I’m old enough to remember a time when fantasy art was not all that easy to find. In order to see fantasy art it had to be printed on something. Mostly it was books, but sometimes it showed up on album covers (12” vinyl records… remember those?) or tee shirts.
But finding that was rare and the further away from large centers of civilization one lived, the more difficult it was to find. So we took what we could get.
If you were a fan of fantasy art or someone who longed to be a fantasy artist (and I was both) then finding a book of fantasy art was a treasure rarer than gold. Trips from my rural hometown to larger cities were always opportunities to find those kinds of books, but they weren’t easy. It required hunting through many many bookstores, harassing book store owners, making a great nuisance of one’s self, or, if you were adventurous, combing through the dusty stacks of used book shops.
You were more than likely to find a collection of the art of Frank Frazetta or Boris Vallejo, but if you were lucky you could find a collection of art from some lesser known but still amazing artists. Bernie Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, Michael Whelan, Chris Achilleos, the Brothers Hildebrandt. Or maybe collections of older fantasy artists would hit your local library. Arthur Rackham or Maxfield Parish.
If you found one you counted yourself lucky and you spent hours poring over the images
Today all of that art and so much more is available at your fingertips. Maybe it isn’t always presented at such a high resolution, enough, say, to study the pen strokes or brushwork of a particular favorite artist, but it is all out there.
And there is a lot of it.
You may have to sift through a lot of dross to find the gold, but then we’ve had a lot of practice at that.
As kids we could only ever dream about seeing our favorite fantasy art displayed in a gallery. We could never afford the trip to some distant gallery or galleries in order to see our favorite pieces.
Today, the gallery comes to you.
Just find your favorite artist and google him. You’re bound to find more than a few places that feature that artist’s work. Or do you want a more structured gallery visit? There are a few of those as well.
Here at Amazing Stories fellow blogger Jane Frank, who writes the always wonderful Artful Collector features, curates her own online gallery of fantastic art. Worlds of Wonder online gallery can be found at wow-art.com. Jane is a collector of fantasy art with impeccable taste but she is also a seller of art. She specializes in finding just the right piece for just the right client. Check it out.
If you are more adventurous there are online galleries which feature established as well as up and coming artists. There is a lot to sift through but then there are always surprises to be found.
ArtStation is the leading showcase platform for media & entertainment artists. Started by Ballistiq Digital Inc. in Montreal, It is an industry hub, where media & entertainment artists can keep up with each other. It is also a good place to browse some amazing work. You may see some pieces that you have seen elsewhere, gracing book covers or other media, or you may see some things you have never seen before. I have a little corner on that website. If I may be so bold, you could start there.
Conceptart.org was started by digital artist Android Jones and it is an amazing showcase of many different talents.
Or, if you’re even more adventurous there is Deviantart. Deviantart features art, photography, text, gifs, skins and other electronic ephemera. It is not for the faint of heart of sensitive of constitution so be warned and tread carefully.
There is art all over the internet and there is a huge amount of fantastic art.
Go look at it.
