Career
A month after graduating from college, Elmore was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany. While in the army, he drove a tank. After getting out of the service, Elmore worked as an illustrator for the United States government for the Fort Knox Training Aids Department. Three years later, Elmore turned to freelance work, getting his art published in National Lampoon and Heavy Metal magazines.
One of Elmore's friends, a fellow government illustrator, introduced him to the Dungeons & Dragons game while Elmore was freelancing. Elmore joined the staff of TSR, Inc., the producers of Dungeons & Dragons, as its first professional illustrator, in November 1981 and created art work for adventure modules, game books, and novels, as well as paintings for posters and calendars and more. Elmore created the SnarfQuest comic which appeared in Dragon, and was also in charge of creating a look for the Dragonlance saga, and did much of the early sketches for the series.
Elmore was a staff artist at TSR Inc. and contributed to product development and design. He left TSR in 1987. Elmore has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game. He also provided cover art for the MMORPG EverQuest. In 1996, Elmore wrote the novel Runes of Autumn with his cousin Robert.
In 2003, Jan McRae was accused of plagiarizing Elmore's work for tracts printed by Family International, to which she later admitted having done. Over the years, Elmore has sold the majority of his published artwork but he has retained the copyrights. Elmore scaled back his activities in 2006, switching to contract work only. Of the change, he stated, "A friend of mine, Keith Parkinson, who also worked at TSR, died of leukemia three years ago. We shared a studio, and we were always talking about how when we hit 50 we'd be doing our own thing. ... He didn't make it, and I was 57 and still pulling all-nighters. I was tired of it. I was tired of paying dues."
His work appears in the book Masters of Dragonlance Art. Elmore released a book of artwork called 20 Years of Elmore in 2005. He has frequently been described as a legend in the fantasy and gaming communities.
Read more about this topic: Larry Elmore
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“In time your relatives will come to accept the idea that a career is as important to you as your family. Of course, in time the polar ice cap will melt.”
—Barbara Dale (b. 1940)
“Whether lawyer, politician or executive, the American who knows what’s good for his career seeks an institutional rather than an individual identity. He becomes the man from NBC or IBM. The institutional imprint furnishes him with pension, meaning, proofs of existence. A man without a company name is a man without a country.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)
“They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)