Worth Visiting - Oscar Chichoni

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

Today, I'd like to introduce the art of Oscar Chichoni.

Packed Full of Fantasy - The Fantasy Art of David Penfound

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

Today, I'd like to introduce the art of David Penfound. His fantasy art style seems to be one of bright rainbow colours, and very little open space. In fact, you may find there is a certain "busy-ness" to his pieces, sometimes because he tries to fit many symbols and elements in (such as in his Zodiac). If you like a lot of minute detail, and a brighter, cheery palette, then his work is certainly worth a look.

In addition to fantasy, David Penfound has a portfolio that includes other themes/genres, such as wildlife and a somewhat uncommon Native American theme.

(Note: His site was a little iffy and timed out on a ping a couple of days ago. If the pictures don't load, try again tomorrow. Thanks!)

Worth Visiting - The Fantasy Art of Janet Chui

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

Today, I'd like to introduce the fantasy art of Janet Chui. Her artwork spans a variety of media and subjects, of which a small selection is available here. She provides links to her portfolio elsewhere on the net, such as the larger and well-respected galleries like Epilogue.

Does more sex sell more?

Hi Everyone!

We all know that in advertising, sex sells. But does more sex in the same product sell more?

Since God-knows-when, "fan service" has been a mainstay of computer games. Often this is just unreasonably big and perfect breasts and a lot of naked thigh.

Here are three pictures of witches from the Dungeon faction (no, not *that* kind of dungeon... well, maybe) in Heroes of Might and Magic V (never mind the awesome hair for now). In Heroes V, you have "basic" units and "upgraded" superior units, and the Tribes of the East expansion offered a second upgrade of the basic unit. Visually, upgraded units are supposed to look "cooler".

That these witch models are erotic is not entirely unexpected. But what Tribes of the East introduced... you'd think that they already offered enough fan service. To make a "bedroom Barbie" model seems over the top. And, apparently because that was still not enough (or not clear enough to their teen+ audience), they really piled it on with the flavour text.

WASP 7 - The Fantasy Art of Cat Mansion

Wednesday Art Showcase Presents - The Fantasy Art of Cat Mansion


Last week's fantasy art showcase presented the fantasy art of Dungeon Siege 2. Today's showcase presents a "cutesy-fying" mod for Dungeon Siege 2 -- Cat Mansion. Essentially, the human, elf, and dryad models were replaced by anime kids. All helmets were removed, but otherwise the arms and armour remained largely the same, though squashed down to fit the smaller model.












Click image for full-size image at Flickr. Link to Flickr is mandatory per Flickr terms of use. All images are copyrighted by their respective owners.



Fantasy Art and Portraits: A showcase of the fantasy art of computer games

Where's the beefcake in Fantasy? The Fantasy Art of Flondo.

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

Today, I'd like to introduce the art of Flondo.

As you know, unrealistically hot babes are everywhere in fantasy art. Here's some art for gender equality. If you'd like to see the art of Flondo all year round, the artist has a 2009 Calendar out right now.

Even More Dragons - The 2008 DnD Draconomicon

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.



Today, I'd like to introduce the art of Dungeons and Dragons' Draconomicon.

I mentioned the art and colour scheme of dragons in the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game franchise in October, and presented some pictures of dragons there from their 3rd edition Monster Manual.

"Monster Manuals" are core (read: necessary) books for playing Dungeons and Dragons, but Dungeons and Dragons invariably churns out hundreds of supplements with each edition. In both the 2nd and 3rd editions, a "Draconomicon", dealing with all things draconic, were published.

With their current 4th edition, it looks as if they will expand the Draconomicon even further: Their November 2008 release deals with only the evil "Chromatic" dragons, or coloured dragons--red, blue, green, white, and black--and the good "Metallic" dragons and possibly even the neutral "Gemstone" dragons will probably not be far behind. If we're lucky, they might resurrect the epic dragons of the Astral Plane that were part of the 2nd edition Spelljammer setting.

Here's some of the gorgeous interior art:

Worth Visiting - Golden Arrow

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

I got an e-mail from Renderosity showing off this model of an Elven Archer, titled "Golden Arrow". If you follow the link to Renderosity, you'll find lots of artwork in a similar genre.

Unicorns and Night-Mares

Hi Everyone!

Here's a collection of unicorns and night-mares from Heroes of Might and Magic V!
There's an obvious short-cut to producing these models, of course: By changing the textures and animations and body parts (like turning the horn around on the Hell Stallion) of a basic model, a "new" creature is created.

The Fantasy Art of Hyung-Tae Kim

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

If you can't get enough Final Fantasy XII style art, check out the portfolio of artist Hyung-Tae Kim.

(Click on the picture to be taken to the source site).

 

 

Faster than the Eye -- If you didn't see it, did it happen?

Hi Everyone!

Here's a cute shot I thought I'd share with you. It's from Heroes of Might and Magic V, from the first expansion, Hammers of Fate.

You need to understand that prior to the expansion, character animation was very limited. Characters didn't open their mouths. When they were in the non-interactive sequences (cutscenes), they mostly stood around while the dialogue was played. If they emoted anything, a spell-casting animation or combat-related animation was used.
Naturally, players dissed this as sort of pathetic.

In Hammers of Fate, characters got to open their mouths. Cutscenes improved immensely with better direction and a wider range of movement.
Perhaps they stretched the engine a bit to get it done, but it looked great, so who cares?

Anyway, here are some shots of the Haven hero of Hammers of Fate, Freyda. In the first shot, we see a bit of an animation boo-boo with Freyda's sword which you would probably have missed because it goes by so fast.

WASP 6 - The Fantasy Art of Dungeon Siege 2

Wednesday Art Showcase Presents - The Fantasy Art of Dungeon Siege 2

Today's fantasy art showcases that old hack 'n slash game, Dungeon Siege II.

As a resource for fantasy art and portraits, Dungeon Siege 2 offers a "generic fantasy" look with interesting variety, with the result that the tradeoff between aesthetics and design was questionable. Some pieces have a more general appeal, while others rate as plain or even ugly. They have a practical place for the citizens of the game world, and do seem to follow a certain artistic vision, but you'll either like it or hate it.










Click image for full-size image at Flickr. Link to Flickr is mandatory per Flickr terms of use. All images are copyrighted by their respective owners.
Fantasy Art and Portraits: A showcase of the fantasy art of computer games

Worth Visiting - The Fantasy Art of Renee Biertempfel

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to the colourful fairy-tale-ish art of Renee Biertempfel ("beer-?"). I just know this will probably make some of you *not* want to click, but... if you're tired of athletic DD-endowed maidens Biertempfel's portfolio is definitely worth a look.



If you are looking for a quaint or novelty gift, her bath and body products feature her beautiful art on the outside, and in every bottle of perfume oil there's gemstone on the inside.

The Fantasy Art of Jose Del Nido

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

If you can't get enough of the "sexy horror" fantasy art of Luis Royo, you might want to check out Jose Del Nido. In fact, just scanning thumbnails may make you think they are from the same portfolio, but a closer look reveals nuances which may be make the difference between "I like" and "not quite".

For example: (del Nido on top, Royo below)



Some of the ways del Nido differs from Royo include:

• Lighter grip around the waist and no blood (or is that her own hand?)
• Model appears (somewhat) distressed by surroundings.
• Model drawn slightly different (sharper) than the backdrop (particularly visible around the hair and face)
• Model is less affected by the environment (only a bit of slime on her thigh)

Click on the pictures to go to unofficial galleries of each artists' work.

The Fantasy Art of Sandara Tang

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

Today, I'd like to introduce the art of Tang Sin Yun (Sandara) (another archive here).

(Appended Nov 29/2008 - Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews has interviewed the artist.)

(Click on the picture to be taken to the source site).

Worth Visiting - Fantasy Art Fanatics

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

Today, I'd like to introduce Fantasy Art Fanatics.
I think art is like acting. There are famous actors and there are great actors (and sometimes they're even the same person! (-_^) What distinguishes the two groups is, I feel, marketing.


We all know the "big names" in fantasy art, like Greg and Tim Hildebrandt or Luis Royo. You may also know Keith Parkinson, who's done a lot of work for roleplaying games; or Justin Sweet, who illustrated a portfolio of portraits for the Icewind Dale computer game series.

But what about great artists who aren't as famous or languishing in virtual obscurity? The author of Fantasy Art Fanatics seeks to answer that. On this site you'll find artists famous and not-famous-yet, a small sample of each artist's work, and a link to their official site. (One which particularly caught my eye was Michael Waters and his use of leaves).

How "unfamous" are some of these artists? See if they have a poster for sale:

Search For Posters!

Taxidermist stuffs Siamese-Twin Squirrels -- but is it art?

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website Fantasy Art and Portraits presently showcases the fantasy art of computer games, so there's a lot of art out there that doesn't fit there at the moment. I can, however, introduce it to you on this blog.

Today, I'd like to introduce the fantasy "art" of Custom Creature Taxidermy Art. Want to "fantasify" your fishing story? Have two beloved pets but can only stuff one? (Maybe do unto your cat before your cat...?) Contact Ms. Brewer today!