With that comment, Johan states his admiration for those artists who do create fantastical creatures from their imagination; he cites Terryl Whitlatch as an influence. “That vein of creature design has also crept in, of course,” says Johan, “but I try not to make them as biologically sensible.”
Johan’s new book Drakar, or simply Dragons in its English translation, is out now in his native Swedish and an English language edition is due this year. Drakar is the artist’s eighth illustrated book, and follows others devoted to fantasy and mythology from a Nordic perspective. The book may move outside of Scandinavia to present dragons from folklore of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, but Johan’s style and tone lends each creature a uniquely Scandi sensibility.
Inspired by the fantasy art tradition of his homeland, Johan’s work is reminiscent of the classic troll illustrations of John Bauer and the work of 1970s fantasy artist Kay Nielsen. That, and the artist’s background in role-playing game illustration, helps lend his dragon depictions a bold and whimsical style.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2021-Ausgabe von ImagineFX.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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