D&D (TSR-era) original art: Whatcha got? 1 1

[exitmusicblue]

Yesterday I purchased an original pencilled work plus a Magic card proof (that I can actually use in my White deck!) from Clyde Caldwell.  Creator of many an iconic D&D piece, which you can revisit at https://orkerhulen.dk/artists.html.  Some Larry Elmore OA incoming, to boot... Dragonlance and Ravenloft helped keep me sane as a kid.

Will show off once they arrive, but also wanted to share a heartwarming note from Clyde.  Honestly, who does this any more, and with a first-time customer no less:

Thanks for your order from Clyde Caldwell Online.  Since my June/July website special will offer $50 off on orders of $200 or more, I'm going to go ahead and give you $50 off your order.  I'll send you a PayPal refund for $50.  I'll let you know when your order has been shipped.

Edit: Just in!  By Elmore, Fabian, and Caldwell:

Edited June 25, 2020 by exitmusicblue

[Varanis]

Not D&D, but in the same ballpark - my wife and I got this piece by Terry Oakes from "The Crimson Tide" choose your own adventure book from the Fighting Fantasy series. Fighting Fantasy was created/written by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, both of whom would go on to create Warhammer.

I also recently got this Adrian Smith High Elf Silver Helms painting from the Warhammer card game, WarCry. Adrian Smith is one of my absolute favorite fantasy artists. He's done a ton of really memorable Warhammer pieces as well as all the art to my favorite line of boardgames - Blood Rage, Rising Sun, and the in development Ankh.

[cstojano]

There is an existing TSR thread on the boards here. Take an anti-depressant before reading. The short story is one super wealthy collector buys it all and has many eyes on the street feeding him art. People holding anything decent reply with the following "Its not for sale but I am waiting for X to make me a higher offer." Bits and pieces can be found but anything that hits the public sale side of things will be gobbled up. I was underbidder on a mid-90s Brom Dark Sun cover on eBay a few months back. I bid 17k for the thing and really had no shot. I too collect Warhammer art. 

 

[exitmusicblue]

8 minutes ago, cstojano said:

There is an existing TSR thread on the boards here. Take an anti-depressant before reading. The short story is one super wealthy collector buys it all and has many eyes on the street feeding him art. People holding anything decent reply with the following "Its not for sale but I am waiting for X to make me a higher offer." Bits and pieces can be found but anything that hits the public sale side of things will be gobbled up. I was underbidder on a mid-90s Brom Dark Sun cover on eBay a few months back. I bid 17k for the thing and really had no shot. I too collect Warhammer art. 

 

*%]*]%+... appreciate the insights.

[Varanis]

17 minutes ago, cstojano said:

There is an existing TSR thread on the boards here. Take an anti-depressant before reading. The short story is one super wealthy collector buys it all and has many eyes on the street feeding him art. People holding anything decent reply with the following "Its not for sale but I am waiting for X to make me a higher offer." Bits and pieces can be found but anything that hits the public sale side of things will be gobbled up. I was underbidder on a mid-90s Brom Dark Sun cover on eBay a few months back. I bid 17k for the thing and really had no shot. I too collect Warhammer art. 

 

Oh wow. That is good to know. Does this collector go after newer art as well?

[cstojano]

1 hour ago, Varanis said:

Oh wow. That is good to know. Does this collector go after newer art as well?

I don't think newer art is of interest but don't know the full details. 

[christosgage]

2 hours ago, Varanis said:

Not D&D, but in the same ballpark - my wife and I got this piece by Terry Oakes from "The Crimson Tide" choose your own adventure book from the Fighting Fantasy series. Fighting Fantasy was created/written by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, both of whom would go on to create Warhammer.

I also recently got this Adrian Smith High Elf Silver Helms painting from the Warhammer card game, WarCry. Adrian Smith is one of my absolute favorite fantasy artists. He's done a ton of really memorable Warhammer pieces as well as all the art to my favorite line of boardgames - Blood Rage, Rising Sun, and the in development Ankh.

This is super cool! In America we got fewer of the Fighting Fantasy books, but there was some great new cover art by Corben and others. Do you mind if I ask where you found the Fighting Fantasy art? I'd love to see if there's anything from the books I remember.

[Benedict Judas Hel]

I am also hoping to add some Fighting Fantasy original art (interior pieces, not covers) from the original U.S. releases (books #1-#21).  I’m sure they are super difficult to find and super expensive but I can dream...

[Varanis]

15 hours ago, christosgage said:

This is super cool! In America we got fewer of the Fighting Fantasy books, but there was some great new cover art by Corben and others. Do you mind if I ask where you found the Fighting Fantasy art? I'd love to see if there's anything from the books I remember.

 

5 hours ago, Benedict Judas Hel said:

I am also hoping to add some Fighting Fantasy original art (interior pieces, not covers) from the original U.S. releases (books #1-#21).  I’m sure they are super difficult to find and super expensive but I can dream...

Check eBay. There are (might be were now) several pages for around $300 each. It was a pretty limited selection, but that's where I got this one.

Edited May 25, 2020 by Varanis

[exitmusicblue]

Just read about Fighting Fantasy.  Very very interesting... enjoyed the Choose Your Own Adventure books but missed this boat.

Looks like 95% of the fantasy art I loved growing up (somehow Frazetta didn't register at the time) was drawn either by Elmore or Caldwell. Oh, and Stephen Fabian.

[Varanis]

25 minutes ago, exitmusicblue said:

Just read about Fighting Fantasy.  Very very interesting... enjoyed the Choose Your Own Adventure books but missed this boat.

Looks like 95% of the fantasy art I loved growing up (somehow Frazetta didn't register at the time) was drawn either by Elmore or Caldwell. Oh, and Stephen Fabian.

Younger you was just looking out for future you's wallet by ignoring Frazetta.

My wife actually clued me into Fighting Fantasy. She has almost the whole set of books.

[Benedict Judas Hel]

2 hours ago, Varanis said:

 

Check eBay. There are (might be were now) several pages for around $300 each. It was a pretty limited selection, but that's where I got this one.

I have regularly checked Ebay In the recent past (1-2 months now) and haven’t really found anything.  The closest I got was recreations a few weeks ago which I am not interested in.  However, I know that Ebay’s search engines can be quite finicky and unless you type a specific combination of words, you won’t get anything.  But I’ll keep trying!

[Varanis]

1 minute ago, Benedict Judas Hel said:

I have regularly checked Ebay In the recent past (1-2 months now) and haven’t really found anything.  The closest I got was recreations a few weeks ago which I am not interested in.  However, I know that Ebay’s search engines can be quite finicky and unless you type a specific combination of words, you won’t get anything.  But I’ll keep trying!

From my watch list. It looks like the pages sold but a prelim to the cover of the first book is still available. I heavily considered the prelim, but after doing some digging it appeared that multiple prelims to that piece might exist in addition to the complete painting and I wasn't a big fan of how unfinished it looked. I also felt it was kind of pricey relatively speaking. Still kind of neat if you can bear those faults. 

[Benedict Judas Hel]

12 minutes ago, Varanis said:

From my watch list. It looks like the pages sold but a prelim to the cover of the first book is still available. I heavily considered the prelim, but after doing some digging it appeared that multiple prelims to that piece might exist in addition to the complete painting and I wasn't a big fan of how unfinished it looked. I also felt it was kind of pricey relatively speaking. Still kind of neat if you can bear those faults. 

I did see those Caverns of the Snow Witch illustrations previously and while I love the style of the artwork in that book, none of the offerings geabbed my interest enough for me to spend that amount of money on them.  Also, I did see the the prelim but I was never a big fan of the European covers for the series (or off prelims in general).  Additionally as you have stated, covers draw prices that are well beyond my price range.  But thanks for the info!  I really appreciate it.

[-m]

Just an FYI - About 20 years ago, a lot of second edition art was dropped on ebay. Lots of Monster Manual and Players Handbook art, maybe 100 pieces total.

All long gone and I haven't seen any since. Prices were relatively high back then, with some going at the comic art cover level.

I picked up the gelatinous cube, an all-time classic, amongst others. Competition was tough on that one.

[Tatterdamillion]

Would love to see the gelatinous cube. Have you seen this costume?

[-m]

That costume looks great.

Here's the gelatinous cube illustration from second edition

[JoeRock]

Slightly off topic, but since the gelatinous cube came up, funko made a cool little figure of it

 

[exitmusicblue]

21 hours ago, JoeRock said:

Slightly off topic, but since the gelatinous cube came up, funko made a cool little figure of it

 

Adorable!

The Elmore is close to arriving from NL, Caldwell and Fabian pieces already received. Will show off soon.

[exitmusicblue]

The trio by the greats have all arrived:

Vampire, by Larry Elmore - https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1643934

Ghost, by Stephen Fabian - https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1643933

Stoned Souls (Elf and Girl), by Clyde Caldwell - https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1643932

 

Happiness...!