David C. Sutherland III
Encyclopedia
David C. Sutherland III was an early Dungeons & Dragons
artist
. Sutherland was a prolific artist and his work heavily influenced the early development of Dungeons & Dragons.
and was a graduate of Minneapolis' Roosevelt High School
. He trained as a commercial artist for two years at the Minneapolis Area Vocational Technical Institute before serving in the United States Army
as a military police
officer in the Vietnam War
, serving in 1969–1970. After his return from the war, he began his career as a fantasy artist, while working odd jobs. His artistic talents were nurtured and developed by his father, a fellow artist. David C. Sutherland II worked in the paper industry and encouraged his son by bringing home creative materials and supplies.
He became involved with the Society for Creative Anachronism
(SCA) in the early 1970s. He spent his free time drawing sketches and cartoons regarding these pastimes.
Sutherland's involvement in game art began in 1974. Through a mutual acquaintance in the SCA
, he was introduced to Professor M.A.R. Barker at the University of Minnesota
in 1975. Barker was designing Tékumel
, an imaginary world for use with Dungeons & Dragons
, published by TSR, Inc.
, the Wisconsin-based company that became the dominant publisher of role-playing games.
The professor put him in touch with TSR, and soon after, Sutherland was working for TSR. Sutherland worked with the D&D game's co-inventor, Gary Gygax
, as part of a team of illustrators, including Erol Otus
, Darlene Pekul
, David Trampier
, and others. Sutherland also worked as TSR's artistic director, but preferred working on his own illustrations. He worked at TSR until 1997 when the company was in the process of being purchased by Wizards of the Coast
and he was not offered further employment.
After his relationship with TSR ended, Sutherland found it difficult to find work and, according to friends, felt abandoned by the gaming industry. Recently divorced, Sutherland remained upset about the dissolution of his marriage, became despondent and his health began to fail. An auction of Sutherland memorabilia—including artwork, miniature sculptures, games, and game memorabilia—was held in 2004, raising USD
$22,000, used to set up a trust fund for his two daughters.
He died of chronic liver failure on June 6, 2005 in his home in Sault Ste. Marie
, Michigan
. He was buried on June 22, 2005 with full military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is survived by his two daughters, Susan and Heather, and his mother, sister, and brother.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
. Sutherland was a prolific artist and his work heavily influenced the early development of Dungeons & Dragons.
Early life and inspiration
Sutherland was born April 4, 1949 in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
and was a graduate of Minneapolis' Roosevelt High School
Roosevelt High School (Minneapolis)
Roosevelt High School is a public school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is part of the Minneapolis Public Schools. The school is named after US President Theodore Roosevelt...
. He trained as a commercial artist for two years at the Minneapolis Area Vocational Technical Institute before serving in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
officer in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, serving in 1969–1970. After his return from the war, he began his career as a fantasy artist, while working odd jobs. His artistic talents were nurtured and developed by his father, a fellow artist. David C. Sutherland II worked in the paper industry and encouraged his son by bringing home creative materials and supplies.
He became involved with the Society for Creative Anachronism
Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...
(SCA) in the early 1970s. He spent his free time drawing sketches and cartoons regarding these pastimes.
Career
Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...
, he was introduced to Professor M.A.R. Barker at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in 1975. Barker was designing Tékumel
Tékumel
Tékumel is a fantasy world created by Professor M. A. R. Barker over the course of several decades from around 1940. With time Barker also created the role-playing game Empire of the Petal Throne, set in the Tékumel fictional universe and first published in 1975 by TSR, Inc...
, an imaginary world for use with Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, published by TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, the Wisconsin-based company that became the dominant publisher of role-playing games.
The professor put him in touch with TSR, and soon after, Sutherland was working for TSR. Sutherland worked with the D&D game's co-inventor, Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
, as part of a team of illustrators, including Erol Otus
Erol Otus
Erol Otus is an American artist and game designer, known internationally for his contributions to the fantasy RPG genre, most notably for the early Dungeons & Dragons franchise...
, Darlene Pekul
Darlene Pekul
-Biography:Pekul graduated from Beloit College in 1976.After college Pekul dated Mike Carr, who was working as an editor at TSR Inc., the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons. As a result of this connection Pekul started to do freelance work for TSR...
, David Trampier
David A. Trampier
Dave A. Trampier is a former artist and writer who worked on some of the earliest editions of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and was the creator of the Wormy comic strip that ran in Dragon magazine...
, and others. Sutherland also worked as TSR's artistic director, but preferred working on his own illustrations. He worked at TSR until 1997 when the company was in the process of being purchased by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
and he was not offered further employment.
After his relationship with TSR ended, Sutherland found it difficult to find work and, according to friends, felt abandoned by the gaming industry. Recently divorced, Sutherland remained upset about the dissolution of his marriage, became despondent and his health began to fail. An auction of Sutherland memorabilia—including artwork, miniature sculptures, games, and game memorabilia—was held in 2004, raising USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$22,000, used to set up a trust fund for his two daughters.
He died of chronic liver failure on June 6, 2005 in his home in Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He was buried on June 22, 2005 with full military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery
Fort Snelling National Cemetery
Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota. It encompasses , and as of April 24, 2007 had 172,001 interments.- History :...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is survived by his two daughters, Susan and Heather, and his mother, sister, and brother.
Notable works
- He wrote the adventure moduleAdventure (Dungeons & Dragons)In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a pre-packaged book or box set that helps the Dungeon Master manage the plot or story of a game...
Queen of the Demonweb PitsQueen of the Demonweb PitsQueen of the Demonweb Pits is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game written by David Sutherland. The "Q" in the module code represents the first letter in the word "queen." This module is a sequel to the D series of modules...
(Q1) (with some editing from Gary Gygax). - He created the wemicWemicIn the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the wemic is a humanoid with the upper body of a leonine human and the lower body of a lion. Like centaurs, they are considered "tauric" creatures.-Publication history:David C...
, a Dungeons & Dragons lion-centaur. - He drew the famous and popular orthogonal maps of Castle Ravenloft for the 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure module RavenloftRavenloft (D&D module)Ravenloft is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The American game publishing company TSR, Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman,...
. As the newly revised version of the module, Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, explains in the introduction, these maps were "such a powerful aid to play that a generation of Dungeon Masters still fondly recall them and reemploy them whenever possible." Sutherland is even honored in the story of this newest version of the Ravenloft module, as there is a mention of a "Dhavit Uthurlan" as the designer of the castle. - He is the cover artist for the first edition rules of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's GuideDungeon Master's GuideThe Dungeon Master's Guide is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...
. - He illustrated the scene of a dragonDragon (Dungeons & Dragons)In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
, a wizardWizard (Dungeons & Dragons)The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
and an armored archerArcheryArchery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
on the first Dungeons & Dragons boxed set, "A simple composition, it shows a wand-waving magic user and a knight, his longbow drawn, squaring off against a dragon who sits – à la Smaug from The Hobbit – atop a vast pile of gold coins and jewels." - He also illustrated the original cover of the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster ManualMonster ManualThe Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It includes monsters derived from mythology, and folklore, as well as creatures created for D&D specifically...
.
External links
- David Sutherland at the Pen & Paper RPG Database