My Best Good Friend, who thinks he’s lame but who does all these amazing things and goes to all these amazing places and meets all these amazing people (and who NEVER updates his blog about any of it) is currently taking more painting classes from D&D artist legend Larry Elmore.  My Good Buddy loves Larry Elmore.  I’ve always liked Larry Elmore, but there’s something about his work that is often too stiff for me.  I remember when my Good Buddy and I found out that they had reissued the Chronicles Trilogy with new covers NOT by Elmore, he thought it was blasphemy and I thought it was an improvement.  Let’s look:

Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Larry Elmore

vs.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Matt Stawicki

The top isn’t bad.  Heck, it’s a classic!  But there’s something more lush and real about the one below by Matt Stawicki, and not just because it makes for a better wallpaper!  It also reminds me of a How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way lesson, where tilting a camera angle is often more interesting and compelling than shooting a scene straight on.

So I’m right and he’s wrong.  What else is new?

I feel like reading Chronicles again.  I wonder if it will hold up?