D&D 1E Best 1e AD&D artist?

[Eyes of Nine]

[updated this to discuss 1st Ed AD&D art]

Share your favorite Classic D&D art!

 

[Yora]

Keith Parkinson
Followed by Jeff Easley.

That's a very small looking selection of the whole crowd to pick from in the poll.

 

[Parmandur]

Given the apparent parameters of early 1E implied by the choices in the poll, Erol Otis by a country mile. Love Dave Trampier's work, as well, and a lot of these folks produced some memorable stuff. But Erol Otis is an inimitable original.

I do prefer the late 1E and early 2E art, though.

 

[Andvari]

Caldwell, Easley and Elmore.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Going against the grain and going with someone who doesn't get enough credit: Jim Holloway. Why? Because in a decade of cheese, Jim was the only artists who kept it real. What I mean by that, is that he figures he drew and painted looked like an actual adventurer would look like, in a scenario where they would actually find themselves. His figures didn't wear cheesecake armor, and they didn't look like they all stepped out of fashion show runway. And they weren't all in heroic poses.

 

[aco175]

David Sutherland did some rather classic art back then that most recall today.

I think this last one here was to show the spell irresistible dancing and not just how agile these guys are..

 

[General_Tangent]

David Trampier for the evocative art especially the excellent Emirikol the Chaotic.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Keith Parkinson

When you see interviews with Elmore, Easley, and Caldwell, they all say the same. I'd go with Parkinson, then Elmore & Easley on the same level, with Caldwell last.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I like Trampier, but my favorite was always Larry Elmore (still technically AD&D).

 

[Eyes of Nine]

It's funny, because I stopped playing AD&D around 1984 (when I moved to college). Later D&D had Parkinson and Elmore et al - what I would call more realistic / less cartoony style art. And I appreciate it, but it doesn't say AD&D to me. It says AD&D 2e to me, which was a much slicker product in all dimensions (including the removal of devils and demons).

So that's what informed my choices provided.

Maybe I should update this thing to be 1e, instead of AD&D (my brain always says AD&D == 1e, with no headspace for 2e). Or maybe people can just write it in here...