W.A.R.

As well as being a generally nice guy, Wayne Anthony Reynolds (hereafter known as WAR) is one of the leading artists in fantasy RPGs today, and is possibly the most definitive artist of D&D since the WOTC takeover of the old, failing TSR offices. And although some argue with his technique, his anatomy, and his style (it's too comic-bookish!), one complaint that no one can make is that his work isn't exciting.

Personally, I'm a huge fan. I don't listen to the criticisms, and many of the things that those critics don't like are exactly the same things that I think makes WAR is so good. Not every piece of work of his is genius, but I've got a pretty nice digital collection that I've accumulated on my hard drive over the years---about 250 works, from his website, from the Paizo website, and from the WotC website mostly---and by and large, I think they rank among the most exciting fantasy art I've got.

This piece, from the Paizo website, is a pretty recent one, and it highlights his style; both the positive and the negative, and is a darn good piece of work in my opinion. Ladies and gentlemen, the mean streets of Absolom!

I take a lot of the "vibe" of WAR and really want to incorporate that into my games. I think his "vibe" is very compatible with the pulp aesthetic. It's never sitting still; always in motion, always exciting; it's action written in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, BY JOVE!, it's exotic and "k3wl" characters, it's fantastic environments, it's classic and yet modern at the same time.