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5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful!, July 3, 2006
This review is from: The Art of Clyde Caldwell (Paperback)
Since the 1980s, Clyde Caldwell's artwork has been used for books, games and so on. His artwork, dealing with everything from horror, fantasy and sci-fi, is one of the best. The focus seems to be on sexy, lovely ladies and it's even better when you realize he uses real models! A must for any library about art books or fantasy books.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE PREMIERE FANTASY ARTIST!, October 27, 2005
This review is from: The Art of Clyde Caldwell (Paperback)
To fans of fantasy role-playing games and fantasy novels, Clyde Caldwell isn't just an artist, he is THE artist! For nearly 30 year's Caldwell's art has been featuring on gaming products, book covers, calendars and more. Caldwell has been the premiere artist for years for TSR/Wizards of the Coast's line of Dungeons & Dragons products. His work has been featured on countless book covers for publishers such as Avon, Baen, Ace, and Zebra and he's provided covers for publications such as Heavy Metal, Dragon, Dungeon, and Epic Illustrated. When it comes to pure fantasy art, it just doesn't get any better than Clyde Caldwell.
SQP presents this over-sized book with 128 pages of Caldwell's outstanding fantasy paintings from over the past 25 years, all in full color and printed on heavy stock, suitable for fans and collectors alike. Long-time gaming fans or fantasy fiction fans will recognize many of the pieces in this collection from some of their favorite books and modules over the years. A comprehensive index in the back lists the title of each painting and the medium in which he worked to complete each piece.
While not necessarily known for his nudes, the book provides several examples done in Acrylic wash from the Savage Hearts portfolio, also for SQP. Pages 20 & 21 feature one of my all-time favorite Caldwell paintings, the darkly gothic castle of Ravenloft with the vampire Count Strahd standing in full regalia on a balcony looking out over his lands. A thoroughly dynamic painting!
"From the Shadows" features a pair of dungeon adventurers fighting off a trio of spectral skeletons. This painting was from a Ravenloft module. Pages 72 & 73 feature two more paintings of the sinister Count Strahd, as they perfectly capture that mist-shrouded, gothic look of old Universal Horror films.
The Caldwell woman always evokes a sense of power and this is demonstrated beautifully in the painting called "Leopard and the Serpent" showing a warrior maiden posing proudly wearing a leopard headdress. Then there is "Amara Wintersword" sitting entrenched in a malignant looking old tree, dressed in red cloak and scantily placed chain mail. "Midnight Snack" and "To Pick a Rose You Ask Your Hands to Bleed" are two wonderful paintings of female vampires, decidedly different in their eras, but both equally foreboding. The latter piece coming from the Vampire: The Masquerade Player's Handbook for White Wolf.
Another of my favorite paintings is "Fiddler Fair" as a female bard plays her fiddle while the grim reaper hovers behind her. This was from a cover to a Mercedes Lackey book for Baen. "Forbidden Embrace" is also a great piece. A raven haired enchantress embraces a foul, tentacled creature that looks like it just walked out of a Lovecraft story. This was from a cover to Inquest Gamer magazine.
I say "favorites" in only the loosest sense of the word as it's literally impossible to pick a favorite from Caldwell's distinguished body of work. He truly is the gold standard when if comes to fantasy artists.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful fantasy art, December 1, 2009
This review is from: The Art of Clyde Caldwell (Paperback)
I was familiar with this artist due to work he did for Wizards of the Coast. His art tends to capture moods of fantasy novels, role playing games, etc. in ways that are, in my opinion, unmatched.
So I got this book. I was not disappointed. Some of the images I was familiar with. Others I was not.
However, one thing needs to be said about this collection's breadth. The material ranges from sci-fi to gothic, and from fantasy to horror. Material is provided from book covers, calendars, inside printed plates, art collections, etc.
Highly recommended.
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