across reality, as though it weren't fully able to exist in this dimension alone. The fiery explosion near what I can only assume is its engines screams across the void of space, "Bad shit is happening and we're all fucked!" Then there's the near-by planets that seem far too close for comfort in a universe where distance is measured in the millions and not the thousands of miles.

All and all this is the sort of ship I dream about when I think of playing Metamorphosis Alpha or Star Frontiers; and it's the ship I wish I had in Spell Jammer.

Your thoughts?

February Artfest: Red Dragon Challenge by Chris Achilleos

Red Dragon Challenge by Chris Achilleos

While I don't particularly like the design of the red dragon there is nothing wrong with the way that this picture is composed. The female knight in the foreground with her massive shield ready to kill this mad lizard is clearly the wildest thing there. The backgrounds are neat and the castle at the top of the painting is grand, but look at all of that plunder she's been dragging along behind her!

That's one bad chick right there.

February Artfest: Best Dungeons and Dragons Cover of All Time?

Player's Handbook Cover by David Trampier

Yesterday I talked about David Trampier's Player's Handbook cover and how it wasn't my favorite cover from Dungeons and Dragons products. Not surprisingly this got a bit of traffic as I had people telling me that Dave's illustration was superior to just about anything else that came before or since. 

Poppycock. 

While Trampier's cover has become iconic, it's just as likely that this status is the result of its place as the original cover for the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook as is it for its originality and evocative nature. If we examine the covers for each of the hardback books from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons it quickly becomes apparent that not only was David's cover not the best among the group, but that it wasn't even in the top five (I'd cover later editions of the game, but the point will be proven shortly so there's no need).

Original DMG Cover by David C. Sutherland III

DMG Cover Redux by Jeff Easley[1]

Deities and Demigods Cover by Erol Otus

Legends and Lore Cover by Jeff Easley

Fiend Folio Cover by Emmanuel

Monster Manual II Cover by Jeff Easley

Oriental Adventures Cover by Jeff Easley

Monster Manual Cover by Jeff Easley

Monster Manual Cover by David C. Sutherland III

Greyhawk Adventures Cover by Jeff Easley

Manual of the Planes by Jeff Easley

Dragonlance Cover by Jeff Easley

Wilderness Survival Guide Cover by Jeff Easley

Dungeoneer's Survival Guide Cover by Jeff Easley

Unearthed Arcana Cover by Jeff Easley

Out of the AD&D covers I personally am torn between the original DMG cover by David C. Sutherland III and the Wilderness Survival Guide by Jeff Easley. 

The DMG painting is like a glimpse into the possibilities of the Dungeons and Dragons game. You have the fanciful city in the background that mixes elements from Medieval Europe, Mezzo-America, and the Middle East. The wild, red sea with its frothing waves crashing against the jagged shore and the flaming horizon sends me reeling with the possibilities of what could be going on in this world we're seeing. It's the sort of cover that launches a thousand campaigns and keeps you traveling back to look at it for inspiration, and a prime example as to why David Sutherland should be higher rated as an artist.

Original DMG Cover by David C. Sutherland III

My other favorite, the Wilderness Survival Guide possess all the elements to a great game of Dungeons and Dragons. A treasure guarded by a vile monster, a damsel in distress (sometimes the maiden in need of rescue isn't a woman at all, but a idiot Bard who should have died when he was used to check for traps on the way up the top of the mountain), and the Heroes are on the way. Unlike Trampier's cover the adventure isn't behind the party, but in front of them - that's the way things should be. We shouldn't be looking at the aftermath of the adventure but at the potential for where things are going and what they will be in the future.

Wilderness Survival Guide Cover by Jeff Easley

Your thoughts?

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[1] While the cover is credited to Donald Sutherland III in my copy the signature on the painting is clearly Jeff Easley's. My guess is that mine holds a misprint when crediting the cover illustration.

February Artfest: AD&D Player's Handbook Cover by Dave Trampier

AD&D Player Handbook Cover by Dave Trampier

Over the last few years this cover by Dave Trampier has been fetishized by the old school community and been recreated countless times. Some have even called it the Greatest Cover Ever.

It's not though. 

This cover tells a lot about what it means to be an adventurer in the world of Dungeons and Dragons but it isn't the most inspiring cover. The adventures are shown after the battle, after the danger is long over, and other than the gigantic gems the idol uses for eyes there really isn't a lot here for you to want to emulate. 

They aren't heroes ready for battle, their bored adventurers hoping that something exciting will show up on the map around the next bend. 

Two Great Recreations of an Icon. 

By Dan Scott

By SaxonAngel

February Artfest: Emirkol the Chaotic by David Trampier

Emirikol the Chaotic by David Trampier

When I first saw this picture I thought it was simply amazing, but over the years I've I've found that I like this picture less and less. Which is odd because I absolutely love Tramp, but there's just something about the cross-hatching that I don't like. Perhaps it's that you lose the definition of the buildings on the right or that the men coming out of the doorway on the right just seem unfinished. Or maybe it's that the woman fleeing on the left skirt gets lost in the shadow of the building.  

Either way, it's a favorite of many an OSR blogger and I feel like I would be remiss not to feature it during this month, but I'm really not that thrilled with it.

February Artfest: Berserker by Chris Achilleos

Berserker by Chris Achilleos

I don't play Dungeons and Dragons to imagine myself hiding in the back of the pack, hoping that the vile hordes never make it to me. I play it to the hill; climbing over the table and chucking dice at the Dungeon Master.

This painting by Chris Achilleos exemplifies how I play the game. Everything from the orc raising his club overhead to the knight leaping onto the hordes' outstretched shields just so he can be the first one to meet the enemy. I love this painting and I love this style of play.

February Artfest: Untitled by John Blanche

Untitled by John Blanche

Oh, the glory that is Warhammer!

When I first encountered the world of Warhammer it was through the art work of John Blanche. Back in the early '00s I ran across a collection of Warhammer art when I was at school and I could not stop flipping through that old, battered book. And it smelled of smoke and failure but the art was more than anything I had ever imagined when it came to fantasy art.

Just look at this magnificent painting above!

That's the world that I send my players into time, and time again. We fight demons and impossible odds because of the art of men like John Blanche - only unlike most games influenced by Warhammer, we still have hope of victory.

February Artfest: Mindwerks by Kevin Long

Mindwerks Cover by Kevin Long

Long before I began collecting Dungeons and Dragons books I wandered in many comic book/gaming shops in search of Defenders comics, and this book was always there. The woman with the impossible bosom and that menacing smile, surrounded by those neutered, demonic clones in vats. 

For years I dreamed about that cover wondering what sort of mad game RIFTS was and what sort of strange people must play it. Every time I would wonder about those comic book/gaming shops I would pick up this book and wonder what those scientists wandering about the laboratory were thinking. Did they think that growing sexless demons was a good idea?

And why is that woman wearing a cape and holding a mechanical heart?

February Artfest: Jabberwocky by Rodney Matthews

Jabberwocky by Rodney Matthews

While not a part of the Dungeons and Dragons grouping that I've been running with as a theme for this month I had to add this to the group. Rodney Matthews is a phenomenal talent who can create these sort of mind bending illustrations that make you long to reread old books and go careening off into forgotten dungeons and foreboding woodlands.

And am I wrong, or is there no way in hell that, that knee-knocked little girl is going to beat the Jabberwocky in front of that pregnant tree?

February Artfest: Reckoners by Brom

Reckoners by Brom

I remember when I first started seeing the covers of those Dark Sun books back in the early nineties and I thought, what sort of hellish world am I being exposed to? Then as saw the woman in the green bikini top I thought, a fucking great world.

February Artfest: Midnight Snack by Clyde Caldwell

Midnight Snack by Clyde Caldwell

While it's certain that no one will be inspired to play a guy getting his life sucked out by a vampire queen this amazing painting by Clyde Caldwell is nonetheless one of my favorite bits of vampire cheesecake.

Just a fun painting on every level.

February Artfest: Untitled by Jeff Easley

Untitled by Jeff Easley

If this image above doesn't make you want to pick up your dice and start playing Dungeons and Dragons then what I have nothing for you, son. everything about this image screams out the best Dungeons and Dragons game I could imagine. Overwhelming odds, dragons, and a last stand that would make Don Quixote stand up and applaud.

Thank god for Jeff Easley!

February Artfest: Star Frontiers by Larry Elmore

Star Frontiers by Larry Elmore

I love this painting. 

Every time that I look at it I find myself thinking about what it must be like to be stranded on a world where you don't know anyone and only know that it's hostile. Hopelessness could threaten to overwhelm you but a laser has a way of keeping that fear at bay. 

Perfect piece to inspire a campaign and a lifetime of gaming. 

Your thoughts?

February Artfest: TSR Jam by Todd Lockwood

TSR Jam by Todd Lockwood

Like the greatest of comic book mash-ups this piece by Todd Lockwood is the sort of dream fodder that often sends role-playing game enthusiasts running to the bank so they can pick up a copy. And I have to admit that I'm not immune as I almost popped on this $15.00 print directly from the man. 

Who am I kidding? I'm buying this thing just as soon as I get done here.

February Artfest: Rogues by Dave Trampier

Rogues by Dave Trampier

When I first ran across this illustration in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide I found myself falling in love with the idea of killing everything and taking it's stuff. As greedy as that chubby thief is I found myself all the more so for Dave Trampier's art and for the world he was drawing. 

Still haven't gotten my fill of either of them, you?

February Artfest: Crystal Visions by Clyde Caldwell

Crystal Visions by Clyde Caldwell

One of the things that I love about this oil painting by Clyde Caldwell is the idea that this sorceress has gotten up late one night, teased her hair and come down in her nightie to start scrying on her boyfriend who's probably cheating on her. Seriously, the look on her face says it all. 

Your thoughts?

February Artfest: Dungeoneer's Survival Guide Cover by Jeff Easley

Untitled by Jeff Easley

When I first ran across the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide I bought it based on the Easley cover alone. Not only did the book introduce me to Douglas Niles but that cover by Easley has kept my mind racing through the underground chambers of this world and wondering what's waiting for me down there. 

What about you guys?

February Artfest: Red Wizard by Fred Fields

Red Wizard by Fred Fields

Looking at this wizard by Fred Fields is like looking into a vision of death that seems to be warping the very fabric of reality around him as he binds the cosmic powers into a spell of never ending death, pain, and destruction. 

The wizards you see today are a pale imitation of this bad boy and only wish they could live up to his example. Thank you Fred Fields for painting this and for showing us all where we could go and what we could be. 

Your thoughts?

February Artfest: Bluff by Brom

Bluff by Brom

I read once that some fool was complaining about the worlds that Brom brought to us through his art. They were too dark and dangerous for this individual. I would argue that without the worlds of Brom that many of us would never have imagined the brutal realities of our fantasy games.

By the way, does anyone else wonder what the woman in this picture is bluffing?