Other art by Rich Burlew?

[pendell]

We're all here because we love his OOTS verse. His stick figures are part and parcel of that. I suspect it's deliberately minimalist to allow us readers to "fill in the blanks".

But I also know Mr. Burlew is an art school graduate and stick figures are by no means the extent of his artistic talent. We saw some of that in the Julio Scoundrel section of Snips, Snails, and Dragon Tales.

So I'm curious what other artwork Mr. Burlew has done that is publicly available by internet link. Does anyone have anything? I enjoy OOTS a great deal, but I feel I can't appreciate an artist only for one work he's done. It's like thinking of a world-class chef only for his signature dish.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Gift Jeraff]

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7551158&postcount=2

[Marnath]

I made a thread like this once, I even PM'ed the Giant but I never got a response.:smallfrown: Aside from the comics Gift Jeraff posted I wasn't able to find anything else.

[t209]

http://www.cafepress.com/orderofthestick.592841170
Don't forget about this! Though it reminds me of Our Little Adventures.

[SaintRidley]

It's not outside of Rich's signature stick figure style, but the first image here (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2040314005/random-dungeon-generator-as-a-dungeon-map/posts/194439) is Rich's rendering of the AD&D 1e Fighter.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Rich did post some of his non-stick artwork on the Arts and Crafts board, but when I googled for them, the art didn't show up. Not sure why, there were no "Broken Image" icons, just the description of the art, and a blank spot for the art itself. I really liked some of the art there, especially the Rune Guardian.

I always felt like there was a much longer script for Five Foot Steps, but once OotS took off, FFS was pushed way back.

FFS is also where I look when someone starts the inevitable "Who are the players behind the PCs" threads. There are no players behind Roy, Elan and the rest, but you can sort of see who in FFS would play who in OotS...

[Grey Watcher]

Rich did post some of his non-stick artwork on the Arts and Crafts board, but when I googled for them, the art didn't show up. Not sure why, there were no "Broken Image" icons, just the description of the art, and a blank spot for the art itself. I really liked some of the art there, especially the Rune Guardian.

I always felt like there was a much longer script for Five Foot Steps, but once OotS took off, FFS was pushed way back.

FFS is also where I look when someone starts the inevitable "Who are the players behind the PCs" threads. There are no players behind Roy, Elan and the rest, but you can sort of see who in FFS would play who in OotS...

I'm not really sure if any of the Order are Liana's type of character. :smallamused:

Also, I oddly think of FFS as having the opposite dynamic. Ramon's reams of backstory notwithstanding (since we never see it), I feel like, while in Order of the Stick, we have fully realized characters with no players whatsover behind them. In FFS we have fully realized players controlling only the barest sketches of characters.

I wish those images you're referring had survived whatever software or server move ate them.... :smallannoyed:

[Enero Irontoad]

Haha, thanks for linking to those comics. Did he only make the five?

Also, the sketch in OOTS 339 has intrigued me - has he done non-stick figure art of any of the other characters?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I'm not really sure if any of the Order are Liana's type of character. :smallamused:

Darth Vaarsuvius :smallwink:


Also, I oddly think of FFS as having the opposite dynamic. Ramon's reams of backstory notwithstanding (since we never see it), I feel like, while in Order of the Stick, we have fully realized characters with no players whatsover behind them. In FFS we have fully realized players controlling only the barest sketches of characters.

I wish those images you're referring had survived whatever software or server move ate them.... :smallannoyed:

Kristen: Haley or Elan (She also reminds me of Anne from Darths and Droids)
Ramon: Roy (Not just because he's muscular, bald and dark skinned. Roy has an impressive backstory, it just took a while to reveal it "in-game.")
Doug: Belkar or Thog (Fighty Stabsalot? Invert the character sizes, and you're there.)
Zaid: Durkon. (McCleric? Yeah, Durkon started as a McCleric... He's developed more depth, but still)

I'm sort of hoping Rich notices this thread, and reposts the images. But he's a tad busy these days...

[Steward]

Darth Vaarsuvius

There's also that goth-looking Haley who followed the real one around during the aphasia arc.

[fergo]

There's also that goth-looking Haley who followed the real one around during the aphasia arc.

Playing as a voice in another player's head? Sounds fun :smalltongue:. Think of the possibilities... now you can pester another with ridiculous, unwanted advice in-game.

[Jay R]

I'm not really sure if any of the Order are Liana's type of character. :smallamused:

You have to remember that Liana has grown and matured since then, and her PC has changed over time. When Liana started playing the game, her character was Dark Mistress Shadowgale (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0093.html).

[t209]

For those who questions about horse and mule without hooves (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232240&highlight=Hooves).
HERE IT IS!
http://www.giantitp.com/Images/gitpkick/Mule.png
P.S- The linked thread cannot be brought back due to being over 6 weeks.

[The Giant]

Here's the post from that old Arts and Crafts thread, with all the image links fixed:


OK, so, ever since I began the Order of the Stick, I have been frequently criticized for my lack of artistic skill. And the criticism is invalid, largely because most of the people making it really mean to criticize my rendering ability, which is only part of overall artistic competence. But I digress already. The point is, people assume that I wouldn't use stick figures unless I had no choice, because dude, stick figures are crap.

Well, I was cleaning up my hard drive today and I found some old drawings from 2002 that I made as part of my first 3rd Edition campaign. These were included on handouts that I gave to the players detailing each playable race. (Side note: This was the same campaign that I would use stick-figure monsters on paper stand-ups for the miniatures during the combats, making it the direct ancestor of the OOTS comic.) I've decided to make a feeble (and likely in vain) attempt to dispel the cloud of "can't draw" from my good name.

Mind you, I'm not holding these up as masterpieces. Most of them are a bit cartoony for some tastes, and I screw up the anatomy of the foot pretty bad on the elf picture. (I wisely chose to hide the ankles of most of the other figures!) I just wanted to share them. In a perfect world, I would have the time to create a second webcomic drawn in this style, but it would take me over a month for each page, so it's not ever going to happen. Also, I'm woefully out of practice now, having drawn almost exclusively on the computer for five years.

A pair of halfling thieves:
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/RichHalflings.gif

Two decadent high elves:
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/RichElves.gif

A plague-ridden dwarf sorcerer:
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/RichBlightDwarf.gif

One very angry mountain dwarf fighter:
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/RichDwarf.gif

A contemplative goblin wizard:
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/RichGoblinWizard.gif

Your average adventuring cleric (with elegant mustache):
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/RichCleric.gif

I may post more later, if I feel like it.

EDIT: In the process of loading these onto the server, I found a few others I had posted online before:
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/FifteenAndSix.gif

http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/Genasi.gif

[t209]

Wow, that's a good artwork!
I think I could stop seeing Stick Figures when I think of Rich Burlews.

[The Giant]

Two more I've found since then:

From my college days:
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/RichDragon.png

Perhaps a look at a young Eugene?
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/GreenWizard.png

[JSSheridan]

I've kinda been wondering if he had a DeviantArt account or the like under a pseudonym.

[Fish]

What non-artists fail to realize is that distilling a complex thing into simple lines (that retain expression, emotion, and nuance) is really hard. I exhort them to pick up any book alleging to teach drawing skill and to discover how hard it is. Most critics, I suspect, would fail to draw a circle.

[fergo]

Some fantastic drawing there :smallbiggrin:.

But I've got to say, I love OotS' style. It would not be better if it had a different artwork style, not if it was drawn by the greatest artist in the world.

[Mazeburn]

Two more I've found since then:

From my college days:
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/RichDragon.png


That dragon piece is lovely! Do you still draw like this at all, or is it all OOTS-style?

[ti'esar]

Some fantastic drawing there :smallbiggrin:.

But I've got to say, I love OotS' style. It would not be better if it had a different artwork style, not if it was drawn by the greatest artist in the world.

I agree. There are some comics where an entirely "serious" style is the right way to go, but for OOTS, stick figures actually fit.

[SpaceBadger]

Thanks for posting these, Rich.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I'm sort of hoping Rich notices this thread, and reposts the images. But he's a tad busy these days...

Yay! Rich noticed!

And two new pieces, including a "Young Eugene" using Rich Burlew's patented Color Coded magic. Looks like Eugene and Zz'dtri went to the same school... :smallamused:

[t209]

Perhaps a look at a young Eugene?
http://www.GiantITP.com/Images/GreenWizard.png
I though Eugene hated his dad, Horace greenhilt. I wonder why he is holding a blade which pure wizard class are not good at.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

I though Eugene hated his dad, Horace greenhilt. I wonder why he is holding a blade which pure wizard class are not good at.

Two things:
1: That might not be Eugene. It just sort of looks like Eugene. I don't ever remember Eugene with white robes and a green cape, but my copy of Start of Darkness is in the other room.
2: Not sure if that is a sword, or a big dagger. I know Lawrence Watt-Evans uses an athame as a key element in wizard magic in his Ethshar novels, something none of the other magic using classes need to use.

[Grey Watcher]

I though Eugene hated his dad, Horace greenhilt. I wonder why he is holding a blade which pure wizard class are not good at.

Maybe it's a dagger?

Also, thanks for reposting these images! They're great! I especially love the plague- marked dwarf and the poor knight with the melted sword.

[ti'esar]

I don't think he meant that seriously - the drawing long predates OOTS.

[The Giant]

That dragon piece is lovely! Do you still draw like this at all, or is it all OOTS-style?

Like that? No, not in years. That's water color and colored pencil, and I don't even know that I have the supplies for that right now. That's literally an 18-year-old drawing. That drawing could vote. It would take a lot of practice to get back to that point.


I though Eugene hated his dad, Horace greenhilt. I wonder why he is holding a blade which pure wizard class are not good at.

It's not really Eugene. I was just making a joke because I apparently drew a completely unrelated wizard who looks surprisingly similar about two years before OOTS came into existence.

[JackRackham]

You know, my first thought on the dragon picture was that it was pretty good. Then I noticed the fighter guy and felt bad for him. I mean, that dragon is big enough, it's got to be ancient and he's gonna have one hell of a time without his sword. But then I realized I've been looking at it all all wrong. I mean, from a DM's perspective, if a sword-and-board fighter is dumb enough to try taking on a dragon he deserves whatever's coming to him. ;)

[Euodiachloris]

^ Um... that slays me?

<cue tumble weed and crickets... and/or rotten eggs>

Seriously though, I agree that trying to get vector art to do what you want with the minimum is sodding hard! ('Scuse my French. I'm currently wrestling with Inkscape and gradients... so, I'm just a leeeeetle bitter.)

And, for my next trick... swearing at Blender! <bows>

<cries>

[CoffeeIncluded]

Like that? No, not in years. That's water color and colored pencil, and I don't even know that I have the supplies for that right now. That's literally an 18-year-old drawing. That drawing could vote. It would take a lot of practice to get back to that point.

As long as the drawing knows that political discussions are banned here.

[Enero Irontoad]

Nice pictures.

Haha, I'd like to think of that bald guy as some Greenhilt too. Maybe Roy after his hand was exposed to radiation. :smallwink:

One of those pictures looks like the Splinter Cell guy as a wizard making a droid. I guess it's supposed to be a golem maker, but I don't know of any golems that look so robotic. Is there a particular D&D setting that has those?

[Surfing HalfOrc]

One of those pictures looks like the Splinter Cell guy as a wizard making a droid. I guess it's supposed to be a golem maker, but I don't know of any golems that look so robotic. Is there a particular D&D setting that has those?

Ebberon? :smallwink:

The old Final Fantasy Legends (1989-1991 GameBoy/GameBoy Color) had robots as player characters. Humans (fighters), Mutants (magic users), Robots (firearms) and Monsters (could change into other monsters if they ate monster meat). So robots in a fantasy setting isn't all that new.

[Enero Irontoad]

I know. But Final Fantasy isn't really D&D is it? And I know Eberron has Warforged, but I think that's too big to be a Warforged, though I'm not positive. Just curious.

Anyway, I'm also still curious if Rich will ever draw any other Order of the Stick characters like he sketched Nale and Thog's heads and shoulders.

[t209]

I know. But Final Fantasy isn't really D&D is it? And I know Eberron has Warforged, but I think that's too big to be a Warforged, though I'm not positive. Just curious.

Anyway, I'm also still curious if Rich will ever draw any other Order of the Stick characters like he sketched Nale and Thog's heads and shoulders.

Nope! But he might use the artwork at the final strip of OOTS, like the end of
8 bit theater.

[fergo]

Nope! But he might use the artwork at the final strip of OOTS, like the end of
8 bit theater.

I hope not :P. Like I said, I don't think any other drawing style would be better. Would changing it really add anything, especially at such a late point?

[Drivort]

Nope! But he might use the artwork at the final strip of OOTS, like the end of
8 bit theater.

God I hope not. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the pictures Rich posted here, but I would see no point in doing the ending of the comic in a different style than the rest. It just seems wrong to me.
Also, as Rich said, he hasn't drawn like that in years and that he is out of practice, so people surely would complain about a lot of things if he did, even if he made it perfect...

[SaintRidley]

Anyway, I'm also still curious if Rich will ever draw any other Order of the Stick characters like he sketched Nale and Thog's heads and shoulders.

If you don't have Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales, you should get it. There are some sketches of Julio Scoundrel in a more realistic style in there.

[t209]

God I hope not. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the pictures Rich posted here, but I would see no point in doing the ending of the comic in a different style than the rest. It just seems wrong to me.
Also, as Rich said, he hasn't drawn like that in years and that he is out of practice, so people surely would complain about a lot of things if he did, even if he made it perfect...

I wanted to say like this but I don't want to offend him.

[Enero Irontoad]

If you don't have Snips, Snails and Dragon Tales, you should get it. There are some sketches of Julio Scoundrel in a more realistic style in there.

Cool, I ordered the print-only books through the Kickstarter so I should have them soon enough. I also think that making the last part or epilogue in a different style wouldn't work, there's no good reason to do that and we all love the stick figure style that's made the comic what it is. I was just wondering if Rich Burlew has decided what the characters look like in more detail, as they appear in some fan art.

[Grinner]

I don't know if anyone's mentioned it already, but Rich did some freelance art for Wizards of the Coast. I think his works are listed on his Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Burlew).

[rgrekejin]

I don't know if anyone's mentioned it already, but Rich did some freelance art for Wizards of the Coast. I think his works are listed on his Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Burlew).

I could be wrong, but I think that what that means is that Rich designed some of the monster entries and wrote some of the game-related content, not that he drew the illustrations for them (although he may have, I do not know).

[Grinner]

I could be wrong, but I think that what that means is that Rich designed some of the monster entries and wrote some of the game-related content, not that he drew the illustrations for them (although he may have, I do not know).

Maybe. I haven't really investigated the man's work history.

[Zherog]

Yep, those are Rich's writing credits.

***

Rich: The one picture -- the last of the first batch -- looks familiar to me. Is that a character picture? Or is it just something that was posted before, and I have vague memories of it from that?

[pendell]

Wow, thanks, Rich! And everyone else!

The 'knight and dragon' picture makes me snicker because it perfectly communicates "I am so screwed ..." even though you can't see the knight's face.

The "Five Step" town adventure also had me snickering. That looks like something the untouchable trio + 1 would do in Jolly Blackburn's strip. Are all adventurers like that? Or did you D&D in Muncie, Indiana at some point?

The green-robed wizard looks more like Samuel L. {scrubbed} Jackson to me than Eugene. But I guess he could be retconned into Eugene.



As long as the drawing knows that political discussions are banned here


*Smacks CoffeeIncluded upside the head*

Now you ASKED for that :).

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[The Giant]

I've never done art for WOTC. Only writing. Unless you count the elemental ship deck layouts that are in the Explorer's Handbook, which you shouldn't.


Are all adventurers like that? Or did you D&D in Muncie, Indiana at some point?

Gaming during older editions, particularly before 3.X, had a strong tendency to devolve into exactly that sort of scenario. Anyone whose formative gaming years took place in the 80's or early 90's will have played with those people.

[t209]

When I see your robots, I think I could take away the idea that Skyrim (and Morrowind) is the only game with Robots powered by magic gems (other than Warjacks from Warmachine).
Nice painting, Rich!

[rgrekejin]

When I see your robots, I think I could take away the idea that Skyrim (and Morrowind) is the only game with Robots powered by magic gems (other than Warjacks from Warmachine).
Nice painting, Rich!

Yeah... that's actually not true. Many fantasy universes, especially those that stick around for a long time and have lots of people writing for them, end up with magical or pseudo-magical robots. Just to name a few off the top of my head, there are the Warforged and Inevitables of DnD, Adam of Shining Force, Escaflowne (from the show of the same name), and the Automatons of ancient Greek myth.

...also, I thought that Numidium was a really terribly idea, and it holds a special dark place in my heart for the lame role it plays in the lore of Tamriel.

[Sutremaine]

people surely would complain about a lot of things if he did, even if he made it perfect...
I think a lot of people have a mental image of what the OotS cast would look like as real people, and adding more detail to each individual character (somehow I don't see Rich drawing everyone in the same way and swapping hair, eye, and skin colour as appropriate) would throw off some of those people.

Maybe he could do something fanart-related since those aren't 'word of god' depictions, but there might be copyright issues there.

[RebelRogue]

I know. But Final Fantasy isn't really D&D is it? And I know Eberron has Warforged, but I think that's too big to be a Warforged, though I'm not positive. Just curious.
My first thought was, that it was a Warforged Titan. Love that pic, btw.