The Art of Meg Hunt

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It's not often that I come across art that just makes me squee with delight, and proclaim "I MUST HAVE THIS SH*T ON MY WALLS." But today... Today is one of those awesome days. If you're a veteran Awesome-Robo follower, you just might know by now that I have a thing for all things cute (a Cute Mixtape is in the works, I know, it's been forever).  Portland-based artist Meg Hunt captures all that is adorable, but it's not over-the-top fluffy, cutesy work.  It's a little more subtle, and definitely has an awesome vintage feel.

Check out some of her other works after the break!

The Fantasy Art Of Jasper Esjing

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Jasper Esjing is a renown illustrator and painter based out of Denmark who's life changed on a fateful Christmas day in 1986, when he came into possession of a Dungeons & Dragons rulebook. Amidst flipping through the pages of the book and checking out the crude illustrations he had an epiphany that would shape his life and career: He would become a fantasy artist and make a living illustrating things.

While things initially took a strange turn for the artist when he embarked on a college course to study Danish Literature and Art History, he eventually dropped out and became a full time freelancer. 20 years after that fateful Christmas day, he finally received that first Wizards of the Coast illustration for Dungeons & Dragons, and he hasn't looked back, getting a chance to work on major franchises like Pathfinder and Magic The Gathering. Esjing is noteworthy for mostly working in a more traditional format with paints, while also incorporating digital at times to correct or spice up his artwork from time to time. Check out more of his amazingly painterly, colorful fantasy illustration work after the break!

The Fantasy Art Of Alex Aparin

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We've been on quite the scifi bender as of late in regards to art, so let's switch gears to a little more fantasy, starting with Alex Aparin's illustration prowess. The Moscow based artist struck me with his usage of bright, saturated colors, a visually exciting departure from the more desaturated, grittier realms of Warhammer, Magic The Gathering and other darker fantasy franchises. If there's one thing that Russian concept artists and illustrators all seem to share in common, it's an excellent eye for harmonizing color.

With clients including Hasbro, Paizo (Pathfinder), Fantasy Flight, Wizards Of The Coast and Blizzard, Alex has definitely been around the block a few times, from a freelance standpoint. Check out some more of his colorful illustrations after the break!

WAR: THE ART OF WAYNE REYNOLDS

Beholder has some crazy dreadlocks! (via)

Wayne Reynolds is one of the most prolific contemporary fantasy illustrators. Ever since the introduction of D&D 3rd Edition rules and the infamous d20 universal system, Wayne has been a central piece in the visual transformation of the RPG fantasy setting. Along with Brom  and Todd Lockwood they refreshed the looks of not only a 40+ year old world of dices, character sheets, and geekdom, but the general appeal and tone of the fantasy illustration of that decade; gritty, stark, dark and anti- epic.

Mr. Reynolds is maybe the more active of the trio, with prominent works on the alternative and popular fantasy setting Pathfinder, where he seems to be the lead artist.

After the break a selection of really awesome illustrations, the right dose of inspiration to get you up to remove the dust of those long forgotten rulebooks. Enjoy

BROM

I bet you've seen this face before. (Via)

If someone was defining fantasy art on the 90's, that someone definitely shared a workplace with Gerald Brom. I dare to say, he's one of the fathers of the fantasy overall look of the 90's ( especially the late 90's, with Todd Lockwood sharing parenthood).

His work was everywhere, trading card games, computer games, magazines, role playing games, fantasy books, etc. I mostly recall the Magic cards he drew, I wasn't  that much into TC games, but whenever I found something illustrated by him, I tried to draw it, or took it to a xerox and oversized it. Very grim characters, bone white skins, stark contrast and full bleed blacks were his trademarks.

I consider Brom really close to, well, obviously Frank Frazzeta, for the body types, posing and composition of his characters, and Beksinski for the color and hazy gloomy atmospheres he bring into the images ( Brom recognizes Frazzeta as an early influence on his style).

For more information on his work and bios visit his homepage. extended bio, and of course, more images, after the break, enjoy!.