I'm looking for old school high fantasy and sword and sorcery art, particularly 80s to early 90s era art. I'll dump what I have.
This is the last of what I have.
>>45984257
Google is your friend.
Look for Jeff Easly, Clyde Caldwell, Larry Elmore. There are other big names I missed but those should keep you busy for hours.
Cabral
>>45985458
Good old Parkinson FR Grey Box art. The time when half-elves were the hottest thing on two legs, full elves looked like Elric the Melnibonean, and everyone wore reasonable amounts of belts.
Here's some more Parkinson.
>>45990043
Whenever I see this I think of Morale checks.
>>45990043
whenever i see this it looks like he's hailing a cab
>>45984257
Laurana disregards panties.
>>45984257
Off-topic, but that semi-confused Tiamat is reminding me of pic related.
>>45991291
>>45991333
>>45991360
>>45991406
>>45991447
>>45991480
>>45991527
Man these pics remind me of high school dragonlance got me to /tg/ back in early 90's
>>45995977
>>45996619
>>45997994
>>45984257
Why does Tiamat look high?
>>45998303
80's/90's artists couldn't draw beasties worth shit
I remember back in the early-mid 90s I used to spend so much time in bookshops just flipping through those massive collections of fantasy artbooks. It never even occurred to me that I should buy some of them, I took them for granted. Now, you can hardly find any, not even new art. It's kind of sad.
>>45991480
Isn't that on the cover of an Italian prog album?
Not quite what OP wanted, but whatever. Oh crazy old science-fantasy, how I miss you so.
Does '80s-to-early-'90s sword-and-sorcery animu count?
>>45998863
>>45998999
>>45999026
>>45999064
>>45998863
Well, we could argue that this thread was for a specific art style that is very much not animu, but if you have something cool, why not?
The nip fantasy art scene got hit by the decline even harder than their western counterpart, it's a fucking shame. Their old stuff had that really nice adventure atmosphere.
>>45999156
>if you have something cool, why not?
nothing screams "cool" like old japanese rpg illustrations
>>45999245
especially when back in the day the illustrators weren't forced to put cute BOYS in armor
>>45999329
>>45999472
>>46000176
>>45998407
Haha, yeah, same here. With so much art on the internet it's just not profitable for them to print artbooks anymore.
>>46000206
Hold on, is that something from Ravenloft or Castlevania?
I'm confused as fuck.
>>46002986
They're basically the same thing
>>46000176
The world of Golden Axe was surprisingly advanced in some parts for a sword and sorcery world, such as in clothing. Exhibits A and B: Tyris's haute couture bikini and Ax Battler's classic banana hammock.
>>46000206
>>46002986
>"What a horrible night to have a curse." - Rudolph van Richten
And it actually fits. Also, that pic's from Castlevania II, but check out Drac on the balcony there and compare it to I6 Ravenloft's Strahd.
There's just not enough ancient, infinitely bearded, stars and moons cloak wearing, wand wielding,dragon riding, lightning throwing wizards being drawn these days.
>>46007672
I know what you mean. They probably went out the window much like the Dark Elf Aerobics Studio went out of business.
But seriously, I wish elves would still look like aerobics instructors and not have the WoW ears.
>>46003892
Holy shit, it never occurred to me before that it's that much of a rip! That's crazy.
>>46007894
Fuckin' love Parkinson. That subtle projection of menace and hate by making all the drow look like trannies. That's some real creativity.
>>46007672
Also what's missing these days: fighters in sensible armour without spiky bits and NFL shoulder protectors.
>>46008203
What's amazing is if I remember correctly, nobody at the time seemed to notice. Ravenloft came out in 1983 and Castlevania II in 1987, and I'm certain there should have been some 1980s AD&D and NES geek to spot the similarity.
>>46008304
Now that's an old school wizard. Candlestick skulls give a great mood.
>>46007672
Age of Sigmar is literally this aesthetic
>>46008457
>Ravenloft came out in 1983 and Castlevania II in 1987, and I'm certain there should have been some 1980s AD&D and NES geek to spot the similarity.
Well, if they did notice, where would they post their findings? Would they tell the other SIGINT guys over ARPAnet?
...actually that sounds really plausible, knowing what kinda guys worked on ARPAnet.
>yfw you're so good you can just slice an ogre's club up like a sausage
>>46008532
Complain in Dragon Magazine, I guess.
>>46008608
>AD&D player sees a NES game ripping off the Ravenloft cover art; writes angry letter to the editor of Dragon Magazine
Got damn boy, I can smell the cheeto dust from here.
>>45990043
Even he looks surprised that his turn undead worked.
>>46008457
I fucking love that picture. The guy has such a normal looking face. Both he and the one on the ground look like actual people instead of the genetically engineered knights we usually get in fantasy art. I would love to go on adventures with them.
>>46009264
>look like actual people instead of the genetically engineered knights
Yep, say what you want about the 80s and 90s TSR artists and their drawing off real models, but they made their people look human.
I mean, compare Giogi and Olive on the cover of The Wyvern's Spur to a modern "nobleman" or "fop", and especially to a modern halfling, and see the difference.
>>46008664
Right after I'd written that, I realised the author of the angry letter would probably look like that "ahkchually" pic.
>>46010154
Well, you certainly wouldn't be able to sell something like this nowadays.
>>46010943
Well, maybe not something like th... wait a second, is that Arilyn Moonblade on the bottom left? Did she get hit with the charisma penalty stick?
But some of the stuff you saw on the novels was fantastic. It's probably you can't cock up drawing not-Mongols, but this was so good it was used twice, once here and then on the cover of the (fucking ace) Horde box set.
And then there's this. I know it's supposed to be Caramon in his days of Istar past gladiator costume, but it wouldn't look out of place on some bodice ripper.
>>46011258
bump
>>45984257
>>46014851
Damn, The Mercenary is a good read.
>>46015738
Honestly the storytelling is not amazing and the very static images don't really fit the medium, but as standalone art pieces they are fucking amazing.
Is late-90s fine too? I have trouble keeping track of publication dates.
>>46016172
>>46016206
I love the old depictions of elves and dorfs
>>46015738
>>46015829
>>46014851
>>46016172
>>46016206
>>46016241
>All that old school DSA goodness
Shame the ruleset has such a huge broom up its ass...
>>46016312
>"I get 50 channels on this crystal ball and there's nothing good on."
>>46016172
This must be the reclusive tribe of bodybuilding ogres.
>>46016303
I only know 4.1, so I can't really say much about it. From what I've heard the old rules seemed pretty close to DnD, which is too simple for my tastes.
Sure, the current rules can be clusterfucks at moments, but I'm fine with it because it fits into the world for the most parts and everything too absurd can be houseruled.
>>46016419
It was also the tribe of very hairy ogres with magnificent mustaches (like every honest male had back then)
>>46016627
>Sure, the current rules can be clusterfucks at moments, but I'm fine with it because it fits into the world for the most parts and everything too absurd can be houseruled.
It's just that the ruleset condemms you to mediocracy for the first 10+ levels. Which is fine, but not really my, or my friens' cup of tea.
The biggest offender is combat; if I'm playing a cleric of the goddess of thunder and swords, I want to be able to swordfight, even if i'm wearing (gasp) mail and greaves. For most characters you're better off going into battle butt naked, so you can actually parry.
Oh, and the collosal muh-noble-savage wank that is everything Thorwaller.
Me and my group just ended up using the setting with D&D rules. Did the whole sail-around-the-continent-thing.
>>46016986
Oh. I see. I honestly like the mediocracy.
Why the issues with encumbrance though? I've never gotten more than one, in extreme cases two points substracted from my fighting values.
Anyways, I'm out of old cover art so I'll just post one of the newer ones for contrast and go to sleep.Also this one: http://imgur.com/bnXDwdZ
>>46017480
>Why the issues with encumbrance though? I've never gotten more than one, in extreme cases two points substracted from my fighting values.
Going off memory here, but I seem to recall that my level 1 cleric of Rhondra, wearing chaimail (2), greaves on arms and legs (1 each) and a helmet (2), couldn't hit or parry shit, even with the encumbrance reduction for her profession.
Blonde looks like she's thinking "If this bitch don't shut the fuck up..."
>>46019020
That is one really feminine dude you have there. He looks feminine even standing next to a feminine girl. Quite an achievement.
>>46019023
What the fuck is even going on on that picture anyway?
>>45991480
Why naked ladies on firebreathing dragons attacking the sky? On the one hand that has to be really uncomfortable, all those scales and spike ridges, and on the other it has to be incredibly cold up there.
Maybe fire breathing dragons are so warm to the touch you can't wear pants when riding them?
>>46019510
>Maybe fire breathing dragons are so warm to the touch you can't wear pants when riding them?
Sounds like a sensible reason, I just wonder what kind of training would these gals have to go through to stand the wind hitting their naked bodies. Is it possible that, thanks to their slender figures, wind doesn't offer as much resistance as it would with a man?
>>46019254
What I take from it is that the blond woman has captured the guy, who was transported to a fantasy world. The other woman wants to save him or take him prisoner for herself. Perhaps they are even part of the same warrior woman organization, which would explain why the blonde womans guard is dropped. "Seriously, you want me to let this schmuck go?"
>>46019510
Because ladies riding things naked is what art is about.
>>46019554
They took the Crushing Thighs Feat. Nothing short of somehow performing a hit and run against a stone giant in midair is knocking them off.
>>46019725
Is that horse vomiting?
>>46019798
Is that Lothlorien? What is going on, who is the wounded?
If these guys drew/painted these images today they would be pubicaly shamed and then murder by enemies of patriarchy.
>>46020115
>>46020325
Yeah, it's crazy how fast the pussies took control of these things.
>>46020115
>>46020355
always loved Wayne Barlowe
>>46020355
>>46020560
Kinda reminds me of Roger Dean's stuff.
>>46020115
>>46020355
Man, Barlowe is GOAT. It's mindboggling how boring and uninspired Avatar looked considering they actually got him for concept art.
>>46020325
Some of them are still going strong. Royo for example even put actual pornographic art on his official website's gallery without any kind of warning. Too bad he turned to pig disgusting digital art though. Loved his old Shadowrun stuff.
>>46020560
Looks like one of Lovecraft's dreamlands short stories.
>>46020696
Kadath is probably the only thing written by Lovecraft I actually adore. But that one story oozed sense of wonder with every line, it was like he was painting with words. I wonder why it's so unappreciated by fans.
>>46020808
It's too descriptive perhaps, the narrative is too weak, it's like "Look at all the ideas I've had all stacked one after the other". There is a plot, yet it doesn't feel like it, it's like a museum tour, looking at a painting, and another one, etc.
I liked it too.
>>46020888
Lovecraft can't write narratives for shit anyway. With time he got very good at building up suspense, but he never really figured out how to capitalize on it. His twists have to be among the worst I've ever read, Through the Gates of the Silver Key for example is downright cringeworthy in this regard, and it doesn't even have the excuse of being one of his early short stories. Other times stories end abruptly in an anticlimactic way like he ran out of ideas and just called it a day, or just simply peter out.
Kadath on the other hand was about the journey, so it never really mattered where it was going. That being said that final scene with Nyarlathotep was trippy as shit, probably one of his better endings as well.
>>46020027
Yes.
Just some random punk characters needing help from the Lady
>>45991360
Does anyone know that... Reading Rainbow cartoon of a story of a red and silver dragons that were fighting ? I remember there was a broken castle or something... Wondering what that story is
I am fucking loving this thread
>>46021135
>His twists have to be among the worst I've ever read
Twists were never really the point of Lovecraft anyway. They're more of an affirmation of the point he's been making the whole story. The idea of Lovecraft was building atmosphere, not writing character or plot or complex narratives, he's all about the atmosphere first, all else is secondary.
>>45998303
Evil has the best ganja.
>>46017480
Wait, is that cover in the spoiler from an official product? Because it seems the Germans don't fuck around.
And now I remember why the "glorious moustaches and hot women" art style seemed so familiar: I used to play Blade of Destiny - an official DSA game - on the Amiga way back when, and the intro pic had precisely that.
>>46028250
Yeah, the cover is official. It's an adventure about some bad shit happening on an orgy during the time between the years.
And it's pretty damn good written. Good stories, AWESOME characters, advice on handling magical realms and how to make it comical or serious...
They knew how bad this could be, so they put a huge amount of effort into it to ensure it'd be good.
>tfw no one tries to draw like this anymore
Sad.
Also I miss the times where medieval fantasy and sci-fi were mixed, Heavy Metal style.
>>46016241
>keeblerhatted elves
FAWK YEAH
>>46008203
>>46003892
Its also been done on a death metal album cover but I forget the band
/r/ing some Frank Frazetta art please
>>46020027
>he hasn't read Count Rings and the Fellows
It's Fordolf, duh.
>mfw I actually remember what half these pics belongs to.
Man I feel old.
>>46032283
So who is this guy anyway? Not the artist, the character in the pictures.
>>46032621
Frazetta called him Death Dealer. I don't think there's much of any backstory, it's just a guy he liked to draw/paint.
>>46032646
There was a Frazetta-penned comic of him, I thought.
>>46032646
That's how it started...
There is a comic and I remember at least a d&d module.
>>46032188
Yo.
>>46032494
I know that feel. That undead-turning beardy cleric upthread? I don't remember the exact page number but I do remember the next page is about morale checks in the olde AD&D 2nd Ed DMG. Then I remember the other art in the book, like the cute blonde mage on her knees casting a spell and the one with the gorgon breathing on some adventuring party.
This thread is kinda weird for me since I'm seeing so may images I've posted before with the original filenames.
>>46032770
>the cute blonde mage on her knees casting a spell and the one with the gorgon
My favorite in the book.
inb4
>barbarian
>>46032792
>>46032170
One thing about ol' Boris was that the people in his art were never short of physically perfect. It must suck to live on those worlds if you're a slob and the others are griffon-riding beefcakes with the physique of a Greek god and a thermal loincloth.
>>46032878
Mine's the very first colour art on the book, the one with a scared woman and a beardy fellow in a turban being accosted by what I'm 98% certain is a rip off of the mirror monster in Conan the Destroyer.
>>46032977
That's kind of why I dislike Boris. His figures always feel a little too artificial compared to the natural quality of Frazetta.
>>46033034
Really, I'm okay with 80s Boris, it seems like the mid-90s are when he loses his touch.
>>46032283
The US army has a statue of him at Fort Hood, he's like their mascot there
>>46021562
that sounds like an illustrated version of King Arthur that i had as a child.
the first part of the story concerns a young Merlin telling some shitty king, whose symbol is a red dragon, that he needs to fill in the cavern beneath his castle or it won't stop falling down.
when they open the cavern a red dragon and a white dragon fly out and kick the shit out of each other. the white dragon represents Uther Pendragon, who defeats the shitty king (represented by the red dragon).
pretty sure this is the right book but i have no fucking idea which version of the king arthur story it was, or who illustrated it.
>>46033147
>>46033034
Boris and Royo both have the same problem - they're technically proficient but are actually not that imaginative.
the reason that all of Boris' art looks like fitness models and bodybuilders standing in front of a green screen is because that's what they WERE. they weren't actors, or actual sword fighters. that's why they're all posed like bodybuilders at a competition.
same reason that Royo's work looks like amateur models wearing cheap costumes and holding Bud K catalog swords...because they were, and Royo painted it like he saw it...including the way the models inexpertly held their weapons and made duckfaces.
Frazetta on the other hand, spent his childhood copying neoclassical paintings and studying art history. so when HE draws a picture of a bunch of dudes in loincloths beating on each other with clubs, he made it look like a painting from 200 years ago, which immediately gives his work credibility by drawing a comparison with art that the viewer has probably only seen in museums or in textbooks. i mean, the man used oil paints while his contemporaries were using arcrylics and air brushes.
finally, if you had any doubt about whether or not art is cyclical, here's a painting from 1896.
>>46033914
>the white dragon represents Uther Pendragon, who defeats the shitty king (represented by the red dragon).
It's the other way around -- the red dragon's Uther, the white dragon's the Vortigern. That's why the dragon in the Welsh flag is red, because that was the banner of Uther and Arthur according to the stories.
>>46010154
Of course, all the women still look genetically engineered.
>>46034487
Most of these old paintings are done off life. They often hire actual models for this.
>>46034318
>dudes in loincloths beating on each other with clubs
There are few things better in life than wearing a loincloth and beating up dudes with a club. Unless you're beating up dudes with an axe. Or, of course, rescuing a nubile woman from a sacrifice on a stone altar.
>>46032724
>>46032752
This art reminds me of the time more than two decades ago when one of the first search engines launched. I was happily searching for fantasy art and saving shitloads of shitty (like, 115x115) pictures to floppies, when I found screencaps from Dragon Knight 2. Regular dungeon crawling mixed with oldschool animu art, it looked really awesome, but I could find pretty much no information about it.
Then a few years later AltaVista came around, and one time we had a family gathering I decided to show some of my relatives who had no internet how it worked. Suddenly I remembered the game and decided to demonstrate image search with it. Now AltaVista actually managed to gather quite a collection. Shit was awkward to say the least.To this day I still wonder if it was actually a good game.
>>46030368
Scifi and medieval fantasy, you say?
This is from a book called The Fantastic Planet, which was part of a (YA) scifi book series called Galax - much like the Terran Trade Authority books (and indeed were done by the same writer, IIRC).
Unlike most of the books, which featured spaceships, spacemen and space cars, The Fantastic Planet was 100% Heavy Metal, to the point that there were several pictures featuring women with their tits out.
>>46030368
>Also I miss the times where medieval fantasy and sci-fi were mixed
I fear I might give in any day now and turn to old pulp romance just to get my dose of science fantasy. It's a terrifying prospect.
Anyone got a pic from AD&D time. Its got a man who was stabbed supported by his friends, who are in front of a Greco-Roman looking temple. Should be in the DM guide.
>>46037433
Give me a moment and I'll scan it. I'll do the blonde mage too.
>>46037549
Fantastic man. Thanks a lot!
>>46037433
Here you go.
>>45984278
>We're not going there!
>>46037846
Yes! This image has been stuck in my head since I first started playing. Cheers mate!
And here's the blonde mage with the surprisingly small bust considering she's done by Clyde Caldwell.
>>46037963
No prob. I love this old school art and I'm happy to make a contribution to these threads.
Incidentally this is my favourite 2e DMG art I mentioned upthread, featuring the Conan the Destroyer mirror monster.
>>45984278
>We are going back for my pants and no lava will stop us! This is what you get for failing to get my trunk when we evacuated!
>>45990007
>"Here, maybe if I play my lute the orrery will shut down so we can get some fucking shut eye."
I love BG's cover art, because they universally look in media res of some really goddamned weird adventures.
>>46016106
I..I think I came to the wrong neighborhood?
>>46038719
Given that this was the '80s I think it's more likely that she's going
>Look! They refused to stop wearing pants, and now it's ON FIRE! The whole town is doomed to volcanic destruction, that'll teach them! The gods smite all women who don't prefer V-hip loincloths!
>>46007672
Don't worry senpai, power metal will always have you covered. There has to be something to put on album covers
>>46039066
Got that right.
>>46039047
Speaking of Caldwell pirates with loincloths, it's a bloody shame the most glorious example can't be posted on a blue board due to excessive boobage. It shows the ultimate female pirate loincloth.
>>46020694
>. It's mindboggling how boring and uninspired Avatar looked considering they actually got him for concept art.
I realize now what you meant but for a minute there I was trying to figure out who thought it would be a good idea to invite this man to work in TLA .
I guess it is good I managed to purge all anger or care for Avatar from my mind enough to so thoroughly forget it though.
>>46007672
GOT YOU COVERED FAMICUS MAXIMUS
what a cool thread
>>46039853
He's pretty jacked for an old dude in a cerebral profession
![latest[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/sYrPNCU.jpg "latest[1].jpg")
80's poster hijack go.
![86fbc68dda40276b5cba8acb7c95dcee[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/LUZO8Wm.jpg "86fbc68dda40276b5cba8acb7c95dcee[1].jpg")
>>46041039
![cc0d752dd7bb3bd94f64363e124fc578[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Uk3aukJ.jpg "cc0d752dd7bb3bd94f64363e124fc578[1].jpg")
>>46041077
>>45984405
The lich in the lower left is cracking me up, and I don't even know why.
>>45999245
>Dude in the back THROWING A SKELETON
Glorious.
>>46041077
I'll just come out and say it: I don't remember the Bronx being this bad.
>>46016234
The fuck is that?
I mean, that's not a criticism. It's what I look for in monster art, the "what" factor. But seriously, what is that thing?
