Featured Artist: Luigi Castellani

Hello and welcome to my first Featured Artist post of 2019.  If you are new to this then the purpose here is simple.  I find an artist I really like and I share some of my favorite pieces with you.   The hope is you find some new artist to like and maybe buy their prints or subscribe to their Pateron or whatever.  But at the very least we all find someone whose art we can enjoy.

Today it is my pleasure to introduce you all to Luigi "Artkid" Castellani.

Luigi is an artist from Rome, Italy (where I do believe art was actually invented, but don't quote me on that! ;) ).  You will recognize his work from several of my own witch books. But most likely you will recognize him from his stock art packages or the books that use them and his art.

His art is very reminiscent of the old-school style D&D books and it could be that is the reason he is so popular with the OSR crowd.  His work has appeared in books and games by Joseph Bloch's BRW Games, OSRIC, Carcosa, and Peter C. Spahn's Small Niche Games among others.

Here is Luigi in his own words.

Like so many artists I started drawing before I got in primary school, my reference material consisted of Marvel Comics with Buscema and Kirby being the foremost inspirational artists. I first made contact with D&D, Call of Cthulhu and Traveller in 1980, and my love for gaming endures to this day. Over the years I've played or GMed a variety of systems (Shadowrun, SW D6, Pendragon, CP 2020, TORG, Bushido, Flashing Blades, Hero, MERP/RM to name a few). I'm mostly a "trad" and Old School gamer but I never liked fences and walls, gimme dice and I'll play (almost) anything. My favorite gaming artists ever are Erol Otus, Dave Trampier and Keith Parkinson.

Here are some of my favorite pieces.

You can Luigi at the following sites:

• Luigi Castellani Patreon
• DeviantArt
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Books with Luigi as "Author" on DriveThruRPG
• Books with Luigi as "Artist" on DriveThruRPG

Featured Artist: Anna Marine

I am not sure how I found my next Featured Artist, I am just glad I did!

Anna Marine is from Prague, Czech Republic and is an amazing talent.  As you can expect from me she loves to draw witches and demons.

Here is a commission I had gotten from her for my Swords & Wizardry White Box Witch.
She was so great to work with that I am now looking for any excuse to get to do it again!

It's a young Larina flying to her sabbat sky-clad.  She does some really wonderful stuff.

Her newest is "Yule".

You can buy all these prints from her Big Cartel or Etsy stores.

You can find her on the net at:

• https://www.facebook.com/anmarine
• https://www.facebook.com/annamarineofficial/
• https://www.facebook.com/aeonnewera
• https://annamarine.bigcartel.com/  (buy a print!)
• https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaMarine (buy prints and more!)
• https://www.patreon.com/annamarine
• https://www.instagram.com/annamarineart/

She is available for commissions as well.

Thanks so much Anna!

Featured Artist: Larry Elmore

This one might seem something like a cheat or a dodge. I mean the idea behind Featured Artist is to share with you artists I enjoy and want you to know more about.  Let's be honest EVERYONE knows who Larry Elmore is.

But in truth, there might not be my witch class and thus not this blog had it not been for Larry Elmore.  Well. That might be overstating it since I was working on my witch rather early.  But it was his art that gave me inspiration.  I do know I would never have published my first "netbook" of witches had it not been for his art.

This week is my "anniversary week" and Elmore has had an inordinate influence on my writings. It seems only fair to give him his due here.

I have to be 100% honest.
I love his witches.

This witch appeared in the famous Dragon #114 version of the witch class and she was the "face" of my witch character ever since.  My goal is to get this as a print to put up in my game room.

Equally as influential was the Dragonlance character Laurana, which is not a great mental leap to my own Larina.  Though really only in name.  Laurana went from spoiled princess to warrior to one of the main heroes of the Dragonlance saga.

Though this next one was more influential.

"Early Snow" was one of my favorites. So much so that at Gen Con 2010 I bought the mini from Dark Sword and a signed print from Larry himself.

Larry admitted he loves drawing women and witches in particular.

He is pretty famous for his clerics too.

Aleena should have been working with Avalyne! She might still be alive.

And of course, there is this one, maybe his most famous painting ever.

But on Earth-2 they got this one as the cover.

I have to say, I like this one better.  Maybe not as epic as "one man vs. dragon" but it is more "D&D" with a fighter, magic-user and what could be an elf or halfling. I am going with halfling.

There is so much art out there that I could spend days talking about it and him.

You can find Larry on the internet at:

• https://www.facebook.com/larry.elmore.716
• https://www.facebook.com/LarryElmoreFantasyArtist/
• http://www.larryelmore.com/store/

Featured Artist: Emma Kubert

Something a little different today.  I have been talking with Emma Kubert about her Kickstarter for Willowbrook and in the process found some really fun and wonderful art!

So for today's Featured Artist, I will give you some art and an interview with Emma about her Kickstarter and art.

The Other Side: Tell everyone who you are and a bit about your art.

Emma Kubert: I am Emma Kubert, I recently graduated from the Kubert School! I have been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil, but I didn’t seriously get into comic art until I started at the Kubert School. From this educational experience, I found that I don’t just have a love for traditional superhero comics. I can create any kind of story I want with any kind of medium, which is really quite exciting!

TOS: Kubert School of Art.  That can't be a coincidence, right? ;)
EK: It is no coincidence! :) I am the daughter of Andy Kubert, niece of Adam Kubert and granddaughter of Joe Kubert.

TOS: So this gives you a bit of solid art history.  Is everyone in your family artistic?
EK: Not everyone in my family is artistic. I think what sets us Kubert’s apart from other families isn’t being artistic, but having a relentless determination, pursuing what we want to do with our lives and doing it well. Some of us just happened to fall in love with art and others are successful in other ways.

TOS: Now tell us about Willowbrook.  I love the idea and the art grabbed me right away.
EK: Willowbrook is about a small fictional town in upstate New York, where magical creatures run amuck, and the main character is now on a track to go and find them to protect the people of the town. It is a young adult fantasy comic, but fun for all ages!

TOS: Tell me more about Eliza Anderson.  What little I have read and seen of here she sounds like a great character.
EK: Eliza Anderson is a teenager who grew up away from regular social norms and studied magic. She is very positive, goofy, wacky, and incredibly curious about normal teen stuff, but doesn’t quite understand it, so this is where her ignorance for regular human interaction can be humorous!

TOS: And Willbrook, the town itself?  Looks like a fun place if you like weirdness (and I do!)
EK: Willowbrook has that backwoods, small town, you only stumble upon it if you are lost, kind of feel to it. The place is scattered with magical creatures that have escaped from an unfound portal that leads to other worlds. Eliza’s job is to rid this town of said creatures :)

TOS: What is the future for Willowbrook?
EK: Right now, we are about to end our Kickstarter for the first issue. My hope is to send it to publishers and hopefully make it into a long ongoing series, but for now, we focus on the first introduction issue, so people get a good feel for the project.

TOS: Finally, a question I always ask here at the Other Side.  Who is your favorite witch/wizard and why?
EK: Oh wow that is a tough question! There are so many to choose from! I obviously love Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (if you couldn’t tell) but I am a huge fan of Melissa Joan Hart’s Sabrina in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I also love Ginny Weasley and Lily Potter from the Harry Potter books. Sorry, couldn’t just choose one! :)

You can find Emma's Willowbrook #1 Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emmakubert/willowbrook-1

It looks like a lot of fun and I can't wait to see it out.

And elsewhere on the net:

• https://www.behance.net/emmakubert
• https://www.instagram.com/emmakubert
• https://twitter.com/emmakubert
• https://www.artstation.com/emmakubert

Featured Artist: Eugene Jaworski

Welcome back to my Featured Artist series.  Today I want to share with you someone I have been following a while, Eugene Jaworski.

I have seen his art in a lot of D&D related groups and in particular in D&D Fantasy Art on Facebook.  He has a style that recalls the old days of the D&D game and he is certainly a fan of that era.  In fact, it was his version of the classic D&D character Skylla that first got my attention.

I loved it so much I bought a print of it for my game room.

He has also done Kelek the evil Wizard.

Love the giant wolf he is on.

And Red Sonja,

But the ones I really love are his series of painting of his original goddess Numora.

According to Eugene,

She was a goddess from a home brew campaign that I ran a couple years ago. Numora the Whisperer of Secrets. Very enigmatic.

She reminds me a little of my own Nox, Goddess of the Near Dark. Even down to the shadow cats (Gloamings in my world) and walking around barefoot.  100% coincidence, of course, we have read a lot of the same books.

You can find him here:

• The Art of Eugene Jaworski (Facebook)
• Neothera | Eugene Jaworski (DeviantArt) Where you can buy prints like mine!
• The Art of Eugene Jaworski (Patreon)
• The Art of Eugene Jaworski (Website Gallery)
• Eugene Jaworski (Instagram)