Homage: 1995
Exclusive for subscribers: Early access to the completed cartoon homage to the "Glantri: Kingdom of Magic" created during Episode 23.
The conceit of this show is that, in order to honor the 50th anniversary of D&D, I’m doing an homage to one product from each year in the game’s history. In Episode 23, the year was 1995 … which just happens to be the year that I got hired by TSR. Interestingly, a lot of other very talented folks joined the company that year. During the show, editor, designer, and author Anne K. Brown and I reminisced about the “Class of ‘95” which includes people like Ed Stark, Bruce Cordell, Carrie Bebris, Miranda Horner, Jeff Quick, Keith Strohm, Cindi Rice, and Bill Olmesdahl (and that’s not even the complete list).
For the cartoon homage honoring 1995, I chose the Glantri: Kingdom of Magic boxed set from the oft-overlooked Mystara campaign setting. The cover painting was done by my friend and fellow Alliterate, Jennell Jaquays, whose work always had the perfect mixture of real-world texture and fantastical adventure.
At first I thought, “There’s NO WAY I can do what Jennell did with that water elemental … or whatever that terrifying thing is!” But after the panic subsided, I remembered that I’m not trying to match what any of these great artists achieved in their original paintings—I’m trying to show my appreciation for them, and interpret the scene in my own style. THAT I could do.
As a subscriber to this newsletter, you’re seeing this art before it is released for general consumption. You also have the option to buy an art print of this or any of the cartoon homages (and if you’re a paid subscriber, you get a discount on those purchases).
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