Ravenloft Artbook of Talon Dunning

[Dimitri Mazieres]

Dammit. It looks like I got everything wrong with her portrait. I made her a blonde in her 20's. Of course, I honestly have no idea how she was described in my art notes. I believe she was one of the earliest portraits I did and it may not have occurred to me to go looking for her in previous material at that time. I just don't remember.

She's actually a redhead, (sunset-red, dark red, or auburn, depending on the source) and knowing this, when I saw your portrait of her, my mind filled in the blanks, so I never saw blonde. (The benefits of grayscale art! ) Gaz I says she's attractive and in her "late 30's", though as Dimitri noted, by the year of her birth and the "current year" when the book was published, she'd have to be 39 or 40, so 39 it must be. (born in 718, then-current year 758). So while your version may be a teeny bit on the young side, it's not too far off.

In other words, don't beat yourself up about it.

Exactly. Plus, your depiction does a better job of following the original look than the Champions of the Mists version, as much as I like Kevin McCann's artwork:


And the women of the demiplane probably have access to hair dye, so hair color isn't an issue

I'd like to see a full-blown Art of Ravenloft book featuring not only my stuff, but Stephen Fabian's and all the other talented guys who've contributed to the setting over the years. That would be really fun to put together. Obviously, I don't have the rights to do anything like that. If I could do a set of RVL portrait cards, I'd pay closer attention to the original character designs and do them all in color.

Heresy! The only acceptable color artwork in Ravenloft are those used in covers. The rest - and specially portraits - should always be done in glorious grayscale
But yes, that would be one great project.

What about the community going in to pay for portraits of characters in need of your art (Darklords who never saw 3e for example). Maybe for the current Netboks projects and such.

I'd certainly (and happily) contribute. Would love to see you render an Anton Misroi for example.

It's just a thought.

And since we're tossing ideas around, how about a commissioned project like the one that was done at The Acaeum with Erol Otus? Would that incur in the same legal issues as a "public" project?
I'm just saying...

[Talon]

What about the community going in to pay for portraits of characters in need of your art (Darklords who never saw 3e for example). Maybe for the current Netboks projects and such.
I'd certainly (and happily) contribute. Would love to see you render an Anton Misroi for example.
It's just a thought.

That would be possible as long as it's not for publication. In that case, you'd just be commissioning original art. It only gets tricky when you start talking about publication.

-Talon

[Talon]

Has anyone got a sketch of Strahd yet by chance?

The very first Out Of The Mists sketch I did was Strahd. How could I do anything else?

-Talon

[Talon]

She's actually a redhead, (sunset-red, dark red, or auburn, depending on the source) and knowing this, when I saw your portrait of her, my mind filled in the blanks, so I never saw blonde. (The benefits of grayscale art! ) Gaz I says she's attractive and in her "late 30's", though as Dimitri noted, by the year of her birth and the "current year" when the book was published, she'd have to be 39 or 40, so 39 it must be. (born in 718, then-current year 758). So while your version may be a teeny bit on the young side, it's not too far off.

In other words, don't beat yourself up about it.

Ah, then I probably worked directly from written art notes, then. These were done a LONG time ago. I don't remember the circumstances of every drawing. Nice to know I got her right after all. Thanks.

-Talon

[Talon]

Exactly. Plus, your depiction does a better job of following the original look than the Champions of the Mists version, as much as I like Kevin McCann's artwork

I'm not familiar with that book or that picture. That's really awesome, though. Dark hair or no, that's a damned fine portrait.

Heresy! The only acceptable color artwork in Ravenloft are those used in covers. The rest - and specially portraits - should always be done in glorious grayscale

Well, get used to it. I guarantee you that the 4e version will be filled with color artwork. WOtC hasn't done b/w interiors in years. They're not going to make an exception now. I also wouldn't be surprised if they leave out most of the old NPCs anyway. With their "two books per setting" policy, there probably just won't be room for them. We'll probably just see the major players and my guess is that they'll get full body illustrations, not headshots like in the previous games. This will be a brand new Ravenloft for a brand new game.

And since we're tossing ideas around, how about a commissioned project like the one that was done at The Acaeum with Erol Otus? Would that incur in the same legal issues as a "public" project?
I'm just saying...

Okay, here's what I can do legally: I can draw and sell original art, either on my own or by commission. Anyone can do this. The reason is, in this case, I'm not selling an image, I'm selling an original piece of art. The subject matter doesn't factor into it (for the most part).

Next, I can, by my contracts with White Wolf, produce and sell materials such as prints and art books using the images covered by each contract, as long as such material is deemed to be in the spirit of self-promotion and remains non-competitive with White Wolf. This is what allows me to to sell my Ravenloft sketchbook to you fine folks.

What I can't do is publish NEW Ravenloft artwork featuring copyrighted Ravenloft characters without the express permission of the copyright holders, that is, Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro. That would violate basic copyright law (as I understand it, as a layman). The distinction is between the concept of selling an image vs. selling a unique work of art. WOtC owns the image of Strahd. If I draw Strahd and sell the art, all I'm selling is a drawing. If I publish that drawing, then I'm selling the image.

So, basically, I can take on any commission I want, as long as the resulting product is the original artwork and not any kind of printed material. Of course, copyright is amazingly difficult to prove and enforce.

Also, keep in mind that I'm not a copyright lawyer. This is solely based on my experiences with it after 14 years in the business, and I could be completely wrong about everything I just said.

-Talon

[Jester of the FoS]

Still no book for me.

[Talon]

Still no book for me.

No book as in you can't/haven't ordered one or no book as in you ordered one but haven't gotten it yet? The Canadian shipmets seem to be amazingly slow.

[Jester of the FoS]

Still no book for me.

No book as in you can't/haven't ordered one or no book as in you ordered one but haven't gotten it yet? The Canadian shipmets seem to be amazingly slow.

The latter. Pesky Canada Post.

[Scipion_Emilien]

Just curious, if we ask Talon to do an original character in a gothic like theme, would that infringe a copyright? After all, I don't exclusively use Ravenloft art for my Ravenloft campaigns and I don't even always play Ravenloft if I want to play in a gothic setting. There is a tons of good gothic like picture in a world where each city have his goth club and the goth genre in general is now in the public domain.

And BTW I should pass by a friend with a scanner this week-end, so I'll be able to show you Talon drawing monday!

[Talon]

The latter. Pesky Canada Post.

Give it some more time. They seem to take weeks to make it there.

-Talon

[Talon]

Just curious, if we ask Talon to do an original character in a gothic like theme, would that infringe a copyright?

You can only infringe on a copyright if the copyright has been claimed. The person that invents the intellectual property generally owns the copyright, unless there are extenuating circumstances (such as a contract that states otherwise). Also, as I said, I can legally draw anybody I want. It only infringes on copyright once I start trying to publish someone else's material. It only becomes enforceable once that publication becomes competitive with the rightful owners.

-Talon

[Talon]

X-Con was a bust. I didn't sell a single copy of Out of the Mists, so I still have plenty left. I did, however, have plenty of time to draw some sketchcards. The next TWO people to order the $20 version of the sketchbook will get a sketch of either Tristan Apblanc, Vlad Dracov or Lady Kazandra, chosen at random. One of these has already been claimed.

-Talon

[DoctorMoreau]

What about the community going in to pay for portraits of characters in need of your art (Darklords who never saw 3e for example). Maybe for the current Netboks projects and such.
I'd certainly (and happily) contribute. Would love to see you render an Anton Misroi for example.
It's just a thought.

That would be possible as long as it's not for publication. In that case, you'd just be commissioning original art. It only gets tricky when you start talking about publication.

-Talon

We should do it then. I for one would be more than eager to donate towards seeing more iconic Ravenloft characters rendered by Talon.

Speaking of which, I got my book and it has an awesome picture of something not done before by Talon. Not going to say what but I'm desperate to gain access to a scanner.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

We should do it then. I for one would be more than eager to donate towards seeing more iconic Ravenloft characters rendered by Talon.

We should.... if Talon were willing. But he's not taking private commissions at this time, last I checked (which was a few weeks ago. ). Legally he can, but that doesn't mean he wants to. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Talon...

[Jeff LaSala]

Oh man, I'd love to see another rendering of Tristan Apblanc!

There's always the possibility of creating a collection of drawings that go without names; if someone happens to look like Strahd or Tristant, well, that's one interpretation. Perhaps funded through Kickstarter.com, a pretty good engine for funding projects via donation.

Speaking of which, I want to mention this briefly so as not to go off-topic. Talon's doing a bunch of cyberpunk-style art for a project me and a few other folks. Here's Talon's direct page on the website, and this is the project itself:

Foreshadows: The Ghosts of Zero It's a short story anthology paired with an album of music, with stories by folks like Ari Marmell, Ed Greenwood, and a whole slew of WotC and gamer types. Feel free to check it out.



I specifically sought out Talon precisely because of his Ravenloft art. Totally won me over.