Herolover Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 Okay here is the problem. I am working on my Fantasy Hero campaign and instead of saying, "Well it looks like this." I want to be able to show my players. Problem is, I am talentless as far as art goes. I do good on stick figures, but little else. So, what websites or rpg books do you get your art from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest joen00b Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 You can find some amazing things using http://www.google.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storn Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 I do take commissions. I'm not cheap, $45.00 per figure, but it is color. And I have a lot of experience doing fantasy art. But when I run my own fantasy game, what I don't draw, I do find a lot of art on the net. Not great dpi, but it serves to show the players; "this is what you see". Epilogue is great for monsters and lots of fantasy women, including fey women (lots and lots of anime women). And every day, there is 10 to 60 new drawings ( I check it quickly ever 3 days or so). En World has a thread that has some really good architecture threads by a couple of guys who know CAD real well. Renderosity is 3d, but has a crude search engine. Want "wizards"? Type it in. Video game concept art is where I score both for superspies (think doom art or soldier of fortune series) and for fantasy (think Warcraft, many of the console fantasy rpgs). Now I tend to lurk on those sites because I play a lot of PC games, so I'm going to those sites with another purpose in mind. If I happen to stumble on an image that I like.... ...whenever I see artwork that I like, I right click and save into one of two files. One file is SCIFI/Supers images. The other is Fantasy Images. Even if I don't know why or how I'm going to use that image. I make an effort to try and find stuff my players don't know... so I don't swipe the main character from Devil May Cry or Vice City... too well known... but some of the supporting cast in the development sketches? That is enough seperation for me to put my personality into the NPC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herolover Posted June 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 Wow. A lot of great links. I have started to do the save picture thing as well. I have used it often for supers, but I am coming to find that I need some Fantasy images as well. Believe me I wish I could afford to pay for art. However, with my budget I am lucky to get game books. So, since I have to make a choice.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 Having some facility with a pen, I tend to draw my "this is what you see" stuff. However, when laziness (or a tight deadline) occurs, I always fall back on one valuable maxim: Never underestimate the power of a fully-functional collection of old National Geographics I pick them up super-cheap from garage sales and what-not, and cut out pictures I think might be useful some day -- terrain, ancient artifacts, cool buildings et. al. Another excellent source of pictures of artifacts are the catalogues from Sothebys and Christies (the auctioneers). They tend to be a lot dearer than old National Geographics though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 To back up his Fitzness, I should point out that you can buy a National Geographic archive on CDROM, with an utterly ridiculous number of images. Makes 'em easier to find and you don't have to build a three room garage to hold all your national geographics :-) Also, despite being drawing-challenged (can make a stick man 3 times out of 4, if given sufficient time) I can do decent character pictures using the computer Here's a friend's character, Hadmog the Tall I did the other evening (let's see if this attachment thing works...) Cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 Re: Where do you go for Fantasy Artwork? Originally posted by Herolover Okay here is the problem. I am working on my Fantasy Hero campaign and instead of saying, "Well it looks like this." I want to be able to show my players. Problem is, I am talentless as far as art goes. I do good on stick figures, but little else. So, what websites or rpg books do you get your art from? As someone already pointed out, Google's image search function is an amazing tool... Be careful though, it can eat up hours of your time. And the pool of images it draws from is huge, so try to be as specific as possible to avoid having to sift through thousands of results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 I've haunted Elfwood many times to pick up all kinds of art. They divide it into Fantasy and Sci-Fi. The only downside is the ridiculous number of anime-based drawings on it. If I were running Anime, of course, I wouldn't mind, but still, it's excessive... One thing I like is finding artists who post a few samples to whet peoples appetites. I've been led to a large number of excellent on-line galleries by following the links... Incidentally, nice render there, Markdoc. I love the Gloranthan runes on his breastplate; great flavor there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herolover Posted June 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 Elfwood. Wow. Um...need to sticky this. AlHazred You have won my undying thanks and devotion. I never knew a site like Elfwood existed. Holy cow. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted June 6, 2003 Report Share Posted June 6, 2003 Originally posted by Fitz Never underestimate the power of a fully-functional collection of old National Geographics There are other, similar alternatives. A subscription to National Geographic "Adventure" magazine costs $12/year and while the pictures are not as glossy as in the regular NG they still show some excellent and bizarre wilderness areas, plus an occasional topo map. One issue had a beautiful pullout topo map of Everest, which (scaled down) will one day be the site of the evil Ice Queen's castle. For people you could also consider NG "Traveler", but that tends to focus on relatively civilized areas. For weaponry, armor, creatures, and things of that nature, I think you'll have to keep an eye out in the bargain bins at the bookstore. I picked up a nice book on heraldry at borders for about five bucks last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted June 6, 2003 Report Share Posted June 6, 2003 Elfwood is nice but the signal to noise is incredibly low. They could use a rating scheme like at http://deviantart.com or http://deskmod.com . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Big Rich Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 Fantasy art I'm a fan of Larry Elmore's stuff. I always tell my friends, if anyone knows what a dragon looks like it's him. Try: http://www.larryelmore.com/ I originally got interested in him because of the early FH stuff his art was used on. And I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Pittsburgh Comicon last year. We had an interesting discussion about the 'difference' between an 'artist' and an 'illustrator.' Great forum, BTW. It's great to see so many others so passionate about the HERO System. Regards, Big Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted June 7, 2003 Report Share Posted June 7, 2003 Here is where I get alot of my character pics: http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/hosted/Pozas/gallery_main.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 Re: Fantasy art Originally posted by 1Big Rich We had an interesting discussion about the 'difference' between an 'artist' and an 'illustrator.' I'm curious, Big Rich. What observations did you guys make and what conclusions did you come to? Keith "Mr. Nosey" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Big Rich Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Mr. Elmore Hi Kieth, Here's the set-up: Mr. Elmore was a real gentleman to everyone who approached him. We'd had some brief words when I approached him, and he paused to let me dig through his available art for sale. As I was looking, a young man (probably freshman-sophomore in college) walked up, and asked Mr. Elmore to do sketch in his sketch book. Mr. Elmore did so, and looked at some of his work. While doing so, the guy explained he was having trouble with one of his instructors. The instructor kept telling him his art was 'too realistic' and he should 'be less conventional.' By now, I'm paying attention to him, too, and he elaborated, saying how he wants to do comics, and had explained to his teacher his goal and that 'realism' was what he 'was shooting for.' The crux of the conversation was this: Mr. Elmore replied about styles being labeled, and if your style is realistic, and he paused, so I jumped in with "They'll label you an illustrator." He said, "Exactly, you're called an illustrator not an artist." The three of us spoke for a couple more minutes, about departing from reality, illustrations and art, then the conversation turned to some of the pieces he had present. Mr. Elmore was a real gentleman. If you ever have the chance to meet him, do so. But from my own experience, I've had the pleasure of meeting comic artists like George Perez, Walt Simonson, Jim Balent, Craig Rousseau, Jamal Igel, Chris Ring and Gene Gonzales. At no point have I ever asked one of them for their "illustrations." I have the pleasure of having their art. The fact that they're alive and able to make a living from their talent doesn't detract from it. Sorry for the rant. Regards, Big "too many quotation marks" Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storn Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 >>Sorry for the rant.<< How was that a rant? Your post was a nice, sweet, calm story. I,too, have had the pleasure of talking with Larry Elmore about art a couple of times. It has always been a very comfortable and interesting conversation for me. While not a huge fan, I am a huge fan of certain paintings of his, and seeing the last ocuple of originals of his, rocked my world. I was very excited to see that he continues to improve and push himself forward.... that is cool. On the "illustrator" tag... I, for one, do not mind it. Yes, I'm an illustrator. I don't want to be a Fine Artist. My definition of illustration is a visual that tells a story in a commercial venue... certainly Fine Art paintings and sculpture can tell a story. And sometimes, illustration transcends its project and becomes Fine Art (Sistine chapel anyone... its a story on a ceiling!)_. But not all fine art projects do, some are political statements, some are art statements. Maybe the difference between a statement and a story is a fine line distinction for some, but for me, it makes all the difference in the world. So yea, I'm an illustrator, and I'm proud to be an illustrator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 Re: Mr. Elmore Thanks for sharing, Big Rich. I had a similar experience during my education days. When I went to University, there was a Fine Arts program and a Graphic Arts program. I spent half a semester in the Fine Arts program before I got fed up with it. The department was riddled with poseurs and just plain nutsy folk. Grading and assignments were entirely subjective and at the whim of the instructor. I started taking illustration classes at the Graphic Arts school. Lo and behold, we had actual assignments where our abilities to perform were tested, not our ability to conform to what the teacher thought was "art". Composition classes focused on things like balance and white space, not our ability to "assemble three found objects to elicit a feeling of 'dry hardness' " (Actual sculpture assignment) I've met some of the folks you mentioned. I'd like to meet Larry Elmore. Thanks again for the info and for letting ME rant. Keith "Dry Hardness?? Are you nuts?!?" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Big Rich Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 Glad to share Like I said, Mr Elmore was a real gentleman. Storn, I actually deleted a short rant in my original reply, I just missed that line. It went along the lines of 'spare me the angst and suffering make them better artists' stuff. What does van Gogh's ear have to do with what he does with his hands? My feeling is everyone on earth can put ink or paint on paper or canvas. How many are good enough to make a livinig at it? With the modern era, reprinting and reproducing just about everything is possible, so what does it matter if someone takes your art and puts it in or on a book or it hangs in a museum or collectors home? What's the difference? I don't get it, but then, I've never been one of the 'arts and croissant' crowd anyway. Keith, that 'dry hardness' thing is just CLASSIC! For some reason, it minds me of a Benny Hill skit involving the phrase "humble pride." Call me part of the great unwashed, but my idea of art is the artist wants me to see what he sees. Whether he ellicites an emotion is between his work and I. Was your fine arts program with the 'as far a departure from reality as possible' crowd? Don't get me wrong, I'm a fantasy and sci-fi fan; a good departure from reality isn't a bad thing. Maybe I just want my departures to be with Dragons and Starships instead of liquid clocks draped over tree branches... Thanks for the good conversation, guys. Regards, Big Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storn Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 >>>It went along the lines of 'spare me the angst and suffering make them better artists' stuff. What does van Gogh's ear have to do with what he does with his hands? <<<< I always counter the Van Gogh model with Pizarro. He was broke his whole life, he had something like 11 kids, but he was by all accounts a happy chap, loved his wife, loved painting and loved rescuing Cezannes paintings. Cezanne's back yard pressed up next to Pizarro. Cezanne would get angry at his work and throw his paintings into the pasture. Pizarro would go out in the middle of the night, collect them all up, store them in the attic and give them back in a couple of months. Cezanne would always prefusely thank him. Now.... .... that is a nice guy. Parrish happily painted til he was 91, he died one year later. That is a pretty happy and full life.... but gosh, he was an illustrator! Artists do not have to be miserable sods. For every Picasso, there is a Dali (who had a great time in his life). For every Goya, there was a Ruebens (who was a freakin' spy for the Dutch, made tons of money and had adventures to boot). For every Carravaggio (killing a guy over a tennis game is not well-adjusted), there is a Manet or Monet...both who had good, relatively normal lives. I could go on and on and on... but I won't. I reject the idea that you have to be only about angst to succeed at art. That is sheer bullpucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Big Rich Posted June 11, 2003 Report Share Posted June 11, 2003 Well said, Storn!! Excellent points, especailly Pizarro. I'll leave the angst to my Champeens campaign... Regards, Big Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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