Fan-Favorite D&D Artist Larry Elmore Reportedly Cut From Dragonlance In Favor Of Digital Art With "More Pop"

Larry Elmore is one of the most renowned fantasy artists still living. Dragonlance editors told him they wanted a digital artist for their new work rather than his classic work.

Fantasy art has been under attack in recent iterations of Dungeons & Dragons settings. The main game has pushed a lot of questionable content from creatures baking together, strange balls and dances, and the weird overrepresentation of minorities in the recent editions that have had long-time fantasy fans scratching their heads.

Last year, when D&D revealed its infamous Mexican Orcs piece, this seemed to come to a head where many believed the game and its settings had fully jumped the shark to some of the most ridiculous points possible.

Classic fantasy art had an epic feel to it that can’t be captured by the modern, digitally distilled look where it almost appears as if someone took a photograph and then rendered some fantasy details over it. Great artists like Frank Frazetta, Michael Whelan, and Larry Elmore are something of the past when it comes to book covers or art that inspires players for different fantasy RPGs.

Larry Elmore, in particular, has a long history with Dungeons & Dragons. He created many of the iconic illustrations that people understand as the D&D aesthetic in the 1980s and 1990s. His work can be found in many of the supplements, and moreover, his work created the definitive style of the Dragonlance series, including characters like Tanis Half-Elven, Raistlin Majere, and Laurana. His cover art for Dragons of the Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is one of his most famous pieces.

However, the publishers are no longer interested in his art or definitive style, according to one of his fans who spoke with the artist at GaryCon over the weekend.

Dragonlance Destinies is a new Dragonlance trilogy that came out in 2023 and 2024, bringing back the classic team of Weis and Hickman for a new trilogy of Dragons of Deceit, Dragons of Fate, and Dragons of Eternity to fans of the beloved series.

Larry Elmore was apparently not considered for the art on the new trilogy, which, from its covers, appears to feature a strong, minority female lead like every other mainstream fantasy work.

Kevin Lamb, D&D and Dragonlance expert, posted to X what he heard at Elmore’s booth at GaryCon, “At the #GaryCon artist's booth I learned that Larry Elmore was willing to do the covers of the new Dragonlance trilogy but was told that they wanted a digital artist because digital art has more ‘pop.’ So instead of a cover like the one on the left we got the one on the right.”

The two covers he depicts are of an old Elmore drawing and a book in the new series. It’s sad to see a classic line go for modern art, and the overall composition of the cover still does not try to appear as a regular modern fantasy cover but maintains the layout of the classic books that Elmore used to do the covers for.

Margaret Weis seemed to confirm the story as well, stating it wasn’t her decision who gets on the cover art. She said, “Decision was Random House. WoTC had approval. They wanted the dragon to look like the new version of dragons.”

What do you think of Larry Elmore getting axed out of Dragonlance for digital art? Leave a comment and let us know.

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