Otus and Elmore open the art review

Each week I'd like to comment on some aspects of fantasy art. The artwork accompanying role playing games was one of their biggest draws for me, and always bring back vivid memories. There was a period in high school when my brother and I also scrounged fantasy novel book covers for scenes and characters that would inspire D&D adventures. Yet for the most part I was drawn to the artwork we found in role playing games. While a novel can paint wonderful scenes and characters through language, role playing games lean more heavily on their artwork to conjure images. Some game masters (like my cousin, Eric) can paint vivid images through the spoken word. Sometimes my imagination can take flight of its own accord during a role playing adventure, creating the most memorable of scenes. Still, I love looking at the art work of role playing  games. With little debate, it can be said that Dungeons and Dragons has produced among the very best of role playing game art. So, without further dilly-dally, here is an early classic by the infamous Larry Elmore.

This painting graced the cover of the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons Basic boxed rules set written by Frank Mentzer. It is otherwise known as the "Red Box" partly in reference to Elmore's red dragon. This edition of D&D was a reorganized printing of the Moldavy penned edition from1981, which was in turn a reorganization of the Holmes' edition from 1977, mentioned in a previous post. I mention these earlier editions because so many D&D fans have an image of the game ascociated with the cover painting from the edition they started playing. The Old School D&D revivalists have a particular love for anything pre-1983, which also gives them a dislike for anything, including art, ascociated with later editions. Presented next is the cover to Moldavy's 1981 boxed set, with a painting done by Erol Otus. Otus is considered by the Old Schoolers to be one of the the greats of D&D art. 

I never owned any books with Otus art, but I saw plenty of  them. I would agree that Otus is among the greats of the fantasy art genre, and his paintings have an unmistakable dreamlike, or an other-worldly, quality to it that has never been revisited in the artwork that graces D&D books. If you take these three paintings by David Sutherland (Holmes' 1977 edition) Otus and Elmore, you see that the subject is basically the same.

There is a dragon in its lair, treasures galore, and a warrior ready to to do battle with the great beast. The first two editions also have wizards, or magic users, added to the scene. Despite the similarity in content, the styles are wildly different. Sutherland's painting is etched deep in my memory as the first image of D&D I saw. I love it, even though Sutherland's artistic technical skills border on amateurish. Many players who took up the game after 1983 tend to look at Otus' paintings as amateurish and just plain weird, but the truth is that his technical skills as a painter are quite good. I suppose to many (particularly fans of Elmore and the like) Otus' skill is not immediately apparent due to his more simplistic style. To Otus' solid technical skills add the distinctive tone of his work, the surealism and strangeness of it, and you have a great composer of fantasy art. 

Then there is Elmore. His cover painting for the "Red Box" was a revolution in the role playing game world, as well as fantasy art in general. This painting of the red dragon and warrior immediately leaps out as something very nearly real. It is vivid, dynamic and tangible. Anyone looking at it can feel as if they are right there on the edge of the action. Compared to Sutherland and Otus, Elmore's work also simply looks professional. For almost two decades Elmore's realistic style of painting defined the direction of fantasy art work.  

The first Dungeons and Dragons product that my twin brother and I bought (well, I am sure our Mom gave us the money) was the "Red Box". We were nine years old on a family road trip traveling America's great Northwest, camped out in an Oregon State Park near the coast. My Dad was in Portland doing an interview with the Portland Museum of Art. My older brother Tor was off fishing at a pond much deeper in the forest. Leif, Mom and I sat at a picknick table unwrapping the box. It was just before sunset. I remember the tent, the campfire. Most every fan of D&D has that similar first "real" experience with the game that lives on in their memory; elevating that picture gracing the front cover of their first book to a lofty height that will forever define their image of role playing games and the world of fantasy in general. 

So, yes, for me it was Larry Elmore and his red dragon and warrior.  Leif and I spent hours that night reading through the books, setting up the dice (you had to color the numbers in with a wax crayon in those days) admiring the two pot mental figures that came with the set. We stayed up for hours because Tor never came back from fishing. All three of us, Mom included, delved into the "Red Box" to distract our growing apprehension at Tor's absence. The first book in the set included a short solo adventure that introduced players to the basic rules of D&D and provided the feel for role playing games. This was the story of Aleena the Cleric. Several classic black and white ink drawings by Elmore accompanied the adventure, which included zombies, an evil wizard, and the cleric laying dead on a dungeon floor. These were not the sort of pictures I really wanted to be looking at in the dark of night at age nine, camping in a forest, waiting for your missing brother to return. We all became so edgy that finally we began shouting for Tor, headless of the other campers, who I am sure heard the of fear in our voices. Tor eventually came trudging back into camp, into the light of our our fire. He told us the tale of how he had lost track of time and not started back towards came until twilight. He lost the trail in the dark (with visions of Friday the 13th stuck in his head) and had wandered around for a terrible long while until our shouts helped him find his way back to camp. With Tor safely back, we could once again happily appreciate the promises of adventure that the "Red Box" had to offer. 

Below are some of the Elmore drawings that accompanied the story of Aleena the Cleric. There are many times when I find Elmore's black and white ink drawings to be more evocative than his paintings. The drawing of the warrior standing over his fallen friend is one example. 

 

Last of all for this post, the cover paintings from the "Blue" and "Green" boxed sets that served to round out my introduction to D&D. These are more typical of a majority of Elmore's work with wilderness settings as opposed to dungeons or other interior. I love both of  these paintings as much as the "Red Box" cover. I also loved how they brought the game out from the dungeon and into the living world above.