The Golden Age of D&D and its Art...

[MerricB]

Apart from my happy delvings into playing D&D and DDM, I also have a fond devotion for Magic: the Gathering. One of the really good things about MTG is the website, which has many excellent articles.

Here's one, which is applicable to D&D - both in the game and the artwork:
Honeymoon in Dominaria - The Golden Age Theory

For me, I'm as happy as I've ever been playing D&D now. I'm playing more than ever; I've got many good friends I see to play the game; and I'm known and respected across the world. (Yes, by about three people in the USA. But that's enough to give me warm, tingly feelings ).

However, I can't look back at the time I was introduced to D&D without thinking, "They had it right, then". Let's face it: 1982-5 was pretty much a good time to be starting. AD&D was fully out. The GDQ adventures were available, the Basic set was at it's height, Dragonlance was just around the corner, and the classic Desert of Desolation adventures were there as well.

Heck, even the graphic design on the adventures was brilliant!

I look at D&D art today and I know that, technically, it's very good. But it isn't Elmore or Parkinson. (Heck, Lockwood is too late for me!)

I look at D&D adventures today... and wonder where they are. (Yes, I know they're coming back. And the ones I do have, although fine books, aren't as great as I3-5).

Oh, just a note: Fane of the Drow reminds me vividly of my very first AD&D module: D3. Not of the final section (the Vault), but of the encounters faced on the way there. It was always the Descent that grabbed me, never the final location...

Cheers!

 

[Corsair]

I started playing in 2nd edition, and I gotta say while some of it was ok, (the adventuring party with the dead drake just inside the cover of one of the books, either DMG or PHB I forget, was a favorite) much of it was forgettable. The only 1e thing I liked was the Astral Dreadnaught.

My personal favorite piece of 3rd edition art is the elven chain in the 3.5 DMG. Yeah yeah, so I have a thing for elf chicks in mithral chain.

 

[diaglo]

i'll say it.

the Art today SuXX.


DAT was the man.

 

[Zander]

However, I can't look back at the time I was introduced to D&D without thinking, "They had it right, then". Let's face it: 1982-5 was pretty much a good time to be starting. AD&D was fully out...

I started playing D&D at this time and I agree with everything in your post about the game. But I'm not sure if it really was the golden age or if it just seems that way because it was all new to us back then.

 

[Zendragon]

I started aroung the same time and have similar feeelings. I have a signed "Raistlin and Crysania" litho hanging right behind me as I type this. It brings back all the good memories associated with learning the game and making new friends. I have similar feelng or some older computer games. Wizardry 7 was an awesome game that all other RPG's I play get ranked against. The graphics are archaic against todays standards, but I still remember the good times talking about it with friends who were playing it at the same time. Master of Magic I still play. It took a lot of tweaking to get this old DOS classic to run on Windows XP. I still think it is better than games like Civ 3 and Empire Earth. Both of these new games I still play though. Enjoy the fond feeling the of the artwork and look for the few gems that are out there today. Who knows, in five years you may be looking back and asking why isn't 4th edition as good as third edition.

 

[philreed]

I have to admit that one of the best parts of "30 Years of Adventure" was seeing the drastically different art styles.

 

[CarlZog]

Great article, Merric!

I don't play Magic, but the guy is absolutely correct about how people view things, whether it's the state of their hobby, music, cars, or pop culture in general.

As for the artwork, today's art is technically refined, but also highly stylized. I think it's the latter characteristic that turns off some people, particularly those reared on the more cartoony drawings of DAT and Sutherland in the 70s, or the stiffer realism of Elmore in the 80s.

No matter where you started, I think we are all inclined to view fondly the artwork that first helped us visualize all the wonders of the D&D world.

Carl

 

[rogueattorney]

I don't agree that 82-85 is D&D's "Golden Age". If we're going to liken D&D's "ages" to those of comic books, 82-85 would be more like the "Silver Age" of D&D. It was the 2nd big splash of popularity, with a whole bunch of new blood contributing to it. Actually, I'd probably put the years at 83 to 87, roughly coninciding with... the release of the Mentzer versions of Basic D&D, the classic Hickman modules (Ravenloft, Desert of Desolation, Dragonlance), the release of the Greyhawk box, and then ending with (or maybe better put, culminating with) the first few Forgetten Realms products and the Gazetteer series. The artists associated with this time period would be Elmore, Caldwell, Parkinson, Easley, and to a slightly lesser extent Holloway (he's usually most associated with Paranoia).

I think the Golden Age of D&D would be 1975 to 1981, which covers the first mass publishing of the original set, it's explosion of popularity, the introduction of AD&D, the first Basic sets, and pretty much all of the "classic" adventure modules. The artists associated with this time period would first be Tramp, Wham and Sutherland through about 1979, and then be Otus, Willingham, Roslof, Dee, and DSL.

R.A.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Agreed, the Mid-80s were a great time to get into the hobby. And the art was a big part of that. I finally tracked down all the old TSR art collections and it's always a pleasure to look through them.

The concept of a golden age, I think, is deeply tied to one's own perceptions. I like to think that there's always a golden age around the corner, defined by peaks in excitement and imagination and just plain fun.

 

[Bronn]

I miss the Jeff Easley covers.