Awesome Fantasy Art

(A big thank you to Cheri Duncan for recommending a topic on a day when I couldn't get my brain and my fingertips wired together. Thanks to my friend Bruce and several of my fellow Ravenclaws for their assistance in producing this post.)

Friends! Romans! Countrymen!

Yeah, whatever.

Listen folks, I haven't been in the market for Science Fiction and Fantasy related art recently because reasons, but I hope to be in the not-too-distant future. I love the look of something related to a fantastical world. I think I'm going to do posts in the near future for both Science Fiction and Superheroes, but for now I'm going to concentrate totally on Fantasy because well, I mean, it's my blog right? So anyway, here we go.

I mentioned the Art of Dungeons and Dragons in a recent post. I love that. I always have. The picture above was taken from the Second Edition Player's Handbook. I've love that pic for thirty plus years now, and I specifically went looking for it for this post.Fortunately, the Google-fu is strong with this one and it was pretty easy to find.  And while we're on the subject of D&D Art...

Larry Elmore is one of my most favoritest artists ever. It was his work on Dragonlance (with an assist from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman :P) that got me started as a fantasy fan for real. The only real fantasy I had read before that was Lord of the Rings, and I never really realized that there was a whole genre to go with it. Go figure. Still, this guy is the dean of all fantasy artists. I was a fan before I knew I was a fan. It wasn't until the advent of that interwebs thingy that I found out who any of my favorite artists were. He was one of the first people I found out about though. I mean, anyone who did original and official Raistlin Majere art is awesome and he did it well.

Of course, not all fantasy art, not even all GOOD fantasy art is related to D&D. Brian Froud is an artist with a long history who helped out with Dark Crystal: Age of Rebellion. I loved that show and a large part of what made it so cool was the way it looked. The gelflings were cute. The sets were magnificent. The skeksis were evil and terrifying and a lot of the credit for that goes to Brian Froud.

Oh, and he also did The Labyrinth. I mean, just in case one Fantasy classic wasn't enough, why not two? He probably did some other really cool stuff too, but I'm not really an expert on the man. I'll leave it up to you guys to put some stuff in the comments if you want.

And of course, there's Tom Sullivan, who does a lot of Chthulu art. Look at that piece. It's amazing. My friend Bruce suggested that I include him, and he was right. A quick glance through this guy's stuff shows that it's all amazing.

Of course, not all fantasy art has to be super-serious. Those guys are amazing.I love the fact that those artists seem to jump off the page. Looking at that first Larry Elmore  picture, I can almost see myself skinning that dragon and using its scales for a shield. Not all of the good stuff has to be realistic. So let's feature a lesser known (not my fault, I've talked about her here before) artist named Cedar Sanderson.

I commissioned that piece for my now ex-girlfriend. I'm really happy that I did. It turned out fantastically awesome. The ex is in to Chthulu plushies (Which are also art, but don't tell your college professor I said that.)

and I thought it would be something that she would really enjoy. I was right. Of course, Cedar does all kinds of stuff. Her chainmaille dragons are really cool. She does lots of paintings, not just Chthulu. As a matter of fact, it was one of her dragon paintings that inspired me to have her paint the Chthulus. True story. Cedar writes a lot too and I've reviewed some of her stuff, but this isn't a post about writing.

As a matter of fact, the only item I got to pick out for my oldest daughter's nursery was a painting of a cutesty dragon with  a butterfly on its nose. My ex-wife picked out a theme of faeries and butterflies and I snuck the dragon pic in on the excuse that it had a butterfly in it. SCORE!!!

And then there's the in-between stuff:

SIGH

That's the cover of the first Harry Potter book I ever read, and it was drawn by Mary Grandpre (technically, that last e should have an accent, but I'm not sure how to do one on blogger.) That lady can draw! But here's my point about her work being halfway between realistic and cutesy: It doesn't really look life-like. It's more cartoony. On the other hand, it looks realistic enough that you're really drawn into it. Like, I  can see a realistic version of it in my head while I'm looking at the book cover. I really like this kind of work. It kind of makes me feel like a kid again, just looking at it.  One day maybe I'll be a big enough author to have a book cover by her. On that day, I'll probably die of happiness, but at least I'll die happy.

Ok, so let's see, we've got Books, TTRPGs, Movies/TV shows, Fan Art and  Comics,. OH. I know what I forgot:

Video game art is fantabulous and absotively has to be included. I went with two of my favorite MMORPGs because I could, but there is a lot more to it than that. Let's face it: Video game art goes back decades and a lot of the best stuff is fantasy based. Fantasy Star, Shining Force, God of War, , Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, I could go on for days. Some of the art is a bit dated now, but that'll happen in the gaming industry over the course of forty years. It's all gorgeous for the time it was produced though. I think the visual/immersive aspects of good video game art  that moves on the screen and sucks you in. What Everquest player can forget the first time they ran across the West Barrens and had to flee from a Young Kodiak?

And last (on this list) but certainly not least, is cosplay. Cosplayers pour immense amounts of time, effort and money into their creations.  They deserve some credit and their individual takes on popular characters aren't really all that different in principle from comic book artists and the different way they draw characters.

That's what I've got. You guys tell me what I missed in the comments., I'll be back soon with SF art!

Some related items are available at the links below. If you click the link and buy literally anything, I get a small percentage at no cost to you.

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin by L. Jagi Lamplighter

Join us on Facebook

Alright guys, I have a confession to make. Even though I'm most definitely not part of the generation that grew up on Harry Potter, I have an addiction to it. I follow HP Facebook groups. I've gotten both of my daughters hooked on it. I'm a flat out J.K Rowling fanboi to the point that I even know that it's pronounced like “bowling.” (Note to international readers: Most Americans don't know that. They pronounce it like the ow in “cow”.) So when I picked up a copy of The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin by L. Jagi Lamplighter, I was pretty amazed.

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is most definitely not a Harry Potter clone, but it has some similar elements that made it feel simultaneously comfortable and exciting. Why? Well, it takes place in a boarding school. The inhabitants of the World of the Wise (as magic users call themselves) also like to ride around on brooms, although Rachel's is definitely unlike any other broom I've ever read about anywhere. And, of course, it is a fantasy story set approximately in modern times. I love that aspect of it.

The titular Rachel is our heroine and she is quite the intrepid young lady. She has been admitted to Roanoke Academy for the Sorcerous Arts a year early (aged thirteen instead of fourteen) and she is raring to go. This is a thirteen year old that I can admire. She works hard, doesn't make excuses and is extremely brave. She's also smarter than you average bear (that's why she got admitted early) and has one hundred percent recall of anything she's seen or heard. She often uses that to her considerable advantage. I like this chick. It's too bad she doesn't actually exist. I'd try to get her to hang out with my daughters.

Rachel is a member of an old-school magical family that's kind of important. She's a member of a noble family and her father is a higher-up in the magical law enforcment community. People know who she is. She's not as famous as some others, but she definitely gets recognized. I kind of liked this aspect of her. Rachel is for sure not the Chosen One per se. There is no legend following her around. She has just enough renown to get the other important characters to notice her and yet still has enough humility to get along with almost anybody.

Rachel ends up in a situation that not many adults would do well at facing and comes out of it a champion. Seriously, one would have to think that perhaps Mrs. Lamplighter has done some reading about Medal of Honor winners from the United States. Rachel has no quit in her. She can go to war at my side anytime. I mean, just as long as she doesn't stand too close. Chick takes a beating like a champ, but I'd prefer not to be taken down as collateral damage just for being next to her.

And it's weird too, because she doesn't come to school to be some kind of hero. Yes, she wanted to have some adventures but I doubt that what she had in mind came anywhere close to how it all shook out. This is a girl who wants to learn all there is to know about magic and enjoy herself along the way. I admire her commitment to learning. She's like Hermione in a way, only more so.

In Harry Potter it's just accepted that every student studies every type of magic. So we see Harry in everything from Transfiguration to Potions. That's not so at Roanoke. The students there are sorted into houses not based on some nebulous personality trait, but on what form of magic they wish to study. Rachel is an enchanter. She plays music and uses it as a focus to cast her magic. One of her friends is a thaumaturge. He uses objects as a focus. Thaumaturgy has a bit of a rough reputation and it's something that Rachel struggles with when deciding whether or not to trust him. I'm not going to go through all of the types of magic, but I like this system.

In a world where you can specialize in very narrowly defined fields in the world of the Unwary (those are non-magical type folk) it makes sense that a mage would specialize in an area of magic too. Concentrating on one area often makes someone better at what they do than studying an area in general would. I like the way this works. Of course, I've got something similar in my current Work in Progress so I may be a bit biased.

Her cast of friends is also pretty amazing. You've got some royalty. Add to that a touch of dragon-killing commoner. Throw in a dash of that one dude from the other side of the tracks and the occassional  surprisingly on our side guy and it really is a good time. The cast mixes well and is believable. These kids are something else.

WATCH OUT!! FLYING FLAMING SKUNK!!!!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Sorry, flashback. Where was I?

Oh yeah...

The action in this book is awesome. There are some wicked fights and some terrifying visions. The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is not a story for the faint of heart. Things move quickly. Sometimes stuff explodes. It's not always clear what kind of magic is being used by who. This is a Young Adult novel, but it's supercharged. When things get moving, they go quickly. There is very little time to stop and breathe. Don't get me wrong: I like a nice relaxing read every once in awhile, but I much prefer something that doesn't let up and that's The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin. 

Also, a word to the wise: The title page clearly states that The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is based on the works of Mark A. Whipple. I feel like I should make some type of comment on how well I see those works reflected here, but I haven't read them. That much having been said, I had absolutely no problem following the story and look forward to reading the rest of the series.


Botto4.75 out of 5 Talking Dragons

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin
L Jagi Lamplighter
Wisecraft Publishing, 2016

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is available for purchase at the following link. If you click it and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you.