Incline Good D&D artwork

[Rahdulan]

Justin Sweet knows his shit. I'm not sure if picture below is actually from any of his D&D commissions, though.

 

[Azalin]

Man, I still have this box. It was my first introduction to D&D and PnP.

Mine too,I still remember a play-it yourself adventure it had that you had to escape from a dungeon you were jailed.I still have it somewhere too

 

[Ulminati]

Not classic D&D, but I came across a HUGE amount of player portraits and general campaign images. They're sorted by categories and there's a lot of good stuff in-between.

http://razir.minus.com/uploads
http://thraen.minus.com/uploads

You're welcome.

 

[Lerk]

I always loved Larry Elmore

I'm sure I don't need to link you anything by him, if you've not heard of him you're a faggot

 

[catfood]

Not classic D&D, but I came across a HUGE amount of player portraits and general campaign images. They're sorted by categories and there's a lot of good stuff in-between.

http://razir.minus.com/uploads
http://thraen.minus.com/uploads

You're welcome.

 

[Servo]

I prefer the older D&D art so much over Pathfinder's comic book style. Makes me want to puke. Stuff like this:

I mean, what exactly the fuck is this supposed to be? Is she shooting a bow on one foot? Perhaps while skipping?

This is so much better:

 

[mastroego]

I prefer the older D&D art so much over Pathfinder's comic book style. Makes me want to puke. Stuff like this:

I'm currently revisiting some of my old PnP stuff. I'm also getting to know about this Pathfinder thing (which, all considered, doesn't look bad honestly).
But the original D&D art really is the stuff of Legends.
Now, feel free to put me among the "nostalgic", whatever that means.
But I believe our take is the objective one: I'm sure the D&D craze REALLY started with the Red Box Basic Set.
Something clicked with the public here.

Just look at this Cleric portrayed by Elmore:

Colors aren't even needed.
Everything is perfect: her anatomy and proportions, her expression, the believable armor and equipment.
No over-the-topness, no nonsense.
This woman is a product of her environment and she feels alive: the image makes you wonder who she really is, what her life is like, what is going to happen to her.
In a word, it has true evocative power and sucks you into the fantasy world.

 

[Merlkir]

I recently watched Spoony's reaction to the new DnD (horribly long and boring, but..) and he pointed out how he liked some of the artwork and how other pieces didn't fit with the ones he liked.

And yep, almost all of the good ones were by Kieran Yanner (a great guy, did the wallpaper for Pillars of Eternity and some of the early awesomely cool stuff for Numenera), who tried hard to achieve a fine art look, with a clear nod to the oldschool aesthetic.

This is not DnD, but the colours are super "oldschool".

(+ a piece he did for Pathfinder, which is amazing and not at all cartoony as their style tends to go towards)

 

[catfood]

^ probably one of the few decent Pathfinder artworks out there.

 

[Melan]

Some classic woodcut-style Trampier from Vault of the Drow:

 

[nikolokolus]

This thread needs more Russ Nicholson

And it definitely needs more Bill Willingham

 

[Jaesun]

I always loved this. I don't know who the artists is though.

EDIT: Updated the image from the book it comes from. <3

 

[Alchemist]

I always loved this. I don't know who the artists is though.

That's by Den Beauvais - it was on the AD&D book "Van Richten's Guide to Vampires" and one of the Ravenloft computer games.

 

[Jaesun]

Yeah. I knew that was the cover for the Game Strahd's possession, I didn't know that was from one of the core books. Apparently I missed that one.

 

[Khor1255]

I also liked the original cover for DMG but somehow online pics don't do it justice.

I love the Fiend Folio cover but that's not the original art - it appears to be a fan-made remake. Here's the real one for comparison:

The top one is like the Scoobie Doo version.

 

[ProphetSword]

This one is a classic:

And this one:

 

[nikolokolus]

My favorite illustration from the Mentzer Red Box.

 

[nikolokolus]

How hard was (is?) Erol Otus "tripping balls" back in the 70s and 80s (and 90s, 00s, 10s)?

Adimittedly, I kind of hated his stuff when I was first exposed to D&D in the late 80s (height of the Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore era for TSR) but in my late thirties I find his psychedelic feel to be just about pitch perfect.

 

[Magellan]

My favorite illustration from the Mentzer Red Box.

Well, pretty much everything by Larry Elmore kicks ass.

 

[Night Goat]

I like Erol Otus' Yog-Sothtoh.

Tasteful.

 

[mastroego]

My favorite illustration from the Mentzer Red Box.

I wanted to post this one as well.

The gentle and amused half-elf (looks like a half-elven ranger to me), the clumsy, slightly embarrassed dwarf, the halfling talking about him.
And again, only believable equipment, just the stuff these persons would realistically carry around with them all the time.
So many things perfectly captured in a simple image!
Some artists really have it in them.

 

[nikolokolus]

That's basic D&D. No half-elves and no rangers here.

 

[ProphetSword]

Another classic. Kind of makes you wonder if the party escaped this scenario, or if this was the last time they were ever seen:

 

[ProphetSword]

Another one. I'm clearly a huge fan of the art from the AD&D era. Best depiction of the Magic Mouth spell that I've ever seen.

There's something about this art that makes me immediately think Dungeons & Dragons. Some of it's nostalgia, but a lot of it has to do with how it's dark and gritty instead of bright and colorful. The dungeons look dank and dangerous. You can practically smell the wet stone and hear the clatter of armor echoing through the corridors. The modern D&D art doesn't always capture the same feeling, since the focus has mostly moved away from underground exploration.

 

[Khor1255]

It kind of almost looks like woodcut art. This might have a lot to do with it being printed cheaply.

To me it feels more 'genuine' than art of the Draw Comics the Marvel Way type.