Barbarian Art and Images Online

First, take a look at what the Stone and early Iron-age barbarians probably looked like, at Braun & Schneider's History of Costume.

Clyde Caldwell.  A legendary fantasy artist, Caldwell is best known for his work in illustrating the covers of the AD&D goldbox games, as well as creating the now famous "Captain Morgan" Spiced Rum pirate.  

Larry Elmore is my personal favorite of the "greats" of the fantasy art world.  His outstanding use of light and color makes his images practically leap from the page, rivaling the style of Thomas Kincaid.  He also favors barbarians and the northern warrior images.  Among other things, Elmore has illustrated the covers for much of R.A. Salvatore's work, including the Drizzt Do'Urden saga, and Hickman and Weiss' Dragonlance saga.

Frank Frazetta. Online site of one of the most famous artists of barbarian images, including many of Conan.

Fred Fields.  An excellent artist of the fantasy genre, including many barbarian images.

Ken Kelly.  Another of the famous "Conan" artists.

Keith Parkinson's work is widely known in the fantasy genre.  He, along with Elmore, did illustrations of the Dragonlance saga, and he is famous for illustrating many of the Dragon magazine covers.

The Fantasy Artwork of Les Evans. No kidding: this guy does some of the best barbarian renditions I've seen yet. Unfortunately, due to unethical people "stealing" images from his site, he has had to resort to blocking out portions of the images, rendering them unusable. Enough is left of the image to get the essence of his work, and to let you know if you want to purchase it. This is definitely a must-see exhibit. 

A French-Canadian artist specializing in fantasy art, especially that of barbarians and other adventurers, is Francois Miville-Deschênes.

J.D. Seeber is an artist specializing in interpretations of Conan the Barbarian, among other barbarian images.

The Fantasy Gallery.  Collections from several top-notch fantasy artists, including Elmore, Fields, Frazetta, Archilleos, Kelly, Parkinson, and Vallejo, just to name a few.

The Art Gallery of Leo Winsted.  Great work, some barbarian images.  He also has a home page with more of his work and contact information.

Elfwood is an online site that allows young, aspiring fantasy artists to showcase their work. The talent exhibited at these galleries is astounding, and I am proud to provide a link to their site from this page. More than just a science-fiction and fantasy gallery, Elfwood strives to help young adults, through a positive creative outlet, to find positive expressions for their energies. Read below the excerpt from Elfwood's Mission statement:

"Elfwood's mission is to provide a place for amateurs from all over the world to share, teach, and inspire a new generation of dreams. 

"In a society with increasing social and economic problems, the lack of traditional hobbies often lead young people to crime, drugs and gangs. We strive to promote the creation of art and fiction as a serious and meaningful hobby for the young generation, introducing them to painting and writing, helping them to create their own material and finally giving them the option to publish what they have created. This is a value we cultivate at the site in relation to young people. It is our goal to continue our work with young amateurs in the field of art and fiction."

As the images at Elfwood are under strict copyright law (no reproduction of the images allowed), I cannot showcase them here, but you can easily follow the set of links below to each piece of artwork.   I also urge you to check out the other artwork and literary creations of the Elfwood members, as it is extensive and filled with budding talent.  The links to artwork that I am providing here are specifically to images related to barbarians and warriors, in keeping with the theme of my site.   Each link will spawn a new window.  To return to this index, simply close the window, or minimize it.

New images are indicated by boldface links.  Links updated:  June 2003.