David C. Sutherland III

April 4, 1949, is David C. Sutherland III's birthday. Dave was the first professional artist to work for TSR in 1975 on Blackmoor. His work was approachable and captured the essence of the game. He continued to work for TSR until 1997 when it was purchased by Wizards of the Coast. In that time he drew many of the most iconic and memorably scenes, and maps for Dungeons and Dragons. Including the covers of the Holmes' Basic, the original AD&D hardcovers, and the Ravenloft maps. He quietly passed away in 2005.

Instead of posting his most well known works, here are some very good ones not as widely recognized.

Boob Monsters! I Mean Monster Boobs!

The other day an article about Dungeons and Dragons shift away from monster boobs popped up and it got me to thinking about one of my favorite subjects. Society has determined they must be hidden from sight. We talk about them in whispered rumors. They come in many shapes and sizes. Because of their nature many wonder what they look like.  Of course I'm talking about monsters!

Having gone through art school I've had to do a lot of nude figure drawing. Because of the classroom atmosphere it immediately becomes clinical. It is a matter of fact, you are just studying the human figure. At some point you become inured to nudity. This is the complete opposite of being a kid and opening up the Monster Manual for the first time and seeing the succubus entry!

When drawing stuff and showing it in public sometimes I have to check myself. When drawing monsters for the Beasties book I had an entry for a succubus and I decided to draw inspiration from the original Playboy model Miss May 1977 Sheila Mullen that Dave Sutherland III used to draw the succubus entry in the original Monster Manual. I had to remind myself to be discrete in certain areas.

http://kotaku.com/dungeons-dragons-gradual-shift-away-from-monster-boo-1790002540

http://elitedaily.com/social-news/dungeons-and-dragons-boobs/1720756/