Fred Fields – Dungeon's Master

The Art of D&D (Part 2)

Many artists have contributed to D&D over the years, but only the greatest left a lasting impression on the game and its fans. In The Art of D&D (Part 1)we looked at five of the greatest artists ever associated with D&D: Caldwell, Elmore, Easley, Fields and Parkinson. These five set the bar for style and quality in the art of D&D throughout the 1980s. As D&D expanded in the years and decades to come, new artists stepped in to fill the giant shoes left behind by these masters. Today we look at three of them.

One of the smartest decisions Wizards of the Coast (TSR at the time) ever did was to make the artwork of one artist exclusive to a particular campaign line. It was marketing genius. The art was so distinct and so good that you immediately knew, just by looking at the advertisement or book cover, which campaign setting it was for. There was a direct correlation between the popularity and success of these product lines with the brand recognition the artists created.

The Art of D&D (Part 1)

Do you recognize these names: Caldwell, Elmore, Easley, Fields, and Parkinson? If not, I’ll bet you’d recognize their work. These were arguably the most prolific and popular artists in D&D during the 1980s and 90s. Most of the D&D manuals, source books, adventures, novels and magazines of the 80s and early 90s featured the works of one of these five artists on their covers.

Each edition of D&D had a different type of art that was unique to that version of the game. Art of the original D&D consisted of a lot of line drawings. They were two dimensional and simple. With AD&D, the art was taken to a whole new level. It took on a realism that was, until then, uncharacteristic in role-playing games. Artists working to illustrate AD&D understood that just because dragons don’t really exist doesn’t mean they can’t be depicted as if they do.

This realistic approach was applied to more than the monsters. The heroes of various races and classes were shown battling these monsters of fantasy. You believed that this scene could really exist. The details were exquisite. The weapons and armor were authentic and accurate. With these works gracing the covers for D&D rule books, modules, magazines and novels it made you want to buy these books.