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
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