Showing posts with label artwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artwork. Show all posts

02 July 2020

Jim Holloway - RPG Artist

Jim Holloway passed away on Sunday, 28 June 2020, per the note posted by his son Mike Holloway in The Art of Jim Holloway group on Facebook:


I feel like it’s necessary to post this because of all of the support everyone has given my dad over the course of this group. Earlier today, he passed away peacefully. My brother, uncle and I were there for him, holding his hand and telling him we loved him. To everyone who reached out or commented on my post about him being sick, thank you so much. It means a lot to us, and it meant a lot to him. Afterwards, I went to his house and looked at all of his old paintings. I wanted to share this one from the ‘70s with you all — a scene from The Hobbit, a book my dad forced me to read as a kid (I’m not complainin!) it’s a picture of the painting, not a scan, so I apologize for the unlit sections. But if everyone could please continue to share his art in this group and wherever else, my family would really appreciate you helping us keep his memory alive. He was a talented man, and I love seeing the stuff everyone shares.

Jim contributed to many RPG publications over the years, and I had the pleasure of working with him on a few different projects.  Jim was always easy to work with and kind---a true professional who managed changes as requested and always delivered his work on time.  I wish I'd have had the opportunity to work with him more.  

I pulled a few of his pieces from those books, as well as some other personal favorites in the sampling below.  In all of the captions I've described each work---they're not "official" titles in any way, either from Jim himself or from the respective publishers. 

This is one of the full-page chapter pieces to the Black Blade/Usherwood Adventures edition of OSRIC, the AD&D 1e retroclone.  It's the header for Chapter 6 Monsters, and depicts a wonderful (if brutal!) coup de grâce:



Dwarven Coup De Grâce - OSRIC -
Art by Jim Jolloway

Jim also provided the covers and most of the interior artwork for Rob Kuntz' first two modules from Pied Piper Publishing, Cairn of the Skeleton King and Tower of Blood.  When we republished the two adventures with Black Blade, we were able to bring the two Tower of Blood pieces of color art together for the front and back covers.  Here's Tower of Blood: 


Tower of Blood front and back covers -
Art by Jim Holloway

Jim mentioned in email that he was planning to revise or update the Tower of Blood artwork to suit his own preferences, and as I consider these some of the best pieces of his work, I'd love to see those someday.

Two pieces from facing pages in the ICE/North Pole Productions RM2 The Shade of the Sinking Plain (1983):

 

The Shade -
Art by Jim Holloway

Orc Horde -
Art by Jim Holloway


Jim contributed many covers to Dragon Magazine over the years, but Dragon Magazine #74 (June 1983) remains one of my favorites, and is an excellent issue in its content, too!


Dragon Magazine #74 - June 1983 -
Art by Jim Holloway


In closing, Jim's artwork for TSR's 1982 S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth are one of the many highlights to that classic adventure!   In addition to his interior art, JIm provided the title page artwork, as well as the back cover art:




Demonic Conjuration -
Art by Jim Holloway

Derro Ambush -
Art by Jim Holloway

Stone Giant Downfall -
Art by Jim Holloway


S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth back cover -
Art by Jim Holloway



Rest in peace Jim, and thank you for making RPGs more fun, more engaging, and bringing out the humanity in our fantasies through your works!

Allan.

22 May 2017

Tales of Peril - the Fifth Preview: Front Cover Art!

Last week I introduced Ian Baggley's back cover art for Tales of Peril: The Complete Boinger and Zereth Stories of John Eric Holmes, and this week I unveil his front cover artwork.

The front cover art also depicts a scene from The Maze of Peril, as a force of Amazons assault the Temple of Dagon and its Dagonites (deep ones) from their bireme sailing vessel:

 

Amazons Attack! by Ian Baggley
Amazons Attack!
by Ian Baggley


 


Previous Previews

15 May 2017

Tales of Peril - the Fourth Preview: Back Cover Art!

As part of my continuing series of previews for Tales of Peril: The Complete Boinger & Zereth Stories of John Eric Holmes, I am now ready to begin unveiling the cover art for the book!

Ian Baggley is perhaps best known in RPG circles for his gorgeous illustrations throughout the first edition of the RPG Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, written by Jeffrey P. Talanian, and published by North Wind Adventures in 2012.  Jeff began working with Ian way back when he published his first ASSH adventure, Charnel Crypt of the Sightless Serpent in 2010 (you can also see an earlier form of that adventure in Knockspell #1).  I have many favorites among Ian's pieces from the ASSH rulebooks, but among my top selections are "Longboat" featured on the cover of Volume VI: Hyperborean Gazetteer (page 177):



and "The Gate"---which I always think of as the conjuration of Azathoth, given the idiot pipers accompanying the high-priestess at her ceremony (rather than Hastur, as titled in the rulebook on page 219):



I purchased two original pieces of Ian's work over the years he sold them at GaryCon and North Texas RPG Con.  The first is "The Gate," above, while the second was created for an adventure that Jeff ran at those conventions and later published (I won't reveal which title the artwork is from, however, to avoid spoilers for the module):



"The Shadow out of Time" is one of my favorite H. P. Lovecraft stories, and I thought that Ian did a fabulous job  of capturing the Great Race of Yith in this piece!

Given his ability to bring the monstrous creations of H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith to life, Ian was my first choice to create the cover art for Tales of Peril, and he came through in spaces spades for this piece, which is the back cover art.  It depicts one of the key scenes from the titular Maze of Peril novella, in which the heroes battle the servants of Dagon!:



Next time, the front cover!

Allan.


Previous Previews

08 May 2017

Tales of Peril - the Third Preview: Illustrations and Artwork

With this preview, I begin to unveil some of the artwork that will grace the pages of Tales of Peril: The Complete Boinger & Zereth Stories of John Eric Holmes.

Jon and I at Black Blade Publishing are particularly pleased that Chris Holmes drew new pieces of artwork for each of JEH's stories, and provided us with scans of his original art from the 1970s Alarums & Excursions stories.  Zach Howard has also shared some of Chris' original pieces of art from A&E, at Zenopus Archives.

Here's a sample of Chris Holmes new artwork, from The Maze of Peril novella; this depicts the wereshark attack on Bardan the Dwarf:


Wereshark attacks Bardan! by Chris Holmes 2012

In addition, we secured permission from Laura Roslof (through the kind assistance of Paul Stormberg from The Collector's Trove and Legends of Wargaming), and from Wizards of the Coast, to reproduce Jim's five illustrations for "The Sorcerer's Jewel" short story from Dragon Magazine #46 (February 1981). 

Here is the list of illustrations and artwork that will be included in Tales of Peril:

FICTION
 

The Maze of Peril
  • Wereshark Attacks Bardan! – Chris Holmes 2012
  • Murray the Mage Examines the Slain Dagonite – Chris Holmes 2012
  • Boinger and Zereth and the Stone Golem – Chris Holmes 2012
  • Characters Engage the Dagonites and their Evil High Priest – Ian Baggley, back cover art, 2017
  • Amazons Attack the Temple of Dagon – Ian Baggley, front cover art, 2017
Alarums & Excursions
  • Warrior for Hire – Chris Holmes 1976
  • Wereshark Attacking Bardan – Chris Holmes 1976
  • Giant Chameleon Page Borders – Chris Holmes 1976
  • Giant Chameleon Battle on the Log – Chris Holmes 1976
  • Witch Doctor in Action! – Chris Holmes 1977
  • Player Characters and the Rescued Damsels – Chris Holmes 1977
  • Spawn of Cthulhu – Chris Holmes 1977
  • The Sorcerer's Tower – Chris Holmes 1977
  • Great Cthulhu – Chris Holmes 1977
Dragon Magazine

“Trollshead”
  • The Troll Attacks Boinger – Chris Holmes 1979
  • Zereth Interrogates a Severed Head – Chris Holmes 2012
“The Sorcerer's Jewel”
  • Boinger and Lady Verbeena – Jim Roslof 1980
  • Boinger Descending the Stairs – Jim Roslof 1980
  • Zereth Casts a Spell from a Scroll – Jim Roslof 1980
  • Grey Ooze Attack – Chris Holmes 2012
  • Battle with the Lich! – Jim Roslof 1980
  • Boinger Defends the Loot! – Jim Roslof 1980
“In the Bag”
  • Zereth Levitates Boinger Above the Gorgon – Chris Holmes 2012
“Witch Doctor” - Unpublished
  • Ambush on the Hillside  – Chris Holmes 1981
  •  Discussion with Digby on Giant Lizard – Chris Holmes 1981
  • Boinger Entwined by Snake – Chris Holmes 1981
  • Sexy Vampire  – Chris Holmes 1981
  • Battle at the Cart – Chris Holmes 1981
NON-FICTION 

"Boinger and Zereth Player Character Summaries and Character Card Scans"Chris Holmes
  • Boinger and Zereth Player Character Cards – Chris Holmes 2015
“My Time with Murray”
  • Murray Player Character Sheet – Eric Frazier 2015
  • D&D in 1976-1977 – Eric Frazier 2015

Next week I'll talk to the cover artwork from Ian Baggley!

Allan.

Previous Previews