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JeffDee β Then and Now
Published: 2011-10-27 17:39:53 +0000 UTC; Views: 17314; Favourites: 87; Downloads: 9
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A side-by-side comparison between my 1980 drawing of Elric from the first edition of Deities and Demigods (TSR Hobbioes, 1980) and my 2011 re-creation of it. Check out my latest Kickstarter project to re-create my old TSR art: [link]Related content
Comments: 53
When I was a kid, reading all the D & D books, it was your art that sent my brain into realms of imagination. Β Thank you for that, Mr Dee.
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Face does not feel so...
...Scrunched.
Like it better!
More texture and feeling for sure!
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That gesture is supposed to ward off the evil eye, and Steve Ditko probably knew that.
When they dropped Elric and Cthulhu they should have added all those extra drawings you have since the book lost a lot of pages and they put nothing in their place.
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Jeff, it is awesome to see you here. I grew up on TSR's D&D artwork and your stuff featured heavily in it. Glad to see some of these awesome images given new life!
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I always loved your work, Jeff. When I first got into D&D in 1983, your work inspired my artwork. I really hope your kickstarter is successful!
Btw, if you ever are interested in letting a colorist play with your work, I would be honored to do one out of whatever you are allowed to recreate!
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I remember Deities and Demigods 1st edition. Didn't you also draw Arioch, Xiombarg, and Yyrkoon?
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Yeah, you can find them all in the Kickstarter folder in my Gallery.
-Jeff Dee
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I wish you could do a then vs now for all the new drawings.
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I saved my deities and demigods book jkust for the Melnibonean Mythos...love it
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Awesome- I loved your illustrations in the Deities and Demigods book! Glad to see you're still doing artwork- will definitely follow you DeviantArt page!
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"your" page... really hate self-induced typos...
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Absolutely love it! An unexpected surprise to see this art get an update after all these years.
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Huh. So that's what 41 years of experience do. Great to awesome. The detail and the better facial proportion. Very awesome. Did you do all the art because I don't think I own my Deities and Demi-gods anymore but I still remember that amazing full page piece of Thor battling the Midgard Serpent.
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I was one of four staff artists who worked on Deities & Demigods, and they hired several freelancers as well. Jim Roslof did the picture of Thor that you remember.
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I looked you up after complimenting a drawing of someone's as looking like Jeff Dee's work.Β I'm glad I did.Β It's a real treat to see your modern takes on these classic drawings.Β I always preferred the artwork in the First Edition AD&D books and Dragon magazines of that time to most of the stuff in later years.Β Yes, the newer work was slicker and usually full-color paintings instead of line drawings, but I think the older stuff had more character.Β Or maybe it's because of my fondness of the first D&D stuff I was exposed to.Β In any event, it's a treat to see you're still active and drawing better than ever.
Keep up the great work.Β Have you published any collections of your art?Β Those first edition, unrevised Deities and Demigods are a little hard to come by.Β
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I've done tons of these re-creations already, including the Deities & Demigods stuff:Β jeffdee.deviantart.com/galleryβ¦
My plan is to eventually release these in book form. But I'm still busy working on the re-creations at the moment
-Jeff Dee
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Awesome! Excited about this going through.
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In this illustration Elric might as well be a Rock n Roll god, which in a way I guess he was.
Good luck on your project. You were an inspiration back in the day, and still are today. I can't wait to see the recreations.
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I like the original better, we made T-Shirts out of it in graphic arts back in high school...
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This is a great drawings and a great idea
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Thanks, ~Fabio-MilitoPagliara! Check out my latest TSR art re-creation project: [link]
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Amazing job on this. Really like the side-by-side comparison. I'll keep contributing to your kickstarter projects as long as you keep drawing!
Is it difficult to go back and recreate something from so long ago? Just curious if you find yourself wanting to make a lot of corrections?
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Strangely, it's not difficult at all. Theses days I usually begin with a rather detailed preliminary sketch - so when I do one of these re-creations, I just think of the original AS that preliminary sketch.
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Would it be all right if I reposted this on my blog to promote the Kickstarter campaign? This is just awesome, and I think if folks see what it's all about it'd help get the word out.
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Done and done, sir:
[link]
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This is beyond awesome sir. I grew up on this artwork....
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You were my hero in 1980. I loved your work and still do. I'm glad you're still going.
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Jeff, this whole project is awesome!
I'm sure you hear this a lot, but back in the early-mid-eighties, you were a huge inspiration on me as an aspiring illustrator. Life being what it is, I never ended up working professionally, but I've never stopped drawing, and have finally been publishing drawings in the Old School Renaissance fanzine Fight On!
Thanks, and I'll be supporting the Kickstarter project(s); there are few things I'd love more than a Jeff Dee art book to show my kids!
Aaron Kesher
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Fight On! is great - I had a little sketch in there a few issues back myself. Thanks for your support, Aaron!
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Absolutely amazing. Can't wait to see how this turns out! If I find myself with any spare cash, I'll certainly throw some your way.
Have you plugged this on AE or are you planning to?
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I haven't, and by the next time I'm on the show, the Kickstarter project will practically be over
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Holy hellsword! Jeff, I'm a big fan of your work from Deities & Demigods, especially the Elric pantheon. I had no idea you were alive, much less still working and living in Austin! So great to see the detail on the one. All that was lost in the old reduced-down reproductions. Wow. I'm gobsmacked. I will totally buy your book!
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Thanks, MWolter! Of course, there won't be a book unless my project succeeds. You never know with these Kickstarter things! Please make a pledge if you can: [link]
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Wow - something really weird just happened to my childhood.
Awesome.
- Ark
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Thanks for the pledge on my Kickstarter project!
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I really like this illustration. Very good application of line thickness and use of form.
Any particular reason why a swordsman would be expressing a variation of the "rock on" hand sign?
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He's a sorcerer, and to me back in those days the quintessential sorcerer was Dr. Strange from Marvel Comics. That's the hand gesture Dr. Strange uses when he casts spells!
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Ah! Dr. Strange is a bit before my time, but I have seen him featured in the upcoming "Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3" which looks sweet.
Makes a lot of sense that Dr. Strange makes that gesture for his spells, as it resembles an inverted version of Spiderman's web-slinging gesture.
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And does this happen to be Elric, with Stormbringer by any chance? 
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Awesome Jeff! Just the right touch of 'newness' to it. (Peter Robbins)
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