ART!
Deluxe Unhuman
I almost put in my previous post that he was especially good at undead and skeletons, so YES!
Who is the quintessential D&D artist?
I almost put in my previous post that he was especially good at undead and skeletons, so YES!
BronzeDragon
Explorer
Tramp's Lizard-man is awesome. I also love DiTerlizzi's more crocodilian look (as opposed to Tramp's more ophidian one).
BronzeDragon
Explorer
It's pretty much a done deal that the list comes out as:
1 - Elmore
2 - Otus
3 - Easley
The question asked in the topic of the poll does bias the responses toward the earlier artists, since you probably can't call someone "Quintessential" if his influence is that of a latecomer instead of a foundational member.
I don't think it's a coincidence that the first full page art piece you see in the Player's Handbook (other than the cover, obviously) for AD&D 2E is Elmore's depiction of the party celebrating their success against a (very) young green dragon. It's iconic in ways that many other illustrations of these masters seemed to be prone to being. Full page art tended to tell a story, while smaller pieces were more focused on action or portrait.
Otus is pretty much synonym with AD&D 1E art, but also featured heavily in Basic and previous sets. He's as close to being a surrealist as you can get. Easley did some of the greatest covers (Ruppel and Fields also featured prominently in product cover history) ever, and also had plenty of art sprinkled throughout the books.
Tramp, Caldwell and Parkinson form the next group, and it's also easy to see why. Tramp's cover for the PHB is arguably the most iconic D&D image ever and the MM is full of his art as well. Caldwell was responsible, along with Elmore, for the bulk of the wildly popular Dragonlance art. Parkinson is just the best. Fight me.
1 - Elmore
2 - Otus
3 - Easley
The question asked in the topic of the poll does bias the responses toward the earlier artists, since you probably can't call someone "Quintessential" if his influence is that of a latecomer instead of a foundational member.
I don't think it's a coincidence that the first full page art piece you see in the Player's Handbook (other than the cover, obviously) for AD&D 2E is Elmore's depiction of the party celebrating their success against a (very) young green dragon. It's iconic in ways that many other illustrations of these masters seemed to be prone to being. Full page art tended to tell a story, while smaller pieces were more focused on action or portrait.
Otus is pretty much synonym with AD&D 1E art, but also featured heavily in Basic and previous sets. He's as close to being a surrealist as you can get. Easley did some of the greatest covers (Ruppel and Fields also featured prominently in product cover history) ever, and also had plenty of art sprinkled throughout the books.
Tramp, Caldwell and Parkinson form the next group, and it's also easy to see why. Tramp's cover for the PHB is arguably the most iconic D&D image ever and the MM is full of his art as well. Caldwell was responsible, along with Elmore, for the bulk of the wildly popular Dragonlance art. Parkinson is just the best. Fight me.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
Obviously I voted for Jeff Easley and Larry Elmore. But I also voted for Other, because I want to give honorable mention to Jeremy Jarvis, who doesn't get nearly enough credit these days. Most of his stuff is for Magic: the Gathering, but he was one of the illustrators for the 3rd Edition D&D books (including the cover art for Stormwrack). I've also met the guy, and he's good people.
pming
Legend
Hiya!
For me? Only three? Tough... I went with Elmore, Otis and..."Other". My "other" is Valarie Valusek. I absolutely LOVE everything she does/did!
..
If I could add some 'hangers-on'...Easley, Dee, Parkinson and Willingham. In fact, when I was getting into drawing my PC's, my best friend (who is one of those freakishly good artists with zero training?...yeah...), he gave me the best compliment I ever had. "You know, your art style is giving off a very Bill Willingham vibe. I'm digging it".
Oh, and the default never-gonna-be-anyone-better-for-it... Dark Sun's DiTerlizzi!
^_^
Paul L. Ming
For me? Only three? Tough... I went with Elmore, Otis and..."Other". My "other" is Valarie Valusek. I absolutely LOVE everything she does/did!
..
If I could add some 'hangers-on'...Easley, Dee, Parkinson and Willingham. In fact, when I was getting into drawing my PC's, my best friend (who is one of those freakishly good artists with zero training?...yeah...), he gave me the best compliment I ever had. "You know, your art style is giving off a very Bill Willingham vibe. I'm digging it".
Oh, and the default never-gonna-be-anyone-better-for-it... Dark Sun's DiTerlizzi!
^_^
Paul L. Ming
BronzeDragon
Explorer
Now I'm not sure if you meant Dark Sun's Brom or Planescape's DiTerlizzi.
Brom is definitely the face of Dark Sun, while DiTerlizzi set the tone for Planescape. I do find it interesting though, that most people seem to forget DiTerlizzi's importance in the Monstrous Manual. It was absolutely full of his art.
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
Can't argue with that. I do wonder how this sort of poll would break down if separated by editions - for example, for 3e I think most people would pick Wayne Reynolds, while 2e might increase the rankings of DiTerlizzi and Brom (though I think Elmore and Easley would still rate at the top there).
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
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