tsrart wrote:Well, while the products never existed with the "alternate" covers that appear in the catalogs, the ARTWORK does exist. While some are pulled from other sources, many of them are distinct, unique paintings. They are called "comps" and were usually painted by freelancers - Den Beauvais did a lot of them, for example. (The staff guys did some, too, of course.)They were created in large bunches specifically for the catalog, and then were usually given to the final cover artist to use as a prelim.HOWEVER - some of those comps actually did find their way on to covers. Several of Den's comps for the AMAZING ENGINE line actually appeared as the final covers (due to budget issues), and the cover to the Ravenloft boxed set NIGHTMARE LANDS is actually Den's catalog comp. Robh Ruppel was to do the final cover, but he did a piece that was drastically different from the comp (and much better). The TSR boss at the time was so incensed at Robh's "insubordination" that she refused to use his painting and published the comp instead.Pat
Marlith wrote:tsrart wrote:Well, while the products never existed with the "alternate" covers that appear in the catalogs, the ARTWORK does exist. While some are pulled from other sources, many of them are distinct, unique paintings. They are called "comps" and were usually painted by freelancers - Den Beauvais did a lot of them, for example. (The staff guys did some, too, of course.)They were created in large bunches specifically for the catalog, and then were usually given to the final cover artist to use as a prelim.HOWEVER - some of those comps actually did find their way on to covers. Several of Den's comps for the AMAZING ENGINE line actually appeared as the final covers (due to budget issues), and the cover to the Ravenloft boxed set NIGHTMARE LANDS is actually Den's catalog comp. Robh Ruppel was to do the final cover, but he did a piece that was drastically different from the comp (and much better). The TSR boss at the time was so incensed at Robh's "insubordination" that she refused to use his painting and published the comp instead.PatSo I guess the next question would be what happened to teh comps. Were they given back to the artist, staff, held in storage somewhere or pulped? One of the places that I noticed it most in was the 1992 Fall/Winter Catalog. There is a very high number of items that have alternate art.
burntwire brothers wrote:Marlith wrote:tsrart wrote:Well, while the products never existed with the "alternate" covers that appear in the catalogs, the ARTWORK does exist. While some are pulled from other sources, many of them are distinct, unique paintings. They are called "comps" and were usually painted by freelancers - Den Beauvais did a lot of them, for example. (The staff guys did some, too, of course.)They were created in large bunches specifically for the catalog, and then were usually given to the final cover artist to use as a prelim.HOWEVER - some of those comps actually did find their way on to covers. Several of Den's comps for the AMAZING ENGINE line actually appeared as the final covers (due to budget issues), and the cover to the Ravenloft boxed set NIGHTMARE LANDS is actually Den's catalog comp. Robh Ruppel was to do the final cover, but he did a piece that was drastically different from the comp (and much better). The TSR boss at the time was so incensed at Robh's "insubordination" that she refused to use his painting and published the comp instead.PatSo I guess the next question would be what happened to teh comps. Were they given back to the artist, staff, held in storage somewhere or pulped? One of the places that I noticed it most in was the 1992 Fall/Winter Catalog. There is a very high number of items that have alternate art.We have several "comps" from Jeff Easley and Scott Burdick that were used for TSR's catalogs. The Burdick prelims can be really cool. Almost as good as a finished cover.
ExTSR wrote:Most of the marketing junk went into the trash. When I was saving originals from the dumpster, I never paid any heed to those items.Except for one... and I'm sure nobody would be interested in the Dallas RPG and Dallas miniatures, mocked up as TSR items but never produced (no text, just mockups).
Zeb wrote:I've got a comp for my module "The Veiled Society" around somewhere. It's mounted on foamcore. Many comps were actually mounted and used at trade shows and sales meetings to display the upcoming catalog.Zeb
Marlith wrote:So did you aquire them from the artists or TSR/WotC?
