Today’s Fantasy Art Drawing: Frank Frazetta
A study of one of Frank Frazetta’s Conan paintings. I am a huge fan of Frank Frazetta. He was such a skilled artist, one of the great masters of the 1980’s and chances are, when you think classic historical fantasy art, you think Frazetta.
It was thanks to him that Conan the Barbarian started to make waves after the book series had already been around for about fifty years or so with no one really giving it a look.
Another reason why I love Frazetta is… well… you know that term ‘separate the art from the artist’? Part of the reason is if you look back, many prolific artists seem to have deep personal flaws that almost acted as a balance against having such a talent. Picasso has been described by family members as narcissistic, Michelangelo had a rotten temper, Wilhelm Richard Wagner was an anti-Semite. The list goes on.
Frazetta I believe is an exception. To my knowledge, he wasn’t tied to any scandals, wasn’t a womanizer, and in fact, he was a man who was crazy in love with his wife and stayed married to her until the day he died. One of the things he’s most known for are his paintings of gorgeous, flirty, risque women, and a majority of them resemble his wife in one way or another- an account of she posed for his artwork, and always encouraged him to keep painting. One one hand, I want to say this is more of a ‘nice to learn’, but even if that wasn’t the case, I would still want to appreciate his art… at the same time, I don’t know if he would’ve been such a prolific artist if he wasn’t so inspired by having such a strong marriage. Either way, I’m happy his work is with us.
Being married myself to a man who’s always proud of my work and encouraging me to keep going when things are tough- I really cannot express enough how important it is to have someone like that when you’re an artist.
I never learned about Frazetta in college or anything like that, but I know for a fact that my professors would have had a moralistic hatred of his work- would view it as ‘objectifying’ or whatever. So, I’d be lying if I said I never had a sense of spiteful joy and a tiny, pathetic sense of rebellion every time I study his work.
Daily Fantasy Drawing Thoughts & Meditations
Unfortunately, today’s meditations weren’t very pleasant. I think that’s why this artwork appealed to me so much. You can have all the skills, strength, and determination in the world, but even so, life can feel overwhelming. It feels like a giant snake is about to eat you and there’s nothing you can do about it. Of course, I don’t think Frank Frazetta was thinking such thoughts as he was making this piece. Probably not. He was probably thinking how cool it was to get paid to make an awesome painting like this and probably which nice gift he was gonna buy for his wife with the money he made.
Conan is painted with an ideallic strength and body (as he was meant to be an ideal hero-which makes sense). You’re just sitting here wondering, ‘How is he possibly going to get out of there?’ Now, you could probably READ this book this illustration is based off of… oh.
But there’s a light side to it too. He has to get out of there. He has to slay the monster. He doesn’t have a choice. Maybe that’s a good lesson to take.
This is also one of the reasons why I think depending so much on allegories in your art is dumb. The idea that whatever your art is, it’s a 1-to-1 representation of what the world is today. The world today sucks. Why would you want to use a medium where literally anything can happen and remind people of it?
But I digress. One of my favorite things about art is how the meaning changes depending on what your state of mind is, where you are in life, that kind of thing. Today, I was looking at this as I was drawing and realizing that mighty, competent heroes of fiction undergo struggle. That’s WHY we enjoy their stories. We are allowed to escape to a fantasy world and be inspired by the fact that if these heroes can overcome nearly being eaten by giant, poisonous vipers, then we don’t need to dread going to work on Monday- or cleaning the house- or starting a business- or whatever our responsibilities are.
And Now, A Word From Our AI Scribe About Fantasy Art Drawings
Fantasy art is a genre of artwork that is typically created in the form of paintings, drawings, and illustrations. It often depicts fantastic or mythological creatures and scenes, and the term can be used to describe the style of artwork.
Fantasy art has been around for centuries, but it was popularized in the 20th century by artists like Frank Frazetta. Fantasy art is often used in video games as well as children’s books.
Want To See More Fantasy Art Drawings?
Here is yesterday’s artwork:
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Dragon Rider’s Dance is a fantasy comic where dragons are the princesses. Follow Ari and Matthias’ adventures as they navigate great adventures, monsters, and dragon slayer exes.
Read Dragon Rider’s Dance For Free
Dragon Rider’s Dance is a fantasy comic where dragons are the princesses. Follow Ari and Matthias’ adventures as they navigate great adventures, monsters, and dragon slayer exes.
