The Art of the Dragonlance Saga

by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Mary Kirchoff (Editor)

Describes the creation of the stories and artwork of the Dragonlance books and examines the characters of the heroes and villains

Genres: Fantasy, Art, Dragonlance, Science Fiction Fantasy, Role Playing Games, Dungeons and Dragons, Games

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Margaret Edith Weis is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the Dragonlance role-playing game (RPG) world. She is founding CEO and owner of Sovereign Press, Inc and Margaret Weis Productions, licensing several popular television and movie franchises to make RPG series in addition to their own.
In 1999, Pyramid magazine named Weis one of The Millennium's Most Influential Persons, saying she and Hickman are "basically responsible for the entire gaming fiction genre". In 2002, she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame in part for Dragonlance.

Reviews

[Malum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Art from the D&D Dragonlance setting. My familiarity with Dragonlance is limited (I was mainly a Forgotten Realms fella). I played the short lived (and very flawed) Fifth Age game that you played with cards instead of dice, but my fondest memory of Dragonlance is from the Dragonlance graphic novels back in the late eighties. They were the first graphic novels I ever owned and I treasured them. I had three volumes and I read them over and over and carried them around with me everywhere.

So, anyway, this is top-notch fantasy art that, at least to me, seems VERY Lord of the Rings inspired in places (but there isn't much modern fantasy that isn't at least a little derivative of Tolkien's work, so it isn't too shocking).

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leí este libro cuando lo publicó Timun Mas hace 30 años gracias a un buen amigo y ahora he tenido la oportunidad de volver a él gracias a Wallapop... y a las ganas de ver en papel las ilustraciones de Larry Elmore y Jeff Easley; parte fundamental de mi adolescencia lectora y jugona. Y no ha ido mal la experiencia. El libro incluye los bocetos y las imágenes más icónicas de las dos primeras trilogías (Las crónicas y Leyendas) junto a la descripción de cómo se pasó de la palabra a la imagen a la hora de dar forma a cada personaje. La lástima es que los grandes cuadros al óleo no se representan a toda página y quedan un poco menguados en un formato que, me gusta creer, hoy se habría enfocado de otra manera. Aun así, como material para fans mantiene su atractivo.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

My copy of this book is well worn as it has been pulled off the shelf a lot during the last 30 years. This time I decided to read it cover to cover in addition to appreciating the art. The foreword is an excellent history of the business decisions that went into creating the Dragonlance product line, and more comprehensive than the drip spread throughout the Annotated Chronicles.

Also, the art is stunning. Reading this paired with my more recent excursion through PAPERBACKS FROM HELL which chronicled the horror boom of the 70s and 80s, largely on the shoulders of the art department. Dragonlance succeeded there as well, buoyed by tight art direction and cohesion of the look and feel of the setting. The art sold the books, and the art directed and focused the writing. The art may be the unsung hero of the series, and this book does great strides to shine a spotlight on the true champions.

[Ninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed all the backstory on how the dragonlance saga came to be, with the concept, the stories, the art. The book is filled, of course, with art, both in its finished form and with plenty of sketches showing how it was begun.
Not sure all the work has aged so well, but it's great seeing the classics such as Last Spell of Fistandantilus, Lord Soth's Charge, Flight of the Dragon Orb and of course the Death of Sturm.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the official D&D settings, Dragonlance is the one I have the least fond memories of, and the one I appreciate the least overall. A great deal of it is founded on questionable moralities and strange lessons, and many things never made too much sense for me. It has its cool bits, but they're few and far between.

But damn, the art. It's some of the best in the entire franchise's history. Fantastic, in the classic sense of the word.

[Klackons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it. I unfortunately "borrowed" this from my grade 10 art teacher. Mr. Eklund if you are reading this I'm sorry but you aren't getting this back. It is flat out amazing. Almost 30 years later and this book is still among my favorites and inspires me constantly. Elmore is an outstanding artist.

[Viel Nast · Rating 5 out of 5]

contains some of the most iconic artwork not only of early Dragonlance saga but i believe in the entire rpg - novels genre.
hand picked forty-one paintings each with its own story and powerful meanings.
artists Valiant and Parkinson in their best

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some cool memories in this book but not very comprehensive.

[Travis Bethke]

Awesome book. If you haven't read chronicles and legends this has spoilers

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I "used to" do some pen and ink drawing and I've been playing Dungeons and Drarons since 1978. My late wife was an artist and enjoyed many different kinds of painting. I bought this for both of us some time back. She has just gotten interested in doing paintings of fantasy subjects, and I of course enjoy(ed) reading fantasy and the sttendant art. This is an enjoyable book on many levels. if you're into the Dragonlance books (I've read a fewm but was not greatly into them) this adds to the background, if you just enjoy fantasy art these are good, and if you just enjoy action painting and ink drawings. I'm sure there are other reasons also (I collect and paint pewter fantasy figures. You can get ideas here) find your own reasons but it's a nice book for fantasy or art buffs.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up for the historical details on the creation of the Dragonlance saga and its characters, and it's got some shockingly good insights, much more than I was expecting from an art book. Beyond that it's got entirely gorgeous artwork that's a helpful reminder that the Dragonlance saga was successful for more than just its writing ...

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helps bring some perspective to lesser known characters, races, creatures. Also helps you know the authors mindset when they were creating these things. I just wish I could get my hands on some the original artwork.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book inspired and guided a lot of my early attempts at art with pastels. The images are amazingly detailed and beautiful.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the few artbooks that I owned at that time, this was my favourite. Great art. Unfortunately, I lent it out...and never got it back. *sigh* The fate of some of my books... *sigh*

[heltones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun pictorial introduction into the fantasy genre for my 1 1/2 year old son. I dug this out from my high-school phase of reading fantasy books. Oh, the good memories.

[Cimuchowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

many examples of high quality fantasy art.