This week in the magazine we saw a change in the publishing model. We shifted from a 3 day a week release schedule to a 5 day a week release schedule. That ups the ante for getting the articles released, and ups the number of articles that require art. Luckily, I've got access to a talented pool of artists. Check out what went live this week...
Dragon® magazine
Warlord Essentials
Artist: David Rapoza
I love working with David. He hits the concept well, he gets the IP and where I'm trying to go with the characters. We has a great knack of giving the pieces life and energy. I hate Jeremy Jarvis for snatching him up so quickly for Magic. David...come away from the light!Hint: If you want to get noticed by Jeremy...do stellar work for D&D®, let us fall in love with you, and he will come knocking on your door. It happens all too often.
Roles: Defenders
Artist: Alex Aparin
Alex is a new find for me. I just started working with him this month. I found his submission in ArtDrop, and was happily floored when I received his first illustration for D&D. I waited all of about 5 minutes before I showed him off to the rest of the D&D AD's...and hoped that Jeremy wouldn't notice him right away.Class Acts: Wizard
Artist: Sarah Stone
I started working with Sarah last month, and haven't regretted it for a moment. She brings a very fresh look and feel to D&D. All of the other D&D art directors were amazed that I took a chance on her. Not because she didn't have skill and talent, but rather because her portfolio had such an anime look to it. I was confident she could hit what I was looking for when I saw what she was doing for Sarah Robinson over a Paizo Publishing. Hit it she has.Power Play: Martial Power
Artist: Tyler Jacobson
I was introduced to Tyler through Irene Gallo at Tor Books, and I have enjoyed our burgeoning relationship since that day. He has several images in this months issue...I love the Deva piece he did for Power Play: Divine, but you'll have to wait to see that one.Class Acts: Rogue
Artist: Sarah Stone
I've already mentioned Sarah, but I have to share a story. I'm a simple kind of a guy, and simple things make me smile. In this case, it was praise for this image from the Editor-in-chief, Chris Youngs. His prime direction for this piece was "I want to see a character that makes me say 'I want to be that character'". Apparently Sarah caught that vibe well enough that he said "damn, I want to play that character!" Nice...Dungeon® magazine
Chaos Scar: The Brothers Gray
Artist: Patrick McEvoy
Cartographer: Sean Macdonald
Patrick is another recent addition to the stable. He clinched his place on my go-to list when he delivered on a killer tiefling piece a few months ago. Now I look forward to finding something new and interesting to push his ability to find a dynamic point-of-view. This was a tough one, with both foreground and background elements of interest. His decision to use the time of day to create the dramatic lighting worked out very well.Sean was a name that was handed to me when I took over magazines. I have enjoyed working with him since starting in this position. The hardest task I have is keeping him busy - he's so darn fast!
Expeditionary Dispatches
Artist: Wayne England
I've worked with Wayne for a while. I always loved the items and environments he created for D&D. One day he asked me to let him do some figurative work for me, and I haven't regretted the decision once. When he talked to me last month and asked to start doing some magazine work - I hesitated. Obviously, not because of his skill or quality, but rather becuase of the crushing schedule we often have for magazines. Since Wayne works traditionally, it adds some stress and strain to the process. Wayne assured me he could get the paintings done, and shipped across the globe within my time frame. He's never steered me wrong before, and he didn't this time either.Hope you enjoy the pieces. Till next week...
Go Forth. Create!
To Be Seen...
Got questions, or want to see a discussion on a particular subject. Drop me a line at ArtDrop Questions.
Don't forget that you can also send your art submissions to Wizards of the Coast at ArtDrop Submissions. Please make sure that your submissions do not total more than 5 Mb, or your email might get bumped.
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9 comments:
Thanks for the positive feelins mmm, but my work has got a long way to go D:.
I just wanted to ask if Alex Aparin has a website? I love his composition/colors and couldnt find anything else about him online...
Alex "Belibr" Aparin needs to learn about meta tags, so people don't have to look so hard to find him.
http://www.belibr.com/
As I said over at EN World, that pic by Dave Rapoza is one of the best I've seen for 4e D&D. The looks on the dwarf and human warlords are so intense!
And I agree with Chris Youngs! I wanna play that character!
Wow, that David Rapoza piece is stellar. Incredibly solid all around.
great artists with great work. I am in awe and inspired to work harder. Thank you for showing them off and hiring them in the first place. I think we sometimes forget that it is the commissions that allow the artist to flex their muscles and really shine.
You said: "Wayne assured me he could get the paintings done, and shipped across the globe within my time frame."
Did he mail you the original? Is this what you normally do when working with an artist that works traditionally? Or would a jpeg suffice if one could produce a professional enough scan?
"Hint: If you want to get noticed by Jeremy...do stellar work for D&D®, let us fall in love with you, and he will come knocking on your door. It happens all too often."
Priceless tip! Thank you. =)
@DavidStill
David, To get the absolute best quality, we encourage artists to send their originals to get scanned. If you do your own scanning, you can send a scan but only do that if you are confident in the quality of the scan.
Jon's tip about getting work on Magic was good, but I must confess, my interest is getting to work on D&D. It's a game I've loved for more than 20 years, and that'd assure that the energy poured into my work would ring true.
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