A Daily Jaunt Through the Planes (Factions)
I’ve been doing some characters from the various Planescape factions over the last few days, and I thought I’d post what I’ve done so far. Most are just a little more simplified and lively than their predecessors. I realized I added lots of clothing, armor, belts and tassels, to hide my cursory figure drawing back then. I guess after 10+ years I was bound to get a little better.
A Daily Jaunt Through the Planes (Pit Fiend)A Daily Jaunt Through the Planes (Denizens of the Netherworld)
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great poses, great attitude. and that book in the old guy’s hands is solid. love the grasp on the sword and sheath at the top, and the grasp on the cape at the bottom. really defines the postures of those two characters. actaully,, you always draw hands with presence. that makes for very effective focal points in your pictures. very solid.
thanks for sharing man.
The overly caped Dustman in the Players Guide to the Planes is responsible for MANY overly cloaked PCs of mine…& now I find out it wasn’t really even on purpose!
It’s great to see these characters again 10 years later from the same illustrator. These interpretations really show how much your style and understanding of the figure have matured over the years. I’ve been loving these posts. Keep ‘em up!
These certainly bring me back. Your illustrations -made- Planescape for me. You managed to capture the entire setting, the whole metaworld, in the way you draw. The odds and ends that comprised clothing, buildings, and such gave it such a great cobbled together feel.
I have to admit that I found your website some years ago simply because your art was so amazing in the Planescape books that I had to look you up. It’s a shame that there’s no money in these Planescape things anymore. You really are the man.
PS, if you ever wanna, yaknow, do some generous Creative Commons licensed stuff for D&D ever again, I’ve got just the place; not like I’m plugging my own freely available online campaign setting specially designed for… yeah, I’ve taken up enough space with this already. See the website if you are a kindhearted soul with a love for that ole black magic of D&D still smoldering away in your heart.
That’s a lovely vision of Rhys there!
She does seem more mature and engaging in that sketch than in the previous image where she’s leaping across the page. That’s more like the character my group latched onto.
Your sense of movement has definitely improved over the years (I have a book open to compare the two) – though I wouldn’t say the additional odds and ends and trinkets are to any detriment. Not even for way back then. It calls to mind Rackham’s sense of detail, at least for me.
Tony,
It’s really amazing to see the differences between some of the same characters and monsters from a decade back compared to now. I also have to smile that you’d come back after such a stretch and draw them again. Your work for Planescape really anchored its tone and made it my favorite D&D setting hands down (even if I didn’t discover it and your work till after the setting was out of print).
I should add that your art for the setting really snagged my interest, and by extension was one of the major factors in my writing first fan stuff for the setting, then some articles printed in Dragon and Dungeon magazines, and as of August I’ll have credit in a book for its cosmology section. Your fault Tony.
And I’ll speak for a lot of folks out there who wouldn’t be at all unhappy to see you do this sort of Planescape nostalgia again in the future on your blog. *grin*
Tony,
As ever, I do believe you are one of the greatest fantasy artists out there today. I truly adore your work on the Planescape line, as well as your contributions to Changeling and Werewolf. I’m hoping contests will be going up to win illustrations such as these (or even if you put some of your material up for sale), as I’ll be in their like a whippet up a trouser-leg.
Thanks
Matthew
Thanks Matthew, One day, I’d like to release a new sketchbook of all of these unreleased sketches. We’ll see…