I’m a big fan of Francisco De Goya. My experience with classical artwork is limited, as it is not really an area I have studied. But this dude had one dark, fucked up imagination. The way he exaggerates the facial structure and anatomy of his humans creeps me out, and of course, his famous depiction of Cronus remains the single most horrifying painting I have ever seen. I recently found a collection of his etchings, and while I liked pretty much all of them, these are some of the ones which I found the most inspiring. I can imagine turning any of these into a monster.
The stillness in this piece is palpable. When I look at it, I swear the room gets a little quieter around me.
Nicole Cardiff’s gallery is extensive. I highly recommend you browse through it. There’s page after page of amazing sci-fi and fantasy artwork. These are some of my favorites from just the first page, because there are too many to list them all:
First off, I apologize for my absence over the past two days. For the last week I’ve been in the death-grip of a fucking dreadful cold. I don’t get sick very often, but when I do, it tends to be absolutely debilitating. I won’t go into the gory details of my symptoms, but suffice to say that I’ve experienced a lot of symptoms since last Thursday. Even now I’m hacking up a lung every few minutes. Fortunately for you, that’s not enough to keep me away from a keyboard, so posts will resume their normal schedule from here.
Now, on to today’s lovely depiction of an unholy beast eager to end all life it encounters.
There are a lot of ‘basic’ undead creatures. Stuff we’ve all become used to. The vampire, the ghoul, and the ubiquitous zombie. But if I had to pick the single one which still comes the closest to being honestly frightening to me, it would have to be the skeleton. I don’t know if I could properly say why that is. Perhaps it’s that they seem so much more dead than creatures which still have flesh.
Jérémie Fleury‘s skeleton is hunched over, standing amidst other, less intact bones. Its open grin unsettles me. I think the only thing which would frighten me more about it is if it didn’t have the gaudy glowing eyes. I find the blackness of an empty socket much more scary.
You can see more examples of Jérémie Fleury’s art on his Deviant Art, linked above, or on his website, http://www.trefle-rouge.fr/. He’s made art for a number of interesting-looking products. I don’t know if any of them have English translations, but if not, at least they’re pretty to look at!
As I told the artist of this piece, Jjnaas, this isn’t the kind of thing which normally catches my eye. Brightly colored fantasy stories about children really aren’t my thing. Even when I was a kid I was frustrated by how tame some of the stuff aimed at kids could be. But something about this piece is different. The juxtaposition of the adorable, terrified child; the light and life filtering in from the world above, and the profound darkness that surround them, speaks of a true danger which sets my imagination running.
Jjnaas is immensely skilled. His gallery is massive and I absolutely recommend browsing it. Much of his work is not fantasy themed, but a lot of it is and it’s all worth checking out. For example, I love the architecture in this tavern, with the interior balconies creating an interesting setting for adventure. And this piece titled Pilgrim Route is so quiet and adventurous, I wish I had the artistic knowledge to describe it better.
I’m gonna come clean with you guys: I have a kickstarter problem. Since discovering the website a little less than a year ago, I’ve backed a lot more projects than a person of my modest means has any business donating to. Seriously, look at this shit. There’s just something magical about helping someone do what they really want to do with their lives. To be a part of producing something I believe in, even if all I’m able to contribute is a single dollar. Kickstarter is fucking magical.
Before now I’ve made a point not to use Papers & Pencils to promote kickstarters, but today I learned of one which is relevant to something I posted earlier this year. An animated short called “The Reward.” If you’re a new reader, or just didn’t check it out at the time, here it is again:
Even months after first seeing it, I still go back and watch this video now and again. The music is great, the colors are vibrant, and the narrative fills me with a sense of adventure and an urge to roll some dice. And now the folks behind it are trying to produce a series set in the same world. Here’s a look at what they’re planning:
The first episode will tell the tale of the legend behind the mirror and why the map was created. Afterwards the story picks up just as Vito’s and Wilhelm’s epic quest has been concluded. They are now old and mighty heroes who wander the world. The next episodes will focus on new adventurers who travel out and explore the world. They will all be connected by the treasure map and influenced by the spirit of Alethrion.
What we would like to do with this series is to further develop the universe that we created during the making of “The Reward”. There were so many possibilities which we didn’t use in the short film and from the very beginning we wanted it to work like a pilot. In our opinion “The Reward” is a new take on the fantasy genre and has a spirit of wanderlust and fun and not the classic good versus evil. We want to focus on characters and their individual journeys and make stories that challenge the traditional ways of telling a story. It’s important to us that the characters we create feel alive and full of personality. It is our belief that the story and humour will be best told with strong characters.
We want to make the series closely connected to the short film, but still have it’s own appeal as well. It’s important that it follows the spirit but delivers something new. We don’t want to just copy the succes but we want to explore the same universe and feel of The Reward.
We love animation, we love fantasy and we love to make great stories. We see this as a possibility to take the fantasy genre in a direction that is mixed with the modern world and the values we have today. We hope you will help us get this project on it’s feet so we can create something so magical, so epic, so insanely crazy… that you just might go blind…
I’m sold. There’s not nearly enough high quality fantasy adventure animation out there. And given how enchanting the short film is, I believe these fellows have what it takes to do something phenomenal on a larger scale.
So check out their kickstarter, listen to their pitch, and if you are so inclined, help these fellows get funded.
I don’t need to tell you that dwarfs are my favorite fantasy race, right? Because you guys all know I’m not a moron. And if dwarfs weren’t my favorite fantasy race, I would be a moron, wouldn’t I?
Wouldn’t I? >.>
This fan-fucking-tastic piece of art from IgorIvArt is a gorgeous depiction of dwarven architecture. You really need to view it at full size to pick up on the great detail of the piece. The stylized carvings on either side of the entrance, the streams of molten rock running down the sides, the latticework of the cavern wall, it gets me in the mood to play the most stoic kind of dwarf. I feel like this would be the secret entrance to a great dwarven city. The labyrinthine caverns required to reach this place are so complex and twisting that only a dwarf could navigate it.
IgorIvArt doesn’t have the biggest gallery on DeviantArt yet, but I like this alchemist image a lot as well.
For me, magical rings are the quintessential magic item. Sure magic brooches or magic swords can be cool, and often are, but there’s something about rings. Maybe its the fact that we imbue them with an almost magical significance in our society (wedding rings being the most prominent example). Perhaps it’s because they ornament our hands, and our hands are fuckin’ amazing.
The above piece from *BATTLEFAIRIES is an example of how varied rings can be. It’s something I tried to express myself a few months back, but there’s really no substitute for art when you’re trying to express the appearance of something. I highly recommend you check out the artist’s gallery, where there are several other pieces similar to this one. Including a nice array of weapon designs.
Thus far I’ve made it a rule not to feature any art for Picture Thursday which I can’t properly credit the artist. This, unfortunately, has meant that I’ve had to pass on some really great pieces. For this Thursday, though, I’m breaking that rule for a piece of art which I have a long history with. If anyone does know what individual is responsible for this piece, please please let me know.
As I’ve written many times, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a game with a huge influence on my life. One of the most striking scenes in that game is the area of the Lost Woods where the Master Sword is embedded in a stone altar. This painting captures and expands upon the feelings of that scene perfectly. The forest is dark, but the filtered light makes it welcoming. The mist on the ground hints at a chill in the air. The scene is still, but the stone and the sword speak to me of adventure.
For me the image is at once solemn and comforting. Looking at it makes me feel happy.
I have a great love for ‘wonders of the world,’ as interpreted by the creators of fantasy realms. Monoliths constructed in ages past, which survive long after the death of the empire which begat them. I’m not a huge fan of the Song of Ice and Fire books, but that doesn’t prevent me from enjoying this marvelous depiction of the Titan of Braavos, illustrated by Zippo514 on DeviantArt. I think it was a particularly good choice to use the low angle for the piece, emphasizing the scale of the statue much better than other depictions I’ve seen.
Zippo514 is a marvelous artist. His art is the kind which I just can’t get enough of. They’re varied and filled with motion and grandeur, with very few pieces I’d call ‘simple.’ He also has a lot of messy splashes of color in his art, rather than well defined lines. I can’t get enough of that. It looks gorgeous, and lets my imagination really delve into the piece.
I strongly suggest you take a look at Zippo514’s gallery. In particular some of these pieces:
Old Dungeons and Dragons modules are a great source for interesting art. And while I haven’t been exposed to a lot of them, the cover of The Endless Stair by Ed Greenwood is easily my favorite. The art is by a fellow named Jack Fred, who I’d not heard of before, and who I can’t find any information about. If you know something, let me know so proper credit can be given!
I’ll be the first to admit that the ladies depicted here are stupidly sexualized. If it was just the magic user I could maybe give it a pass, but the thief on the left is simply preposterous. Normally I would pass on a piece of art that has this level of ‘cheesecake’ bullshit in it. But I just fucking love everything else about it.
First, the piece has that great “every-adventurer” thing going on. These characters are nobody you know, and yet they’re every character you’ve ever played. You can put yourself into their shoes instantly. Second, the two men are beautifully equipped. Their gear is mundane and worn. More brightly colored art with cleaner lines is never able to look quite so real as this. Plus you have to love the 1970s style hair.
I also love the poses. Even the women have pretty great poses here, but my favorite is the dark haired man in the center. He’s drawn midway through pulling his axe from his belt, and that’s something you so rarely see in fantasy art. It doesn’t look ‘cool,’ or ‘badass,’ and because of that it seems more real, and thus draws me into the scene all the more.
And on top of all that, there’s the environment. I’m a native of the pacific northwest of the U.S., and this is exactly what this area looks like. The trees and the mountains and the sky and the grass all evoke memories of camping trips I’ve taken. It’s glorious.
I do apologize for the quality of the image. The only ones I could find online were very low resolution, so I opted to scan my own copy of the module instead. Unfortunately it has some minor damage which obscures some of the art.
