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Realms: The Roleplaying Art of Tony DiTerlizzi
New York Times bestselling creator Tony DiTerlizzi is known for his distinctive style depicting fantastical creatures, horrific monsters, and courageous heroes. His illustrations reshaped and defined the worlds of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons , Planescape , and The Gathering in the imaginations of legions of devoted roleplaying gamers during the 1990s, before he transitioned to mainstream success with The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Search for WondLa . Collected here for the first time, this book features never-before-seen artwork and photographs, in addition to showcasing DiTerlizzi's most iconic roleplaying work with commentary by the artist. Introduction by Christopher Paolini ( Eragon ) and featuring appreciations by Guillermo del Toro, Brom, Jane Yolen, Holly Black, Zeb Cook, Jeff Easley, and Donato Giancola, among others!
Tony's work has a distinct flair, a love for monsters if you will . . . His creatures have the charm of Henson or Rackham but they carry with them hints of their own ecosystem . . . Tony stands alone as a world creator and a weaver of tales, may you treasure these art pieces as much as I do.
--Guillermo del Toro
Tony's work has a distinct flair, a love for monsters if you will . . . His creatures have the charm of Henson or Rackham but they carry with them hints of their own ecosystem . . . Tony stands alone as a world creator and a weaver of tales, may you treasure these art pieces as much as I do.
--Guillermo del Toro
224 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2015
6 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Tony DiTerlizzi
130 books2,211 followers#1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, Tony DiTerlizzi, has been creating children’s books for twenty years. From fanciful picture books like The Broken Ornament and The Spider & The Fly (a Caldecott Honor book), to chapter books like Kenny and The Dragon and The Search for WondLa, DiTerlizzi imbues his stories with rich imagination. With Holly Black, he created the middle-grade series, The Spiderwick Chronicles, which has sold over 20 million copies, been adapted into a feature film, and translated in over thirty countries. He teamed up with Lucasfilm to retell the original Star Wars trilogy as a picture book and his collaboration with celebrated author Mo Willems created the bestseller The Story of Diva & Flea. The Norman Rockwell museum’s retrospective, “Never Abandon Imagination”, featured artwork from the beginning of DiTerlizzi’s career as a contributing artist for Dungeons & Dragons and broke attendance records. He has been featured in Time magazine, USA Today, CNN, PBS, NPR the BBC and The Today Show.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 5, 2015
A must read/see for fantasy art fans. A good overview of my favorite artist Tony Diterrlizzi's history w the gaming industry. Makes me want to reread my changeling the dreaming books just to see the art from a new perspective. Hints of how he got started are a lot of this book and it's crazy to think that he was starting all this while only in his early 20s.
September 28, 2015
It would be hard to over-praise this book. Gorgeous, full of great art and insightful commentary from DiTerlizzi, friends and collaborators.
The only downside to this book is that it isn't the first of a series looking at other gaming superstars, like Erol Otus.
The only downside to this book is that it isn't the first of a series looking at other gaming superstars, like Erol Otus.
October 2, 2015
Full of Tony DiTerlizzi's published and unpublished game art, Realms is a magnificent trip through the mind of a master world builder. While the appreciation essays become mostly indistinguishable by the third one, let's face it: we're mostly here for the art.
February 13, 2016
Highly recommended to all fans of Tony DiTerlizzi! This is one gorgeous book and I absolutely loved all the art and the commentaries.
August 30, 2022
Tony DiTerlizzi is a modern gaming art luminary. His work on the Planescape setting of D&D defined that setting and gave it an intriguing look. Realms covers DiTerlizzi entry into gaming art from almost a dare around a D&D table to submit drawings to TSR to his ultimate exit from gaming art with the realization of his lifelong dream of writing and illustrating childrens' books. It's an artistic journey spanning multiple decades. A biography told through art.
DiTerlizzi's art, many pieces previously unreleased, is always going to be the gem here. You can watch his style grow over his decades in the business. There is an ethereal quality to Tony's character studies. He is a master of slight exaggeration in form that gives his supernatural or monstrous characters a true otherworldly feel. Sigil feels alien and new because DiTerlizzi's art makes it so. And DiTerlizzi knows just how to twist these artistic quirks. He can make a character look cute and endearing or exaggerate their form for horror.
Realms covers the breadth of DiTerlizzi's involvement in gaming from his days with TSR to working for Magic: The Gathering to a dalliance with White Wolf. It even includes a line of miniatures developed from his drawings. One of the almost sad things about DiTerlizzi's style having evolved so far over his work that he admits to having an extremely difficult time going back and recapturing the style of his youth. He flipped a switch at some point and it can't be flipped back, it seems. But, DiTerlizzi seems incredibly fulfilled by the turn his work has taken and he has given us a trove of amazing and evocative art that draws you in.
DiTerlizzi's art, many pieces previously unreleased, is always going to be the gem here. You can watch his style grow over his decades in the business. There is an ethereal quality to Tony's character studies. He is a master of slight exaggeration in form that gives his supernatural or monstrous characters a true otherworldly feel. Sigil feels alien and new because DiTerlizzi's art makes it so. And DiTerlizzi knows just how to twist these artistic quirks. He can make a character look cute and endearing or exaggerate their form for horror.
Realms covers the breadth of DiTerlizzi's involvement in gaming from his days with TSR to working for Magic: The Gathering to a dalliance with White Wolf. It even includes a line of miniatures developed from his drawings. One of the almost sad things about DiTerlizzi's style having evolved so far over his work that he admits to having an extremely difficult time going back and recapturing the style of his youth. He flipped a switch at some point and it can't be flipped back, it seems. But, DiTerlizzi seems incredibly fulfilled by the turn his work has taken and he has given us a trove of amazing and evocative art that draws you in.
January 27, 2018
Wow!
This one was simply a masterpiece. I've always adored Planescape art but only from this book did I learn that DiTerlizzi made artworks also for Magic: the Gathering as well as some AD&D 2nd edition supplements. This book really took my down the memory lane...
The insightful comments from the author regarding his creative process were great and interesting, as were comments from other authors working with him... however, of course, the art itself was the best. Brought together in one place it can truly be enjoyed and appreciated and the evolution of this versatile artist can be followed.
Must have for all Planescape fans as well as people interested in fantasy art in general.
This one was simply a masterpiece. I've always adored Planescape art but only from this book did I learn that DiTerlizzi made artworks also for Magic: the Gathering as well as some AD&D 2nd edition supplements. This book really took my down the memory lane...
The insightful comments from the author regarding his creative process were great and interesting, as were comments from other authors working with him... however, of course, the art itself was the best. Brought together in one place it can truly be enjoyed and appreciated and the evolution of this versatile artist can be followed.
Must have for all Planescape fans as well as people interested in fantasy art in general.
November 14, 2016
Tony DiTerlizzi is a national treasure.
January 20, 2020
I recently suffered a bout of food poisoning. When I could read, I grabbed at any book I could in order to distract me from my misery. This was one of the books I grabbed. It did not manage to distract me from my misery.
It suffers from a lot of problems -- ridiculously small print at times, lots of repetition and page after page of various people going all fangirl or fanboy about Tony DiTerlizzi. The art also became repetitive. The expressions on the characters, the color schemes, even the musculature of the people and non-people all became rather blah after a while. There were a few standouts, like the killer Chinese Crested dogperson pictured below.
Is DiTerlizzi a great artist? Yes, but his style is consistent -- which is not that great of a thing for a huge book. And by the way, never try to balance a book this heavy on your belly when you are recovering from a bout of food poisoning. Get a table instead.
It suffers from a lot of problems -- ridiculously small print at times, lots of repetition and page after page of various people going all fangirl or fanboy about Tony DiTerlizzi. The art also became repetitive. The expressions on the characters, the color schemes, even the musculature of the people and non-people all became rather blah after a while. There were a few standouts, like the killer Chinese Crested dogperson pictured below.
Is DiTerlizzi a great artist? Yes, but his style is consistent -- which is not that great of a thing for a huge book. And by the way, never try to balance a book this heavy on your belly when you are recovering from a bout of food poisoning. Get a table instead.
March 5, 2025
Somehow when I was looking up The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Completely Fantastical Edition, I also ended up finding this book was held by my library system. Since I enjoy DiTerlizzi's art, it was an obvious choice, though it did take me some time to come around to reading it.
For me there was a nice parallel to reading about his background and history with gaming art. Just as he tells about starting off his art career after meeting with his gaming friends, looking through his art gave me a nostalgic feeling for my own youth playing D&D with friends since it was so common in the books we used.
One thing, I wish there was more description attached to the various sketches throughout the book, just as for the more completed work.
For me there was a nice parallel to reading about his background and history with gaming art. Just as he tells about starting off his art career after meeting with his gaming friends, looking through his art gave me a nostalgic feeling for my own youth playing D&D with friends since it was so common in the books we used.
One thing, I wish there was more description attached to the various sketches throughout the book, just as for the more completed work.
June 27, 2019
Came for the illustrator, stayed for the art! This book shows and recounts Mr. DiTerlizzi’s early career as an illustrator. Lots of great messages about having passion for what you do, never giving up, being stubborn and determined, and holding yourself to a high standard. The art is beautiful, and it was nice to see the artist’s work evolve and improve through a short period of time. If you are an art lover or an artist yourself, this is a great book to have on your shelf. My only complaint is I wish the short two pager about the artist’s process was expanded. I feel if you are going to include something that in a book, then really show it off, otherwise it feels kind of pointless to have it.
November 26, 2018
Since I haven't been much involved with the fantasy gaming world for many years, I was unaware of Tony DiTerlizzi's work until a recent accidental discovery. That discovery led me to this book, and I'm glad it did. DiTerlizzi is a heck of a stylist, and the Dungeons & Dragons milieu is a place where he can really shine. His illustrations are beautifully reproduced herein, and flipping through these pages is a wonderful journey of imagination and beauty.
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October 7, 2023This book is out of print and the few copies available tend to go for a steep price. I treated myself to it as a birthday present. Tony Di Terlizzi is a favorite fantasy artist of me. His '90s art for the Planescape D&D setting is so evocative and full of personality! The book itself is also excellent, with a fair amount of commentary from the artist about his process and development, while still giving pride of place to large renderings of his art.
July 1, 2017
I ordered this book within hours of finding out it existed, and I'm glad I did. I have many of the books it draws its art from, but this has them in the best quality by far. It also includes never-before-released art, and has many asides from Tony. Worth it for the pictures alone, but the text is a great bonus.
July 29, 2018
This is a fun coffee table book that showcases Tony's popular artwork. I particularly enjoyed how he shows us the original photographs of his working (human) models followed by his sketches, followed by the final art.
June 22, 2019
I loved the artwork.
January 27, 2022
Viewed the excellent artwork.
August 26, 2024
I was mostly only familiar with DiTerlizzi's fantastic Magic card artwork, and It's great to finally see some of these works printed bigger than a 2" x 2" square.
September 19, 2017
While it's not the grand DiTerlizzinomicon I was hoping for, it is a beautiful book showcasing Tony's contagious magic and charm!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews