Yeah I was like 5 myself, but some of the older kids in the neighborhood had some cool stuff. Also things tended to kick around for a bit longer on the bookshelves back then, or swoops at garage sales.
I remember "The Art of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Game" though, it was one of the first art books I ever picked up at Tower. Along with Giger's Necronomicon, a Dali folio, and probably some turtles and aliens comics maybe, back when the Xmas gift certificate was like a novel invention lol. I feel old sometimes, other times not so much, but I think they were all reissued in the 90s with a bunch of 2nd edition rebranding. In that one they give Elmore, Caldwell, Easley and Parkinson top billing so like late 80s flair. They all have some misses sure, but some masterpieces too in there. For more 90s looks I think of like the reissued "Masters of Dragonlance Art" that came out right around the turn of the century. It has a better cross-section survey, and Brom mainly for my sensibility lol. That guy was on the level for my teenage tastes. His painting "Lost Note" looks like something out the pre raphaelite era or like jugendstil endgame, so you know dude could paint a figure. Darkwerks, all that stuff is great. But predictably, there is a dearth of great Halfling art even going there.
I wish I could pull up a dozen images right now of Halflings that I think are spectacular, but I'd struggle to find any really. I think some of the Liddas had the vibe, but not the execution. I still like that proportionality for a figure though. It reminds of all the cool climbing rules and super dex slant that feels more action heroic to me. More Took I guess, to use the old speak.
I liked that direction, so it pains a bit to see the backtracker. I see Salamis and think, well ok cool, but what have they done for the Halflings and the Gnomes? I think what we're going to get is fat halflings with rounded ears, and skinny gnomes with pointed ears using essentially the same 4 and a half foot phenotype. With heads as large as Humans, because of the way their camera is set up. But I want Gnomes and Halflings to look small, like 1 meter or thereabouts. Not coming across in their current scaling at all for me.
