Erol Otus Commissioned Work by the Acaeum

Posts: 252 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:55 pm

I'm as stubborn as a crazy-ass dwarf! I'm still in! Smile

Posts: 3424 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:08 pm

misterspock wrote:

It's his Bill Bixby moment...you know, just as you're about to go to/come back from the commercial break. Smile

Took me a minute to figure out what the heck you were talking about.

Yeah....pretty much.

Laughing

Posts: 1882 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:20 pm

Still in!

Posts: 482 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:22 pm

When I was a kid we did field trips to Universal Studios and Lou Ferrigno was part of The Hulk segment of the tram tour (at least the times I went). I'm unsure if he had a bad agent or what the deal was... Also the Buck Rogers lead guy was walking around a lot in his costume. Maybe they had some contractual obligations back then. I think that would never happen these days with even the lamest D list "reality" stars...

Posts: 71 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:25 pm

Phaedran wrote:

I have to say I'm a bit surprised at the amount of people bowing out because they don't like the art. The look of it is certainly classic Erol Otus and I'm assuming everyone who wanted one is familiar with his style.

I'm just wondering what it is that people don't like. Is it the look of it or the actual content of the picture? Was there ever a discussion on the boards as to what the picture should or shouldn't look like or was it left up to the artist?

To be clear, I'm not faulting anyone for not liking it. There is plenty of art out there that I don't care for either. I just think the response is interesting.

This piece is classic Otus, for sure, and very nice.

For me, it's mostly the content that I don't like. I was thinking it would be a bit more D&D-ish (since the Acaeum is the repository of all things D&D), so the Cthulhu-like dragon/creature seems a bit out of place to my eyes. The warrior is great, I just don't like his positioning. The female is kind of plain - I suppose I wanted a to see a hottie in the group. I think the little green spellcaster is pretty cool, but again, a bit of of place for some reason.

Maybe Erol had no desire to do something more classic D&D - been there, done that perhaps? In any event, it was neat to watch the process unfold, and like many others have stated, big thanks to all involved in making this happen. Enjoy your treasure Smile

Posts: 1262 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:00 pm

PaulKM wrote:

The art was left completely up to Erol, save for the inclusion of the site's name.

Well, the EO Committee did have a teleconference where we shared our vision, talked about how we wanted something that evoked D&D, and was in a dungeon possibly with a dragon or some monster. It was all pretty vague though, except for the Acaeum name, and we asked him to be creative. By the way, Erol is a funny guy. We really enjoyed our conversation with him. Smile

Also, if you know someone who hasn't reported in, please give them a friendly reminder. We don't want this dragged out any longer than it needs to be. Cool

Finally, the art actually measures 16x24 on 22x28 paper and not the earlier dimensions I reported(15 1/2 x 24 for the art).

Posts: 351 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:44 pm

I'm in!

Posts: 1262 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:13 pm

The 24 hours update is that we now have 40 affirmative confirmations and six who have bowed out. I am counting myself, PaulKM and Badmike as we haven't actually stated our intentions on this thread since my announcement, but I assure you, we're all in and excited.

Please, if you know someone who hasn't stated their intentions yet, we're trying to move this along as quickly as possible. Thanks for all the kudos so far. Cool

Posts: 61 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:16 pm

I'm in (the bubble)

Long live bubble boy Shocked

Posts: 1262 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:42 pm

Here's who hasn't responded yet:

1. smarmy1
2. le Rahib
3. bombadil
4. mdr003
5. Gyg
6. dbartman
7. Serleran
8. Rakeesh sah Tarna
9. AdderMcOne
10. The Collector's Trove
11. bbarsh
12. ScketreWhisp
13. ExTSR
14. JasonZavoda
15. HermitfromPluto
16. Aneoth Edit: (aka Gnat the Beggar) has confirmed
17. Rabbit_67
18. davidc
19. johnhuck
20. stumbling tiger
21. mark1107
22. Gus Landt
23. jcp
24. Busman
25. Ethesis
26. kgreene
27. Zenopus76
28. silver
29. GreyM
30. Islestrike (aka Ak'Ptui)
31. burntwire brothers
32. JiveMiguel
33. PR III
34. Kastegir

We need just 29 more affirmatives from this list. There's an error in here somewhere, but I can't figure it out. Confused

Edit: Aneoth is now Gnat the Beggar and has responded.

Posts: 780 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:52 pm

It's a bit different than what I was expecting, but I'm still in. Thanks to EO for the distinctively unique piece of art.

I think the green guy is a polymorphed mage Smile

Posts: 1262 · Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:54 pm

ScketreWhisp is in.

Posts: 519 · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:10 am

Sorry for the delay... I'm still definately in!!!

I agree with what others have said - it's definately an Otus piece, but it's a litle different than what I was expecting. His work from the old D&D days was a little more sombre, a little darker perhaps, a little more unstated. in Otus's older works, you could tell the people/creatures in it had a backstory. Things weren't clearcut - Otus would present a scene, and he captured a moment in time - you would wonder about the characters in the scene, and you knew they had thoughts and motivations, and he left it up to you to wonder what they were.

This piece is more colourful, a little more... cartoony maybe? Perhaps leaning more toward Munchkin than D&D. The characters seem one dimensional, good guys fighting an evil denizen of the dark. No ambiguity at all.

My personal favourite of all the Otus work I've seen is the Dragon mag cover he did, somewhere in the 40ish range. The one of the magic-user going to visit the enormous creature in the basement.

Either way, it's still unmistakably Otus, and that's exactly what I wanted. So good news!!!

Congrats to the committee for the work so far... excellent stuff.

Posts: 8 · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:18 am

Hey everyone I still want my copy of the art work. Please let me know who should I pay and when...

Mark1107 on the forums.

Mark1107@aol.com

thanks,

Mark

Posts: 1547 · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:06 am

I am definitely still in!

Posts: 1241 · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:31 am

benjoshua wrote:

Here's who hasn't responded yet:

1. smarmy1
2. le Rahib
3. bombadil
4. mdr003
5. Gyg
6. dbartman
7. Serleran
8. Rakeesh sah Tarna
9. AdderMcOne
10. The Collector's Trove
11. bbarsh
12. ScketreWhisp
13. ExTSR
14. JasonZavoda
15. HermitfromPluto
16. Aneoth Edit: (aka Gnat the Beggar) has confirmed
17. Rabbit_67
18. davidc
19. johnhuck
20. stumbling tiger
21. mark1107
22. Gus Landt
23. jcp
24. Busman
25. Ethesis
26. kgreene
27. Zenopus76
28. silver
29. GreyM
30. Islestrike (aka Ak'Ptui)
31. burntwire brothers
32. JiveMiguel
33. PR III
34. Kastegir

We need just 29 more affirmatives from this list. There's an error in here somewhere, but I can't figure it out. Confused

Edit: Aneoth is now Gnat the Beggar and has responded.

I'm in.

I'd advise giving people a good deal of time to respond. We had more than two feet of snow here and another foot coming tomorrow/weds. This past weekend and this coming week are going to be hell for a lot of people so this isnt the best week for a readiness check.

Posts: 381 · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:26 am

I would like to thank the EO committee for all the hard work and time they have invested in this project. I am sure this endeavor would not have progressed to this point without the tireless efforts of you guys. Thanks gentlemen. Smile

While the painting is not my favorite EO composition and is not what I was expecting, nonetheless, I would like to reaffirm my commitment to purchase. I hope this is the first of many 'Acaeum' special projects yet to come. A print such as this symbolizes the great community which is found here amongst our members.

Posts: 1012 · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:25 am

benjoshua wrote:

Here's who hasn't responded yet:

1. smarmy1
2. le Rahib
3. bombadil
4. mdr003
5. Gyg ....

If anyone from the list pulls out please feel free to put my name in ....

Posts: 1262 · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 7:59 am

improvstone wrote:

If anyone from the list pulls out please feel free to put my name in ....

Your name will be added to the wait list. At the rate people are dropping out, you have about a 50% chance of making the cut, maybe better. Cool

JasonZavoda wrote:

I'm in.

I'd advise giving people a good deal of time to respond. We had more than two feet of snow here and another foot coming tomorrow/weds. This past weekend and this coming week are going to be hell for a lot of people so this isnt the best week for a readiness check.

You are right. But we don't need to hear from everybody, just enough to confirm that we still need to order 70 prints and not less. Once we have that confirmation, we'll immediately put out the request for payment, and we're looking at approximately a ten day window to pay. It's not ideal, but it should be enough time for everyone, especially those dedicated to the Acaeum. Wink

Posts: 1320 · Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:10 am

Phaedran wrote:

I have to say I'm a bit surprised at the amount of people bowing out because they don't like the art. The look of it is certainly classic Erol Otus and I'm assuming everyone who wanted one is familiar with his style.

As per my post a little way back, it's just not for me. I liked the sketch very much and thought it was going to be great for me.

However, the finished piece just doesn't float my boat, so to speak. I guess I saw it in my mind, as the characters being styled more like the early D&D art that I have seen and know.

Maybe my knowledge of Erol's work is not as full as others here, but I just don't particularly like the characters features. It's not 'there' enough for me to want it.. Shame, as I'd have really taken to a piece like the early days.

But none of my thoughts are to detract from the work of the EO committee or the artist himself.

Personal taste and all that... Smile