A Beautiful Birthday & The Need For Art

Today is my 48th birthday. I hope no one minds that I step away from gaming talk for a day.

I've been enjoying a quiet day so far, as I've been offline and away from the madness. I'll be out for dinner with the folks tonight.

I appreciate the birthday wishes from one and all.

I'm looking forward to see what my folks got for me as presents, but I missed something to tell them when they asked me what I wanted. I forgot artwork.

The Frazetta estate has a site, and they're selling a lot of that he did.

Click on the image to go to the store page.

Get yourself some good art to fill your space (and if you like that image, get one for me, or if you can find the original go with that instead.)

Or maybe you liked a cover from a game you used. Contact the author or publisher to see if the artist sells prints. (e.g. I love Allen Nunis' work for West End Games and other publishers. A lot of his stuff for TORG the best there is and his Star Wars work is still as good or better than what the Devil Mouse pays for.) You can just look at Angus McBride's work to see what you're missing as decoration around your home or office.

Finding official art prints of your favorite stuff, alas, is a pain in the ass for a lot of things due to one problem or another. It's much like getting original soundtracks of my favorite anime without either paying stupid import prices or buying bootlegs.

So consider this option: commission it.

Plenty of folks out there looking to pay bills with their art skills, and some of them not only do not suck but they also don't do pr0n exclusively. Find those folks, like Kukuruyo, and put in a commission to get what you want done. They get paid, you get art, and everyone benefits.

Maybe, like me, you like your giant robots. DeviantArt and Art Station allow keyword searchs--I did "mecha"--so look, find, and contact. (I love this series in particular.)

Don't just consume, patronize.

And going forward, you can count of me accepting art for what I make or like as acceptable presents. I don't maintain an Art Book Wish List for nothing.