Monster Manual II Art Gallery!

Hakkenshi · Aug 20, 2002

Oh COME ON!!!
How can anyone NOT think Lockwood is the best after the Invisible Stalker pic in MM1?!

Do you guys remember the (hilarious) idiocy that was the 2e Invis. Stalker pic?

BOZ · Aug 20, 2002

Hakkenshi said:
Do you guys remember the (hilarious) idiocy that was the 2e Invis. Stalker pic?

yeah, can't remember who, but someone even got the "art" credit for that one in the monstrous manual.

Wolfen Priest · Aug 20, 2002

I really think that about 95% of the art in the monstrous compendium was trash. I was amazed when I got it for Christmas in 1990, opened it up and found that they had replace the *great* art from the feind folio and other 1e books with that. Everything was so boring!

Easley and Elmore were great around the time of the D&D Basic boxed set, but I think their quality has diminished slowly since then. Almost like they have gotten into a rut, making their art wayyyy too formulaic, especially Easley's faces! Every male face he paints has the same set of wrinkles going down the cheeks.

Look at the cover of the original 2e PHB and tell me that was not a stupid picture. For the COVER, no less.

I think Baxa is good, but his work just seems to cartoony for me. Not enough GRIT. I mean, that Palladium artist Long might be a little cartoony (maybe even boring at times), but he knows how to make a pciture a little gritty, I think...

Tiefling · Aug 20, 2002

Psion said:
AFAIAC, Wayne Reynolds is THE best 3e artist, bar none. All of his pictures have a sort of active feel to them, which makes most other artists work look boring by comparison. He has a certain distinctive style when it comes to armor. His work in the early classbooks brought many concepts to life for me; the later ones suffer for his absence.

I think my favorite D&D artist is Richard Sardinha. He's great with pastel colors, nice and blended and with beautiful shading. I really wish they'd have him illustrate a whole book.

Desdichado · Aug 20, 2002

Tiefling said:
I think my favorite D&D artist is Richard Sardinha. He's great with pastel colors, nice and blended and with beautiful shading. I really wish they'd have him illustrate a whole book.

He did a lot of very disappointing portraits in Deities and Demigods. But a lot of his other stuff is really good. His Odin and Loki in particular are about as bland and boring and un-godlike as I can imagine, though.

Eridanis · Aug 20, 2002

BOZ said:
yeah, can't remember who, but someone even got the "art" credit for that one in the monstrous manual.

I think it was Roger Moore. (Is he still working for WotC?) For me, it's right up there with Mark Rosewater's art for "Look at Me, I'm the DCI" for M:TG's Unglued set.

Tiefling · Aug 20, 2002

Well, I don't own that book so I can't speak for it

. But from his work in the MM and Oriental Adventures, as well as his MM2 art that I've seen so far, I like him a lot.

kenjib · Aug 20, 2002

Tiefling said:
I think my favorite D&D artist is Richard Sardinha. He's great with pastel colors, nice and blended and with beautiful shading. I really wish they'd have him illustrate a whole book.

Another agreement from me here. I think he's kind of like the Erol Otus of 3e. I love it. In general I like the painted pics much better than the colored line art pics.

I don't care for the cartoony style of Wayne Reynolds in the MM. I can see why other people might like him but to me he really doesn't fit with the feel I want fantasy to convey. Comic books + fantasy = yuck.

By the way -- does anyone know who drew the manticore and displacer beast? They look like the same guy did them both but there's no signature. Whoever he is, I think I'd put him down as my least favorite illustrator in the book. It's a travesty on both counts.

Carnifex · Aug 20, 2002

I have to say, I liked WAR's depiction of the glabrezu in Defenders of the Faith - but in general, I wish they'd bring back DiTerlizzi for the fiends! His Planescape renditions were in general very good and full of life (though could do with updating), and seeing the yugoloth picture in the MM2 has made me yearn for a picture of A'kin to be put in there instead

Upper_Krust · Aug 20, 2002

Joshua Dyal said:
He did a lot of very disappointing portraits in Deities and Demigods. But a lot of his other stuff is really good. His Odin and Loki in particular are about as bland and boring and un-godlike as I can imagine, though.

Loki played by Patrick Stewart (aka Jean Luc Picard)

Sardinha is a bit hit and miss for me. His Sobek was good (looked more alligator than crocodile though), his Poseidon was okay ( though I prefer Arnie Swekels version on page 43), but his Odin and Loki illustrations were pretty bad.