Full disclosure, I'm a huge fan of fantasy art. As a kid I would buy every issue of Savage Sword of Conan that I could get. I can remember sitting at the magazine rack of the Walden Books (remember those?) and pouring over the art in Heavy Metal and Dragon magazines. Clyde Caldwell is one of the masters of the genre. Through the better part of the 80s and early 90s, his art graced role playing games and novel covers and provided the look for TSR's Ravenloft franchise. Clyde was kind enough to indulge my love of this genre with 20 questions.
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| Hands of Doom |
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| Vampire |
I consider myself semi-retired, though I still take on some private commission work. I don't paint every day like I used to, so am behind on the private commissions. I guess I should spend a little more time painting and drawing! A lot of my time is spent filling and shipping orders from my website.
3) I’ve read that you became an artist by “default”. At what point did you think that art was going to be your profession?
Hmmm...I wouldn't say I became an artist by "default". I've always been a creative type and have been drawing as far back as I can remember. It was obvious to my parents when I was growing up that I had some artistic talent, and they were very supportive. I majored in art in college, since that was my strong suit. I've jokingly said before that I majored in art because I couldn't do anything else. Truth to tell, if I hadn't become an artist, I most likely would have had some sort of creative job, but art was the obvious choice for me.
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| Azure Bonds |
4) What was the toughest lesson you had to learn as a professional artist?
I majored in Fine Arts in school, but consider myself an illustrator. Being an illustrator is tough in general. It's a competitive field in which you have to constantly perform up to, or exceed, industry standards, in order to continue getting work and make a living. The hardest part of being an illustrator for me was making deadlines. I'm not a fast painter, so I had to spend a lot of long hours at the drawing board to get my assignments done.
The toughest lesson I had to learn was that the client is always right. When I first started out as a professional illustrator, I would have my own view of how a job should be done. The client didn't always agree with my viewpoint, but I quickly learned that the client was paying me to do the job, so if I couldn't convince him (or her) to let me do it my way, then I had to be flexible enough to do it the way he wanted it. Since I do have a stubborn streak, it was hard for me to bend when I thought I was right. Later on, a wise ad agency owner/art director for whom I was working at the time gave me some sound advice. He said that I had to make sure to please myself as an artist in addition to pleasing the client. As a fine artist, you only have to please yourself. As an illustrator, you need to please yourself as well as the client, to make it all worthwhile, otherwise you "feed the man but starve the artist." I saw the wisdom in that, though I've had plenty of arguments over the content of paintings over the years.
5) From beginning sketches to final product, how long does it take to finish a painting?
When I was working full time, it would take me a month to 6 weeks to produce a full oil painting. I've produced paintings in much less time (I think my fastest was 4 days from start to finish), but it depends a lot on the subject matter, medium, size, etc. Nowadays a painting can drag on for much longer, but as I mentioned before, I'm not spending that many hours at the drawing board anymore.
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| Unconquered |
6) How do you know when you’re “done” with a painting
When working with deadlines, I often would send in a painting when the publisher needed it, rather than when I thought it was "done". I always tried to do the best job I could in the time and with the restrictions I had to work with. Now I'm more of a "paint on it until I like it and feel like it's done" kind of guy. Not a luxury I always had when facing the "dread deadline doom".
But considering a painting "done" is just a feeling that I've done all I can to produce a good painting, and that spending more time on it won't make it any better. That it's as good as it's going to get.
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| Cover art by Roy G. Krenkel |
7) I remember seeing your Curse of the Azure the Bonds as a kid, I think it was an ad on the back of a comic, and it really put a hook in me. I’ve heard several fantasy artists and writers say that seeing a Frazetta cover on a pulp novel had the same effect on them. I’ve read you were inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. Can you remember a particular artist or a cover that had that effect on you?
The first Edgar Rice Burroughs novel I ever saw (this was back in the 60's when I was around 14 years old) had a cover done by Roy G. Krenkel. I was in a newsstand that I frequently haunted in search of science fiction & fantasy paperbacks. I remember seeing it from across the room and it just stood out on the shelf among all the other books. I bought it on the spot and couldn't wait to show it to my best friend, David Walker, who had gotten me into reading science fiction & fantasy in the first place.
Although I'd been reading SF & fantasy novels for a year or so, I never really was drawn to the cover art prior to discovering the ERB books. I started collecting every one of the Ace editions that I could lay my hands on, with covers done by Roy G. Krenkel and then Frank Frazetta. If I'd thought the Krenkel covers were great, the Frazetta covers really blew me away.
8) The late 1970s through early 1990s were a heyday for fantasy artists. You, Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson were all in high demand for games, Earl Norem was turning out beautiful work for Savage Sword of Conan and it seemed like Boris Vallejo’s art was adorning half of the sword and sorcery movie posters. What was it about that era that created such a high demand for fantasy art and what changed?
As with most phenomenons, it was just being in the right place at the right time. All of the fantasy artists that I knew had been influenced by Frank Frazetta, who produced much of his book and magazine cover work in the 1960s and 1970s. So there was a group of Frazetta influenced fantasy artists out there creating artwork that they loved doing. We were really creating fantasy artwork for the love of it, and I think the audience picked up on that. As with all things, time moves on, tastes change, and certain genres gain or lose popularity. I've been told that more people are playing D&D now than when I was working for TSR, so maybe that has made a comeback. Clearly the digital age has had an impact on book cover art as well as game art. Publishers are inclined to put covers on their products that they feel will sell their products, and there's always a hunger in the consumer for something new and different.
9) You are most closely associated with TSR and Dungeons and Dragons, but you didn’t take the job when it was initially offered. What was the hold up and what finally convinced you to get on board with them?
I was living in North Carolina at the time and working as a freelance illustrator. My work was split between doing advertising illustration, which I didn't care for, and doing SF & fantasy illustration for book and magazine covers. I was doing a series of covers for Dragon Magazine, and Kim Mohan spoke to me about a staff position at TSR a couple of times.
I was a North Carolina native and was reluctant to move my family to wintry Wisconsin, so didn't really consider the initial job offers. I liked the freedom and independence of being a freelancer and was reluctant to take a job on staff. I think it was the third time that the job was mentioned that TSR offered to fly me up to Wisconsin for a job interview. I thought, "why not?" I could go up to WI and meet with Kim and the other Dragon Magazine staffers with whom I'd been working, at the company's expense. I also wanted to meet Jeff Easley. Jeff and I had worked for many of the same fanzines for years before each of us had turned pro, so I was familiar with his work. I thought it would be fun to meet him as well.
When I got to WI and met with the other TSR artists, I felt that they were kindred spirits. There weren't a lot of other fantasy artists or fantasy art fans where I lived in NC, so I thought it would be great to work with other artists who shared my interest in fantasy art.
Plus my goal was to become a full-time fantasy artist. The job at TSR would afford me an opportunity to do what I loved on a full-time basis.
Plus there was the allure of the steady paycheck. Freelancing was a feast & famine kind of existence, and I was probably experiencing a lot more famine than feast. So when I made the trip back to NC, I had accepted the staff position at TSR.
10) I think your most recognizable work is either Curse of the Azure Bonds or the Ravenloft painting of Strahd on the balcony. But which piece do you think is the favorite among fans?
Certainly 'Ravenloft' is an image which has resonated with many fans. I couldn't really say which of my paintings for TSR is the most popular. 'Alerelean', the cover for Dragon Magazine #94, is certainly one that would be considered one of my best known pieces, and as a series, the Gazetteer paintings were pretty well received.
11) Speaking of Strahd, when you were first approached to produce art for Ravenloft, what were your original thoughts?
I hadn't been working at TSR too long when I was given the cover and interior art assignment for the first Ravenloft module. Whoever gave me the job asked for Strahd to be standing on the balcony of his castle with a host of villagers converging on the castle below, carrying torches and pitchforks. I didn't like the idea of the scene with the villagers, which seemed awkward, so quickly did a pencil sketch of my version of Strahd standing on the balcony between a couple of gargoyles. I chose an upward perspective on the scene to make it more dramatic. The sketch was approved and I did the painting.
"I had read Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was a teenager... that was the only book I ever read that actually scared me."
12) When Gene Colon was creating his version of Dracula for Marvel, he based the appearance on Jack Palance. Strahd seems imbued with the typical Dracula-esque qualities, black cape, medal around his neck etc. But he also has some very unsettling characteristic like his blue-gray skin and yellow eyes. Was there any particular inspiration or creative process, maybe a trial and error, that led you to the final design?
I had read Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was a teenager, and liked it very much. I think that was the only book I ever read that actually scared me. My idea of what a vampire looked like was colored by the classics: Bella Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula, the Hammer films, and even Frank Frazetta's painting of Dracula and Frankenstein for the SF Book Club's combo of those two titles.
I wasn't a gamer, so didn't have a lot of knowledge of D&D at the time. Perhaps if I had been working at TSR for a longer period before being given the Ravenoft assignment, I might have taken a totally different approach to Strahd's appearance...don't know. However the module was popular and so my original visual interpretation of Strahd stuck.
I usually use models for the figures in my paintings. 'Ravenloft' is one of my only paintings for which I didn't use a model. I also didn't use a model for Strahd in 'The House on Gryphon Hill' painting.
13) Fangs for the Mammaries features, I think, your most buxom character ever. Was there any particular woman or character that was the inspiration?
'Fangs for the Mammaries' was the cover for a fairly tongue in cheek anthology focused on vampires in suburbia. The art director asked for a buxom female vampire for the cover of the book. Christine Klingbiel, who has modeled for many of my paintings over the years, posed for this one. She's buxom enough in her own right, but I'll admit to the possibility of perhaps having exaggerated just a bit.
"I guess Bernie Wrightson's horror comic art was a big influence, as well as the Warren magazines, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella."
14) Another buxom vampire was featured in Midnight Snack. That piece also showcases a classic gothic horror setting; cemetery, full moon, a bare tree limb silhouetted in the back ground. Did you have any particular influences when you were creating your horror art that were different than the influences for your fantasy work?
I guess Bernie Wrightson's horror comic art was a big influence, as well as the Warren magazines, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella. I've always been a fan of Elvira, so she was a definite influence as well.
Originally the 'Midnight Snack' painting was supposed to be done for a Ravenloft module cover. The art suggestion was for a female vampire to be emerging from the shadows of a crypt. I did the original preliminary sketch in that vein. Then we learned that TSR wanted to produce a "Women of Fantasy" calendar. In the calendar, we were going to get to take a sexier approach to the subject matter. However to get the most use out of the art for the calendar, we were to plan to use as much of the art as possible as covers for game modules, books, etc.
So I re-imagined the Ravenloft module cover, so that it would be "Women of Fantasy" calendar worthy. At some point, Loraine Williams, the owner of the company, wanted the artists to bring down the paintings we were working on for the WoF calendar, so that she could see what we were up to. We all met in a conference room. When Loraine saw 'Midnight Snack' in progress, she said, "This is much too sexy for a module cover!" So the painting was used in the calendar, but not as the cover for the module. I'm not sure if TSR ever got a second usage out of the painting, since it was deemed "too sexy".
15) Moving on from Dungeons and Dragons, you created another standout piece, for Vampire the Masquerade, To Pick a Rose. I know people for whom that painting alone was the source for all of their gothic inspirations. It’s so different from your Ravenloft work. Can you talk about what was involved in creating that particular image or getting into the frame of mind for a new franchise?
I had seen a drawing that Tim Bradstreet had done of a female vampire wearing a leather jacket, a cross necklace and chaps, which I really liked. She most likely was wearing sunglasses as well. When I got the assignment to do the 'To Pick a Rose...' painting, I wanted to do a female vampire similar to the one Tim had done. The model for the painting, Jennifer Draws, had all of the costume elements that I needed for the painting, so it all worked out just fine. I always give Tim credit for inspiring the female vampire in 'To Pick a Rose...'. The painting was a bit of a tribute to Tim's piece.
When working on the painting I was trying to come up with a good title for it, and not having much luck. 10,000 Maniacs was playing on my CD player, and "To pick a rose, you ask your hands to bleed" was in the lyrics to one of the songs...so that's the title I chose for the painting.
I don't include a lot of symbolism in my paintings, but the 3 white pigeons flying in the background represent the dead guy's soul leaving his body.
16) Another piece from Vampire the Masquerade stands out, Habeus Corpses. It seemed like with Vampire the Masquerade, you were creating character designs from scratch, as opposed to Dungeons and Dragons where you were often working with designs that someone else had created, Lord Soth for example. As an artist, were there pros and cons to creating your own designs verses working with someone else’s?
'Habeus Corpses' wasn't done for Vampire the Masquerade. It was a cover for the book by the same name written by Wm. Mark Simmons. It features a character from the book, a gun-toting female vampire bodyguard. Once again, model Christine Klingbiel posed for this character.
It's usually more fun to create my own visualization of how a character looks, however sometimes I might be looking forward to painting an established character. For example, when I got to do the Red Sonja painting, 'Unconquered', I was really excited to get to paint her. I feel like I can always put my spin on a character, even if the look is well established.
17) Of the newer fantasy artists that are on the scene today, is there anyone in particular that you like or that you think people should keep an eye on?
Truth to tell, I don't really keep up with the new kids on the block anymore. I stopped paying attention around the time Donato Giancola got hot. I like his work a lot, but couldn't name a contemporary fantasy artist since he hit the scene.
18) Now for some fun questions: Of all the actors who have played Dracula, who is your absolute favorite and why?
Christopher Lee comes to mind. I used to see all of his old Hammer Films...he just seemed to be perfect for the part. Back in high school, a few of my friends and I used to pile into a car and catch the triple-feature horror films showing at the local drive-in. It was a dollar per carload!
19) If you were making a list of the best films to get you into the mood for Halloween, what would be at the top of the list?
I love all the old Universal monster movies, as well as the Hammer films. Pumpkinhead has always been a favorite...and anything with King Kong (especially the original.) Plus, I'd list Elvira: Mistress of the Dark as a guilty pleasure.
20) Thanks for your time. If folks want to check out more of your work, where can they do that?
My website: clydecaldwell.com
The first Edgar Rice Burroughs novel I ever saw (this was back in the 60's when I was around 14 years old) had a cover done by Roy G. Krenkel. I was in a newsstand that I frequently haunted in search of science fiction & fantasy paperbacks. I remember seeing it from across the room and it just stood out on the shelf among all the other books. I bought it on the spot and couldn't wait to show it to my best friend, David Walker, who had gotten me into reading science fiction & fantasy in the first place.
Although I'd been reading SF & fantasy novels for a year or so, I never really was drawn to the cover art prior to discovering the ERB books. I started collecting every one of the Ace editions that I could lay my hands on, with covers done by Roy G. Krenkel and then Frank Frazetta. If I'd thought the Krenkel covers were great, the Frazetta covers really blew me away.
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| Crystal Visions |
As with most phenomenons, it was just being in the right place at the right time. All of the fantasy artists that I knew had been influenced by Frank Frazetta, who produced much of his book and magazine cover work in the 1960s and 1970s. So there was a group of Frazetta influenced fantasy artists out there creating artwork that they loved doing. We were really creating fantasy artwork for the love of it, and I think the audience picked up on that. As with all things, time moves on, tastes change, and certain genres gain or lose popularity. I've been told that more people are playing D&D now than when I was working for TSR, so maybe that has made a comeback. Clearly the digital age has had an impact on book cover art as well as game art. Publishers are inclined to put covers on their products that they feel will sell their products, and there's always a hunger in the consumer for something new and different.
 |
| Alerelean |
I was living in North Carolina at the time and working as a freelance illustrator. My work was split between doing advertising illustration, which I didn't care for, and doing SF & fantasy illustration for book and magazine covers. I was doing a series of covers for Dragon Magazine, and Kim Mohan spoke to me about a staff position at TSR a couple of times.
I was a North Carolina native and was reluctant to move my family to wintry Wisconsin, so didn't really consider the initial job offers. I liked the freedom and independence of being a freelancer and was reluctant to take a job on staff. I think it was the third time that the job was mentioned that TSR offered to fly me up to Wisconsin for a job interview. I thought, "why not?" I could go up to WI and meet with Kim and the other Dragon Magazine staffers with whom I'd been working, at the company's expense. I also wanted to meet Jeff Easley. Jeff and I had worked for many of the same fanzines for years before each of us had turned pro, so I was familiar with his work. I thought it would be fun to meet him as well.
When I got to WI and met with the other TSR artists, I felt that they were kindred spirits. There weren't a lot of other fantasy artists or fantasy art fans where I lived in NC, so I thought it would be great to work with other artists who shared my interest in fantasy art.
Plus my goal was to become a full-time fantasy artist. The job at TSR would afford me an opportunity to do what I loved on a full-time basis.
Plus there was the allure of the steady paycheck. Freelancing was a feast & famine kind of existence, and I was probably experiencing a lot more famine than feast. So when I made the trip back to NC, I had accepted the staff position at TSR.
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| Ravenloft |
10) I think your most recognizable work is either Curse of the Azure Bonds or the Ravenloft painting of Strahd on the balcony. But which piece do you think is the favorite among fans?
Certainly 'Ravenloft' is an image which has resonated with many fans. I couldn't really say which of my paintings for TSR is the most popular. 'Alerelean', the cover for Dragon Magazine #94, is certainly one that would be considered one of my best known pieces, and as a series, the Gazetteer paintings were pretty well received.
11) Speaking of Strahd, when you were first approached to produce art for Ravenloft, what were your original thoughts?
I hadn't been working at TSR too long when I was given the cover and interior art assignment for the first Ravenloft module. Whoever gave me the job asked for Strahd to be standing on the balcony of his castle with a host of villagers converging on the castle below, carrying torches and pitchforks. I didn't like the idea of the scene with the villagers, which seemed awkward, so quickly did a pencil sketch of my version of Strahd standing on the balcony between a couple of gargoyles. I chose an upward perspective on the scene to make it more dramatic. The sketch was approved and I did the painting.
"I had read Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was a teenager... that was the only book I ever read that actually scared me."
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| The House on Gryphon Hill |
12) When Gene Colon was creating his version of Dracula for Marvel, he based the appearance on Jack Palance. Strahd seems imbued with the typical Dracula-esque qualities, black cape, medal around his neck etc. But he also has some very unsettling characteristic like his blue-gray skin and yellow eyes. Was there any particular inspiration or creative process, maybe a trial and error, that led you to the final design?
I had read Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was a teenager, and liked it very much. I think that was the only book I ever read that actually scared me. My idea of what a vampire looked like was colored by the classics: Bella Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula, the Hammer films, and even Frank Frazetta's painting of Dracula and Frankenstein for the SF Book Club's combo of those two titles.
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| Fangs for the Mammaries |
I wasn't a gamer, so didn't have a lot of knowledge of D&D at the time. Perhaps if I had been working at TSR for a longer period before being given the Ravenoft assignment, I might have taken a totally different approach to Strahd's appearance...don't know. However the module was popular and so my original visual interpretation of Strahd stuck.
I usually use models for the figures in my paintings. 'Ravenloft' is one of my only paintings for which I didn't use a model. I also didn't use a model for Strahd in 'The House on Gryphon Hill' painting.
13) Fangs for the Mammaries features, I think, your most buxom character ever. Was there any particular woman or character that was the inspiration?
'Fangs for the Mammaries' was the cover for a fairly tongue in cheek anthology focused on vampires in suburbia. The art director asked for a buxom female vampire for the cover of the book. Christine Klingbiel, who has modeled for many of my paintings over the years, posed for this one. She's buxom enough in her own right, but I'll admit to the possibility of perhaps having exaggerated just a bit.
"I guess Bernie Wrightson's horror comic art was a big influence, as well as the Warren magazines, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella."
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| Midnight Snack |
14) Another buxom vampire was featured in Midnight Snack. That piece also showcases a classic gothic horror setting; cemetery, full moon, a bare tree limb silhouetted in the back ground. Did you have any particular influences when you were creating your horror art that were different than the influences for your fantasy work?
I guess Bernie Wrightson's horror comic art was a big influence, as well as the Warren magazines, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella. I've always been a fan of Elvira, so she was a definite influence as well.
Originally the 'Midnight Snack' painting was supposed to be done for a Ravenloft module cover. The art suggestion was for a female vampire to be emerging from the shadows of a crypt. I did the original preliminary sketch in that vein. Then we learned that TSR wanted to produce a "Women of Fantasy" calendar. In the calendar, we were going to get to take a sexier approach to the subject matter. However to get the most use out of the art for the calendar, we were to plan to use as much of the art as possible as covers for game modules, books, etc.
So I re-imagined the Ravenloft module cover, so that it would be "Women of Fantasy" calendar worthy. At some point, Loraine Williams, the owner of the company, wanted the artists to bring down the paintings we were working on for the WoF calendar, so that she could see what we were up to. We all met in a conference room. When Loraine saw 'Midnight Snack' in progress, she said, "This is much too sexy for a module cover!" So the painting was used in the calendar, but not as the cover for the module. I'm not sure if TSR ever got a second usage out of the painting, since it was deemed "too sexy".
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| To Pick a Rose |
15) Moving on from Dungeons and Dragons, you created another standout piece, for Vampire the Masquerade, To Pick a Rose. I know people for whom that painting alone was the source for all of their gothic inspirations. It’s so different from your Ravenloft work. Can you talk about what was involved in creating that particular image or getting into the frame of mind for a new franchise?
I had seen a drawing that Tim Bradstreet had done of a female vampire wearing a leather jacket, a cross necklace and chaps, which I really liked. She most likely was wearing sunglasses as well. When I got the assignment to do the 'To Pick a Rose...' painting, I wanted to do a female vampire similar to the one Tim had done. The model for the painting, Jennifer Draws, had all of the costume elements that I needed for the painting, so it all worked out just fine. I always give Tim credit for inspiring the female vampire in 'To Pick a Rose...'. The painting was a bit of a tribute to Tim's piece.
When working on the painting I was trying to come up with a good title for it, and not having much luck. 10,000 Maniacs was playing on my CD player, and "To pick a rose, you ask your hands to bleed" was in the lyrics to one of the songs...so that's the title I chose for the painting.
I don't include a lot of symbolism in my paintings, but the 3 white pigeons flying in the background represent the dead guy's soul leaving his body.
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| Art by Tim Bradstreet |
'Habeus Corpses' wasn't done for Vampire the Masquerade. It was a cover for the book by the same name written by Wm. Mark Simmons. It features a character from the book, a gun-toting female vampire bodyguard. Once again, model Christine Klingbiel posed for this character.
It's usually more fun to create my own visualization of how a character looks, however sometimes I might be looking forward to painting an established character. For example, when I got to do the Red Sonja painting, 'Unconquered', I was really excited to get to paint her. I feel like I can always put my spin on a character, even if the look is well established.
17) Of the newer fantasy artists that are on the scene today, is there anyone in particular that you like or that you think people should keep an eye on?
Truth to tell, I don't really keep up with the new kids on the block anymore. I stopped paying attention around the time Donato Giancola got hot. I like his work a lot, but couldn't name a contemporary fantasy artist since he hit the scene.
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| Habeus Corpses |
18) Now for some fun questions: Of all the actors who have played Dracula, who is your absolute favorite and why?
Christopher Lee comes to mind. I used to see all of his old Hammer Films...he just seemed to be perfect for the part. Back in high school, a few of my friends and I used to pile into a car and catch the triple-feature horror films showing at the local drive-in. It was a dollar per carload!
19) If you were making a list of the best films to get you into the mood for Halloween, what would be at the top of the list?
I love all the old Universal monster movies, as well as the Hammer films. Pumpkinhead has always been a favorite...and anything with King Kong (especially the original.) Plus, I'd list Elvira: Mistress of the Dark as a guilty pleasure.
20) Thanks for your time. If folks want to check out more of your work, where can they do that?
My website: clydecaldwell.com
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| Strip Mauled |
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