Picture This: In search of the perfect character portrait
You’ve just created your dwarf cleric. His attributes are primed. His equipment is second-to-none. His background is detailed and intense. You can’t wait to play him. Now all you have to do is find that perfect character portrait to show the world exactly what he looks like and how bad-ass he truly is. So what now? Google? Input “dwarf cleric” and see what happens? Oh no, my friends. Let me show you the way.
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of websites out there that specialize in art. However, a lot of them, well, suck. But that’s where I come in. Here are some really good websites that specialize in fantasy art and examples of what you’ll find at each. (Thanks to my wife for most of the links!)
Julie Bell and Boris Vallejo
You can’t go wrong with the mistress and master of fantasy artwork. If you’re looking for ripplingly-muscled men and scantily clad women, this is the site for you.
Source: Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell (c) 2003
April Lee Illustrations
Gorgeous artwork.
Source: April Lee (c) 2003
Claudio Pozas
I would be seriously remiss if I didn’t mention my friend Claudio. You’ve seen his art a lot lately and he did the cover work for Fire and Brimstone!
Source: Claudio Pozas (c) 2008
Donato Giancola – Donato Arts
If you’ve played M:TG, you’ve probably seen his work.
Source: Donato Giancola (c) 2007
Epilogue.net
Lots and lots of fantasy and sci-fi artwork by many different artists.
Source: Scott Findlay (c) 2008
Jennifer Meyer Illustrations
Beautiful work by a freelance illustrator.
Source: Jennifer Meyer (c) 2008
Justin Sweet
I love this guy’s work.
Source: Justin Sweet (c)
Larry Elmore
The one and only.
Source: Larry Elmore (c)
Cris Dornaus
He’s done a lot of work on the 7th Sea line.
Source: AEG (c) 2000
Studio Uriel
Portraits of Diablo characters.
Source: Patricio Soler (c)
The Art of Douglas Shuler
Another artist who did work on M:TG.
Source: Douglas Shuler (c)
The Art of Todd Lockwood
One of the best artists working today. If you’ve ever played D&D, you’ve seen his pictures.
Source: Todd Lockwood (c) 2008
Tom Martin Art
Another friend of mine with great talent.
Source: Tom Martin (c)
Tony DiTerlizzi
Personally, my favorite artist in this list. 
Source: Tony DiTerlizzi (c) 2008
Daydreams Graphics
A handful of different artists are represented here.
Source: Matt Cavotta (c) 2008
CG Choice Award Gallery
The best digital art as chosen by the Society of Digital Artists.
Source: Sven Geruschkat (c) 2008
Joe Pekar
This guy definitely has talent.
Source: Joe Pekar (c) 2008
And last, but definitely not least:
The ULTIMATE D&D Gallery Links List
A great lists on Gleemax to tons of fantasy art sites.
So there you go. I hope that you’ll be able to find the character portrait you’re looking for on one of these sites. Have fun!
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reveal November 12th, 2008 at 12:54 PM
@Tom – What are you talking about? You’re in there!