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1992 and 1993 cards art
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Post Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2024 2:44 pm 
 

Hey, I think I'll be done soon with the 1991 set, so before I start with the 1992 and 1993 art sets, I was wondering if anyone would like to identify the art source and artist for some of those? I've written down the ones that are signed or too obvious, so you don't have to look them up.

AD&D Trading Cards 1992: Finding All Artists

AD&D Trading Cards 1993: Finding All Artists

  

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Post Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2024 2:52 pm 
 

The ones that are in the more photo-realistic style of the cards like

#106 - Dohnibor
#107 - Ardonell Firemoon
#108 - Thenek Strongaxe

look like John and Laura Lakey's work.

  


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Post Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2024 7:46 pm 
 

Those could be! I'll be trying to compare them to the Spellfire Reference Guide's list of cards, I guess, and try poking s'mother artists, trying to go for the certain ones before I do any personal assessments.

Also, found again TSR's self-reported list of all products updated 1996. Probably will help me identify all the blind spots in my art search.

  


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Post Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2024 3:22 pm 
 

misterspock wrote in 1992 and 1993 cards art:The ones that are in the more photo-realistic style of the cards like

#106 - Dohnibor
#107 - Ardonell Firemoon
#108 - Thenek Strongaxe

look like John and Laura Lakey's work.


By the way, the ones that are similarly colored but have weird guys for art, I think now, are most likely John Lakey alone - they match up pretty good with his solo art. Besides, the ones I do have were in the midst of blocks of the Lakeys' work. So, I'm kinda assuming one would not be too mistaken in assuming all the ones with that coloring are theirs.

The ones with a softer background, I attribute largely to the late Robin Wood. I've seen one that was attributed to Valusek instead in the Spellfire Reference Guide, but I assume that to be an error. They look nothing like any of Valusek's other art.

  


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Post Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2024 2:41 pm 
 

OK, I think I've caught the majority of the artists. There's a few I still don't know, but they are largely artstyles I've already seen.

Discoveries:
-1992 series has some unsigned art in Ken Frank blocks. Most likely they were his assistant, Charles Frank, his son. As they've both passed away, I will not be able to confirm this any further.
-Either John R. Statema alone, or he and someone else, is responsible for the largest blocks of unassigned art in the 1992 series, the ones made in hatched color pencils. I must keep trying to contact him.
-Some of the unassigned art is by Stephen F. Schwartz. Last I saw of him was in 2004... fearing for the worst. At any rate, I won't be able to confirm this any further. He seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth.
-There is some art that resembles strongly the 1991 series. Most likely, Robin Raab, who per Easley (through his sales assistant), was responsible for a large fraction of the 1991 bespoke cards.
-In 1991, Raab nor Easley remember drawing Firestar, the one that so entrances me. I've finally been able to find Hawk, which was... very different in hue and brightness than it was in the card. I suppose I shall have to look for something that may not be the right hue, or that is much brighter/duller than Firestar.
-Not all of the photorealistic art was by the Lakeys. Some of it seems to be by David O. Miller.
-I might never find out who did the ships. That's okay, I guess.
-1993 art includes Robin Wood for the first time, as well as a number of others such as Terry Dykstra. I am definitely not going to be able to get a hold of Robin Wood, and Dykstra has been MIA for years. The '93 art may be in fact the absolutely hardest to figure out, as much of it is bespoke and seems to come from a different crew than TSR's usual.

  

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Post Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2024 1:26 pm 
 

Great work!
I was wondering on the some of the art that has a more comic-book type style/ink work whether any were done by Dave Simons. He had done illustrations in the Monstrous Manual and a few other modules/accessories.

  


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Post Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2024 7:00 pm 
 

Thanks! I'm going back and forth now between spellfire and the others, contacting artists wherever possible.

  
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