Picture violent, amoral swordsmen and their bloody confrontations with agents of evil in imaginary lands. Think of role-playing games, fantasy, and some of the most popular movies and novels ever created. Think of “The Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian, Dragonslayer,” Dungeons and Dragons. In Swords & Sorcery, author Bryan Baugh shows artists exactly how to create bold fantasy realms populated with fantasy characters both heroic (knights in armor, barbarians, wizards, warrior maidens, kings, princesses) and evil (sorcerers, orcs, trolls, black knights). And of course there are fantasy creatures like unicorns, war-dogs, dragons, giants, goblins, ogres, and demons, plus creatures from mythology such as Medusa, Minotaurs, Cyclops, and Pegasus. A good battle needs good weaponry, and here are catapults, battering rams, and castles bursting with battlements and other defenses. From the underlying anatomy of a warrior to the underlying mythology of today’s stories, Swords & Sorcery has everything the artist needs to create a rich fantasy world.
