The Fantasy Art of Computer Games - Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow

For more artwork from Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #462 - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Gates and Worlds

For more artwork from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games - Dream Chronicles

For more artwork from Dream Chronicles, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #460 - Spellforce

For more artwork from SpellForce, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #459 - Dungeon Siege II

For more artwork from Dungeon Siege II, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Anry Nemo part 3

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website 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 Anry Nemo, whose fantasy artwork spans many very different styles.

Hello by *anry on deviantART

Fairy tale by *anry on deviantART

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #458 - Koinup Editor's Choice

Today we present a KoinUp Editor's Choice -- Artwork by Second Life artist/photographer Cala Rossini a.k.a. Trixibelle

What's Koinup?
Koinup is the first social network to share your virtual life by publishing your machinima, screenshots and virtual stories.
It allows users to upload, share and review contents they create within virtual worlds, metaverse, mmorpg and games as Second Life, IMVU, World of Warcraft, The Sims 2 and many others.

Why is Koinup different?
Koinup is different in respect to the other social networks because it is focused on contents generated in virtual worlds, metaverses and games.
Koinup is also different because it allow its member not only one media, but almost any kind of media.

If you join Koinup, you have the chance to publish and share your videos, your pictures and your stories shooted in virtual world and games as Second Life and many others.
Photography enthusiast can join Koinup and publish their pictures or, using our storyboard tool, share stories mixing images and words!
Machinima authors can join Koinup and post their movies, but also create their own storyboards or even publish posters or stills from their upcoming videos!

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games - Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow

For more artwork from Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #456 - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Gates and Worlds

For more artwork from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #455 - Heroes V Fortress Faction

For more artwork from Heroes of Might and Magic V, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #454 - Spellforce

For more artwork from SpellForce, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #453 - Dungeon Siege II

For more artwork from Dungeon Siege II, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Anry Nemo part 2

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website 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 Anry Nemo, whose fantasy artwork spans many very different styles.

Snowdrop by *anry on deviantART

Spring Wizardry by *anry on deviantART

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #452 - KoinUp Editor's Choice

Today we present a KoinUp Editor's Choice -- Artwork by The Sims photomanipulator Veronica Mancini a.k.a. Kira_87.

What's Koinup?
Koinup is the first social network to share your virtual life by publishing your machinima, screenshots and virtual stories.
It allows users to upload, share and review contents they create within virtual worlds, metaverse, mmorpg and games as Second Life, IMVU, World of Warcraft, The Sims 2 and many others.

Why is Koinup different?
Koinup is different in respect to the other social networks because it is focused on contents generated in virtual worlds, metaverses and games.
Koinup is also different because it allow its member not only one media, but almost anykind of media.

If you join Koinup, you have the chance to publish and share your videos, your pictures and your stories shooted in virtual world and games as Second Life and many others.
Photography enthusiast can join Koinup and publish their pictures or, using our storyboard tool, share stories mixing images and words!
Machinima authors can join Koinup and post their movies, but also create their own storyboards or even publish posters or stills from their upcoming videos!

Fantasy Art Sites and Blogs -- Links and Link Exchange

Hi Everyone!

Hopefully this page will have loaded just a little faster now that I have removed my extensive blog roll and fantasy artist link collection to another page.

On that new dedicated page, I will slowly add even more fantasy art blogs and links.

Link Exchange: If you have a fantasy art related blog (preferred), website with a blog, or just a website, you may leave me a comment here to be included as part of a link exchange.

Thank you.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games - Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow

For more artwork from Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #450 - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Gates and Worlds

For more artwork from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #449 - Heroes V Fortress Faction

For more artwork from Heroes of Might and Magic V, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #448 - Spellforce

For more artwork from SpellForce, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

Musings on the state of Personal Portraits

A recommendation to have a look at You Are Art ("Photos on canvas & Contemporary pop art portraits") landed in my inbox last week, and got me thinking about what happened to personal portraits.

People go to heritage buildings and castles and wow at the (often enormous) portraits of famous and not-so-famous people. Way back when, personal and family portraits were the thing to have and to adorn homes. Huge portraits for equally huge estates.

Then the camera was invented, and suddenly everything got squashed down. Real estate got pricey, and we no longer had room for a big portrait, especially when you needed that room for your big cube of a TV. Thankfully, TVs are slimmer now, though quickly reaching the size of the personal portraits of yore (fortunately, they are also now in Hi-Def and not a pixellated mash).

With the advent of the camera, real spaces came into vogue, and fantasy spaces -- places in the imagination -- suddenly had to step up and be more aesthetically pleasing. Maybe because they were harder to appreciate because they weren't real. It took artistic ability to make, say, a portrait of real castle be more of an attractive possession than a good photograph of the same location. You could have a fantasy castle, but what to include? Sometimes too many details and elements put it into the category of a garish mess that can be stressful to look at and take in.
Take for example, this scene from the hidden object game 4 Elements -- great for a hidden object game, but trickier to properly hang in someone's home.



And still, there's something about a well done portrait that can surpass a photograph, even if the portrait strives for a high level of detailed realism (animal portraits are sometimes done in this way).
So where are the realistic portraits of real people? Or even artistically touched up portraits of real people? -- Especially of yourself? We marvel that historic "others" had them of themselves, so why don't we wish the same for ourselves?

Time and cost are the most probable factors. In terms of "cheap" do-it-yourself, you could use Photoshop and put yourself in any number of images, replacing the face with yours, and thereby suddenly be in fantastic costumes and settings. But if you wanted a more realistic depiction of yourself in the rest of the piece, it could be a lot more work. For example, you could probably easily overlay your face into the picture below (a screenshot from the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion mod, Hentai Mania), but do you really have astonishingly athletic abs like that?



So, suppose you really, really, wanted your own portrait. And you really really can't draw worth beans (or want the portrait to be "beyond critique" by having it done by a "real artist" instead of yourself). What then? The obvious answer is to get someone to draw you for you.
You Are Art, which can transform you from a photograph into something artsy, maybe into a popular artistic style, like Warhol or airbrushing. This is a fairly simple route because you already know the style you like, and the translation will typically fall comfortably into those guidelines.

For something more free-form and complicated, and open to a broader continuum of like-dislike (such as you in a fantastic yet artsy setting), digital artists like Catherine Somerlot have been doing it for years, with such gorgeous pieces as this one:


Solstice Queen by ~photopixie on deviantART

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #447 - Cat Mansion Dungeon Siege II

For more artwork from Dungeon Siege II, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.

The Fantasy Art of Anry Nemo part 1

Hi Everyone!

As you know, my website 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 Anry Nemo, whose fantasy artwork spans many very different styles.

Piter Blood by *anry on deviantART

Beatrice by *anry on deviantART

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games #446 - Koinup Editor's Choice

Today we present a KoinUp Editor's Choice -- Artwork by Second Life artist/photographer Cala Rossini a.k.a. Trixibelle

What's Koinup?
Koinup is the first social network to share your virtual life by publishing your machinima, screenshots and virtual stories.
It allows users to upload, share and review contents they create within virtual worlds, metaverse, mmorpg and games as Second Life, IMVU, World of Warcraft, The Sims 2 and many others.

Why is Koinup different?
Koinup is different in respect to the other social networks because it is focused on contents generated in virtual worlds, metaverses and games.
Koinup is also different because it allow its member not only one media, but almost any kind of media.

If you join Koinup, you have the chance to publish and share your videos, your pictures and your stories shooted in virtual world and games as Second Life and many others.
Photography enthusiast can join Koinup and publish their pictures or, using our storyboard tool, share stories mixing images and words!
Machinima authors can join Koinup and post their movies, but also create their own storyboards or even publish posters or stills from their upcoming videos!

The Fantasy Art of Computer Games - Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow

For more artwork from Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow, visit The Fantasy Art of Computer Games.