Dave Arnson "Artwork"? Help?

captainslinky · Jul 27, 2012

Hi there! I'm new, you'll see that this is my first post and I'm not sure of this is the right thread to ask about this... but I have something that has potential historical importance to we RPG fans that I'm looking to either confirm or deny.

There's a semi-long explanation of the situation along with some very large images here: captain_slinky: But could it be THAT Arneson???, but in summary:

I found a fantasy painting that is signed "Arnson 82" among a ton of new and vintage games at a thrift store. Even if it's not THE Arnson, the image does look very familiar and I'd love to figure out which book/module/magazine I have seen it on before.

ANy help, as always, will be greatly appreciated thanks

RUMBLETiGER · Jul 27, 2012

Welcome! I just read your link. I have no idea, but I hope for your sake it is! Great Find either way. Good Luck!

Samloyal23 · Jul 28, 2012

The content seems right, does it not? Anyone have a sample of Dave's signature?

grodog · Jul 28, 2012

Dave did some art in the OD&D boxed set, per Mike Mornard, but I've not heard that he was a painter (which doesn't mean that he wasn't either). I pinged Paul Stormberg to see what he can say....

trancejeremy · Jul 31, 2012

That's a copy of a picture by Frank Franzetta. It was used as the cover of Karl Edward Wagner's Darkness Weaves

RUMBLETiGER · Jul 31, 2012

trancejeremy said:
That's a copy of a picture by Frank Franzetta. It was used as the cover of Karl Edward Wagner's Darkness Weaves

Uncanny resemblance, but it's obviously a different painting than the Arnson one. Beards are different, nicks in the axe, a lot of details changed. The Frazetta one looks cleaner/sharper, but that could simply be because The Arnson one is depicted so large/zoomed in on the linked webpage.

I wonder which came first. Someone copied someone.

LiL KiNG · Jul 31, 2012

I can't quite make it out but it looks like there is a copyright symbol and '77 at the bottom of the Frazetta picture.
However, this doesn't mean that Arneson didn't paint his own version in '82. Maybe he really like the Frazetta picture and wanted to try his hand at it, imitation is the best form of flattery and all that jazz. Could explain why the nicks in the axe don't show up in his version, those little details are tedious for a new painter to try and it would have been much easier just to paint the axe blades in full. Also would explain the other subtle differences.

A noticeable difference is that you cannot see the prow of the ship on the far sight of the figurehead in the Arneson version as you can in the Frazetta one. This leads me to believe the Arneson one, while still really good, is imitation. Again though, I'd be stoked to have any painting of his regardless and I hope it turns out he (the right Arneson) did paint it.

trancejeremy · Aug 2, 2012

The book (with that cover) came out in January 1978, so it's definitely a copy since that has '82 in it.

While it's somewhat forgotten today, since the author is long dead, it's one of the best fantasy novels written (IMHO) and made a fairly big splash (though none of the later novels really lived up to the first). Kane is written up in one of the early Dragons...