Brian Froud

[mzarynn]

Re: Fantasy Art

Brian Froud www.worldoffroud.com He draws mostly faeries.

www.elfwood.com Regular people posting their fantasy art.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Re: Fantasy Art

I like the Brian Froud pieces - reminds myself very much of Arthur Rackam.

I can also see where a lot of inspiration for the faeires in Neil Gaiman's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" edition of "Sandman" came from.

 

[mzarynn]

I will have to check out Arthur Rackman because I absolutely love Brian Froud. I have his Pressed Fairie Calendar hanging over the computer right now. I know I have mentioned this elsewhere, but since he has his own thread now... He worked with Jim Henson to create the creatures in Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. Both movies were favorites of mine in elementary school, even though they scared me a bit. I was a fan of his before I even knew who he was. Wendy Froud, his wife, also writes a little fantasy.

 

[erickad71]

I love Brian Froud, I have Good Faeries/Bad Faeries. I'd never heard of Arthur Rackman before, but I just checked out some of his artwork and it is gorgeous.

 

[BandSmurf]

I love Brian Froud's work. I've been giving my best friend, who introduced me to him, his books for three years now... fortunetly, she's my roommate! Has anyone read any of those illustrated books that he was supposed to do? I think only two or three of the four got done, but I know one was written by Charles de Lint, The Wild Wood.

~BandSmurf

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I've been a fan of Brian Froud's artwork ever since he and Alan Lee did "Fairies." The comparison to Rackham is a good one, although Froud favors the grotesque more than Rackham did.

Wendy Froud (her name wasn't Froud at the time, but I forget what it was) was a dollmaker who designed and made models for some of the characters on "The Dark Crystal," which is how she met Brian, who was the conceptual designer. A few years later, their little boy, Toby, played the baby in "Labyrinth."

I''ve read one of the other Froud illustrated books you are talking about, BandSmurf. It was by Patricia McKillip, and I think the title was "Something Rich and Strange."

Years and years and years ago I came upon a picture book about the Black Death illustrated and (maybe) written by Brian Froud, but the title escapes me. Despite, or even because, of the grim subject matter, the pictures were wonderful.

 

[BandSmurf]

I would love to find that book, I wonder if it would appear anywhere on Froud's website... must go look. The other thing that makes me prefer Froud to Rackham is the usage of color and style. They've got a lot of the same subject matter, but so much of the Rackham that I've seen is monochrome, or only a few colors at most, and in such a watercolor style kinda. I like Froud's bold colors and more vibrant look better personally.

~BandSmurf

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

After considerable poking around on the web, I finally found the book (figured I would recognize the title if I saw it again): "Master Snickup's Cloak," written by Alexander Theroux, illustrated by Brian Froud. Apparently out of print and hard to find.

Not really a children's book, though I'm pretty sure I found it in the children's section at the library.

Re Rackham: I suspect he was somewhat constrained in his choice of colors by the printing processes of the time. It would be interesting to see anything he did that was not meant for a book illustration.

 

[BandSmurf]

True, and thanks for that book name! As for Rackham, I've done some searches on his work, and the majority of what I've found was watercolor style. I definitely know that the best of what I saw was all done in that vein.

~BandSmurf

 

[Elyssandrel]

I got something very special today for my birthday.

Brian Froud Tapestry Print!

[SIZE=-1]MOST LIKELY THE LAST COPY FOR SALE ! The original hangs in Brian Froud’s sitting room that looks more like a faery court! Not only that but the painting is actually based on the tapestry that hangs in the same sitting room. It is one of Brian Froud’s personal favourites. The image size is 510 x 354 mm on an overall board size of 624 x 455 mm. Signed and numbered to only 350 copies this is one of largest and rarest of the Brian Froud Limited Editions available and has always been the most popular. As time goes on they are getting almost impossible to find and we have now located what we think is the last copy available other than in the hands of private collectors. It'll be fun to see what kind of price these are going for at auction in years to come!

[/SIZE]