New Crowdfunding Project: "The Complete Elmore Artbook"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This book doesn't even exist yet.  By the time I heard about Larry Elmore's Kickstarter, it was already funded to the first stretch goal.  More would be just lovely.  If you are active at all in fantasy or gaming, you've seen his art; he's one of the legends.  Go throw something in his treasure chest.

Comments

[paka.livejournal.com]

I'm so STOKED! I really seriously love Elmore's artwork. Yeah, I think some of his tropes are silly (80s hair! You need 80s hair to be a powerful sorceress!), but those big gorgeous paintings and Snarfquest really helped me survive some very bad years back there.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Larry is a darling in person, as well as a visionary artist and an exquisitely skilled painter. I've met him at cons. I can identify his style from across a bookstore. If I could have any living painter cover one of my books, it'd be a tossup between him and Michael Whelan.

Re: Yes...

[zeeth_kyrah]

Whelan's art is awesome, but I'd go with Elmore. :)

Re: Yes...

[paka.livejournal.com]

I've only met him once - in passing and years ago. He seemed like a cool guy. What really always appealed to me about his stuff is that when he's not doing outright pinups (which is admittedly often), his women tend to wear clothes which look reasonable. That and the dented, beat-up armor he does.

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I love both his pinups and his fully armored BAMFettes. As for amazing details? I will never forget sitting in the highschool library with my friends, poring over the Dragon cover in search of that damn arrowhead. We were there until the bell rang and only two of us had found it by then, I think.

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[paka.livejournal.com]

Oh my lord, I know the issue you mean! I spotted the arrowhead and I love that issue! (Star Trek and illithids!)

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[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Illithids are awesome. You just want to slice them across the face and tan the hide for a belt pouch. Or I did, anyhow; figured it would be more impressive than eelskin.

See, and this is why Larry is making stupendous amounts of money in this fundraiser. He's spent forty years painting pictures that have gone into his fans' favorite memories. Somebody like that puts his hand out, you turn out your pockets. People are going to be sitting down with those books together and saying, "I remember this! Do you remember when we ...?"

Re: Yes...

[paka.livejournal.com]

but but but wearing bits of sentient no matter how evil isn't a good action (seriously, that always bothered me about the "dragon armor" trope).

I actually think my favorite AD&D painting Elmore did was Laurana (from Dragonlance) standing over Sturm's corpse and looking upwards at an implied dragon-riding Kitiara. I mean... a woman in actual armor for a change, and as part of this big cinematic thing! Either that or, embarassingly enough, the "Dragonhunters and proud of it!" painting at the beginning of the 2e player's book. I mean... if a dragon that small is a challenge for such a complete group of slightly-experienced adventurers, how badass must the actual adult dragons be?

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>> but but but wearing bits of sentient no matter how evil isn't a good action (seriously, that always bothered me about the "dragon armor" trope).<<

Some of myselves are good, others neutral. I'm aware of that premise but variable in application. I did catch the dragon armor issue, though.

I'm reminded of kajones_writing having several sentient races that are essentially hunted for parts -- the Nox Gadael in particular.

>>I actually think my favorite AD&D painting Elmore did was Laurana (from Dragonlance) standing over Sturm's corpse and looking upwards at an implied dragon-riding Kitiara. I mean... a woman in actual armor for a change, and as part of this big cinematic thing!<<

I love that one too.

>> Either that or, embarassingly enough, the "Dragonhunters and proud of it!" painting at the beginning of the 2e player's book. I mean... if a dragon that small is a challenge for such a complete group of slightly-experienced adventurers, how badass must the actual adult dragons be? <<

Heh, yeah.