Kevin Long (artist)
Encyclopedia
Kevin Long is a graphic artist best known for his airbrush
paintings and black-and-white illustrations in the genres of science fiction
and fantasy
. He was the premiere artist at Palladium Books
from 1986 until 1995 and served as one of the original contributors to the Rifts
role-playing game
(RPG) series. Much of his work during this period helped establish the style and tone of Rifts and had a tremendous influence on the quality of art in RPG publications.
and attended the College for Creative Studies
in Detroit
, where he majored in advertising illustration. Upon graduating, Long worked in the local advertising industry. Having completed a five-year stint in his chosen profession, he was lured away by the artistic and creative freedom offered by Palladium Books. While there, Long built his reputation as one of the most popular illustrators in the role-playing industry. In addition to having created the dynamic look of various characters, vehicles, and equipment in Rifts, he co-authored a number of other Palladium RPG titles. However, Long left Palladium in August 1995 for unspecified reasons. Certain sources initially made the unequivocal claim that he was "fired", while others have more recently suggested that his separation was voluntary. Whichever the case may be, the circumstances of Long's departure have been the subject of periodic discussion and speculation amongst RPG enthusiasts over the ensuing years.
In October 1997, Raven Software
hired Long as a 2-D artist. He was responsible for some of the graphics in Hexen II: Portal of Praevus
(1998), Heretic II
(1998), Soldier of Fortune (2000), Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force
(2000), Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
(2002), and Quake 4
(2005). In 2007, Long was the Art Lead on Wolfenstein
.
RPG (Siembieda 1990, p. 133) – on its front cover, Siembieda
claimed "there is a pile of Long art done for Palladium
that has yet to see publication" (p. 4). Since then, only 11 previously unreleased illustrations have appeared in print, the last instance of which occurred in October 2001. The liberal (and occasionally indiscriminate) recycling of artwork, both within and among their various game series, is a peculiar though fairly standard characteristic of Palladium books.To demonstrate, consider what may be Long's most seminal contribution to the Palladium legacy: his work on the Rifts RPG core rulebook (Siembieda 1990). There are 102 individual illustrations to his credit in this particular title (not counted are a pair on which Long and Siembieda collaborated). Of these, six were previously featured in other books. Accounting for all repeat occurrences (13 images appear more than once), what remains are the title and logo, seven colour plates, one colour line illustration, and 66 black-and-white line illustrations – 75 in total. To date, 48 of these images have been reused in 22 titles over five separate game series – primarily Rifts Ultimate Edition (Siembieda et al. 2005) – and in nine issues of The Rifter. One of them has reappeared ten times in seven other titles. Resultingly, it is not uncommon to encounter illustrations that either recur multiple times over the span of a single volumeIn Rifts World Book Five: Triax and the NGR (Siembieda & Long 1994), for instance, certain elements of "First-Timer", a short illustrated narrative by Long (p. 25–32), are reproduced elsewhere on pages 10, 15, 17, 24, 80, 124, 164, 165, 172, 206, 214, and 219 of the same book. or lack some degree of relevance to the subject at hand due to being applied outside of their original contexts.One especially egregious attempt to repurpose an illustration can be seen on page 70 of Mystic China (Wujcik & Siembieda 1995). The original, from Rifts Conversion Book (Siembieda 1991, p. 90), depicts a male elf in the process of weaving an enchantment
; it accompanies a description of the elven race from the Palladium Fantasy RPG
setting. In Mystic China, however, the image is featured in a section about qi
and feng shui
. The subject's hair has been lengthened on both sides in order to conceal the tips of his pointed ears (a near-universal racial characteristic of elves in the fantasy
genre), and he has also been furnished with a Fu Manchu
-style moustache, presumably to give him a more "ethnic" countenance. It cannot be ascertained whether Long or someone else is responsible for these alterations. Given that all of his other illustrations in Mystic China were also taken from other titles, it is unclear whether or not he was involved in the book's production. It is frequently the case that these illustrations are not reproduced in their entirety, portions having been trimmed away or the image itself reoriented in order to frame and focus upon certain elements or merely conform to space limitations.Long's quarter-page illustration in Rifts Conversion Book (Siembieda 1991, p. 83) of a sorcerer
atop a mountain – clouds swirling overhead as he calls down a bolt of lightning from the sky – has been featured, at least in part, among four other Palladium titles. Small segments of the image, vaguely centered on the eye of the vortex (and not showing much else), are found serving as placeholders on page 67 of Rifts World Book Two: Atlantis (Siembieda, Sheiring, & Marciniszyn 1992), and again – reframed slightly and turned upside down, for no discernible reason – on page 144 of Rifts World Book 18: Mystic Russia (Siembieda, Sumimoto, & Cartier 1998). In all cases, the illustration's provenance is not indicated. Subsequently, the signature or identifying mark of the artist – traditionally located at or near the margins of the work – may be omitted, which can make it difficult to determine a given illustration's authorship. Such is the case with many of Long's contributions to Palladium; despite having received attribution on a given book's title page, often the sole means of identifying specific instances of his work is through recognition of his singular style and technique.There are a number of titles published just before and then following Long's separation from Palladium in which his work was used but his name was not correspondingly listed on their respective title pages. Several of them – Nightbane
(Carella & Siembieda 1995, p. 186); The Rifter Number 7 (Smith ed. 1999, p. 70); Rifts Aftermath (Siembieda & Coffin 2002, p. 45); etc. – involve large or otherwise full-page illustrations. In certain cases, there would appear to be a catchall category – such as "other Palladium madmen" in The Rifter – designed to cover any contributors not specifically mentioned, but the work is still listed as "uncredited" for purposes of this section. (It should be pointed out that Long is not the only artist employed by Palladium, whether past or present, for whom this holds true.)
World – [Out of Print] Cover art and interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Cover and interior art, additional text and ideas. – Cover and interior art, additional designs and concepts. – Interior art. – Additional concepts, interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Cover art; interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art.
Dimension – Interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Cover and interior art.
Source [Out of Print] – Cover and interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Interior art.
Conversion [Out of Print] – Cover and additional art. – Interior art. – Cover and additional art. – Interior art.
Other – Cover and interior art. [Out of Print] – Interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art [uncredited].
Airbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
paintings and black-and-white illustrations in the genres of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
. He was the premiere artist at Palladium Books
Palladium Books
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
from 1986 until 1995 and served as one of the original contributors to the Rifts
Rifts (role-playing game)
Rifts is a multi-genre role-playing game created by Kevin Siembieda in 1990 and published continuously by Palladium Books since then. Rifts takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, deriving elements from cyberpunk, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, mythology and many other genres.Rifts...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
(RPG) series. Much of his work during this period helped establish the style and tone of Rifts and had a tremendous influence on the quality of art in RPG publications.
Biography
Kevin Long grew up in Battle Creek, MichiganBattle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
and attended the College for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies is an art education institution in the United States and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world. It is a private, fully accredited, four-year college located in Detroit, Michigan...
in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, where he majored in advertising illustration. Upon graduating, Long worked in the local advertising industry. Having completed a five-year stint in his chosen profession, he was lured away by the artistic and creative freedom offered by Palladium Books. While there, Long built his reputation as one of the most popular illustrators in the role-playing industry. In addition to having created the dynamic look of various characters, vehicles, and equipment in Rifts, he co-authored a number of other Palladium RPG titles. However, Long left Palladium in August 1995 for unspecified reasons. Certain sources initially made the unequivocal claim that he was "fired", while others have more recently suggested that his separation was voluntary. Whichever the case may be, the circumstances of Long's departure have been the subject of periodic discussion and speculation amongst RPG enthusiasts over the ensuing years.
In October 1997, Raven Software
Raven Software
Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
hired Long as a 2-D artist. He was responsible for some of the graphics in Hexen II: Portal of Praevus
Hexen II
Hexen II is a first-person shooter developed by Raven Software from 1996 to 1997, published by id Software and distributed by Activision. It was the third game in the Hexen/Heretic series, and the last in the Serpent Riders trilogy. It was made available on Steam on August 3, 2007...
(1998), Heretic II
Heretic II
Heretic II is a fantasy action-adventure game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in 1998 continuing the story of Corvus, the main character from its predecessor, Heretic....
(1998), Soldier of Fortune (2000), Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force
Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force
Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was initially released on September 20, 2000 for Windows and Mac OS personal computers. Aspyr Media was responsible for porting the game to the Mac OS platform...
(2000), Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix is a video game created by Raven Software, a sequel to Soldier of Fortune. It was developed using the Quake III: Team Arena engine. Once again, Raven hired John Mullins to act as a consultant on the game...
(2002), and Quake 4
Quake 4
Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...
(2005). In 2007, Long was the Art Lead on Wolfenstein
Wolfenstein (video game)
Wolfenstein is a science fiction first-person shooter video game co-developed by Raven Software, id Software, Pi Studios, and Endrant Studios and published by Activision. It is the sequel to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and uses the id Tech 4 engine...
.
Role-playing game credits
Works are listed in order of publication date within their respective categories.Palladium Books
Nearly all of Long's illustrations appearing in titles released after his departure from Palladium are taken from earlier publications.In the premiere issue of The Rifter (Smith ed. 1998), which featured one of Long's most iconic images – a ley line walker from the RiftsRifts (role-playing game)
Rifts is a multi-genre role-playing game created by Kevin Siembieda in 1990 and published continuously by Palladium Books since then. Rifts takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, deriving elements from cyberpunk, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, mythology and many other genres.Rifts...
RPG (Siembieda 1990, p. 133) – on its front cover, Siembieda
Kevin Siembieda
Kevin Siembieda is an American artist, writer, designer, and publisher of role-playing games, and the co-founder and president of Palladium Books....
claimed "there is a pile of Long art done for Palladium
Palladium Books
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
that has yet to see publication" (p. 4). Since then, only 11 previously unreleased illustrations have appeared in print, the last instance of which occurred in October 2001. The liberal (and occasionally indiscriminate) recycling of artwork, both within and among their various game series, is a peculiar though fairly standard characteristic of Palladium books.To demonstrate, consider what may be Long's most seminal contribution to the Palladium legacy: his work on the Rifts RPG core rulebook (Siembieda 1990). There are 102 individual illustrations to his credit in this particular title (not counted are a pair on which Long and Siembieda collaborated). Of these, six were previously featured in other books. Accounting for all repeat occurrences (13 images appear more than once), what remains are the title and logo, seven colour plates, one colour line illustration, and 66 black-and-white line illustrations – 75 in total. To date, 48 of these images have been reused in 22 titles over five separate game series – primarily Rifts Ultimate Edition (Siembieda et al. 2005) – and in nine issues of The Rifter. One of them has reappeared ten times in seven other titles. Resultingly, it is not uncommon to encounter illustrations that either recur multiple times over the span of a single volumeIn Rifts World Book Five: Triax and the NGR (Siembieda & Long 1994), for instance, certain elements of "First-Timer", a short illustrated narrative by Long (p. 25–32), are reproduced elsewhere on pages 10, 15, 17, 24, 80, 124, 164, 165, 172, 206, 214, and 219 of the same book. or lack some degree of relevance to the subject at hand due to being applied outside of their original contexts.One especially egregious attempt to repurpose an illustration can be seen on page 70 of Mystic China (Wujcik & Siembieda 1995). The original, from Rifts Conversion Book (Siembieda 1991, p. 90), depicts a male elf in the process of weaving an enchantment
Incantation
An incantation or enchantment is a charm or spell created using words. An incantation may take place during a ritual, either a hymn or prayer, and may invoke or praise a deity. In magic, occultism, witchcraft it may be used with the intention of casting a spell on an object or a person...
; it accompanies a description of the elven race from the Palladium Fantasy RPG
Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game
The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a game produced by Palladium Books. It is set in a unique world, called the Palladium World , with the primary setting being some 10,000 years after a great war between the elves and their dwarven allies...
setting. In Mystic China, however, the image is featured in a section about qi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
and feng shui
Feng shui
Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....
. The subject's hair has been lengthened on both sides in order to conceal the tips of his pointed ears (a near-universal racial characteristic of elves in the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
genre), and he has also been furnished with a Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu moustache
A Fu Manchu moustache is a full, straight moustache that grows downward past the lips and on either side of the chin; and often, the tapered, pointed ends of the moustache hang past the jawline...
-style moustache, presumably to give him a more "ethnic" countenance. It cannot be ascertained whether Long or someone else is responsible for these alterations. Given that all of his other illustrations in Mystic China were also taken from other titles, it is unclear whether or not he was involved in the book's production. It is frequently the case that these illustrations are not reproduced in their entirety, portions having been trimmed away or the image itself reoriented in order to frame and focus upon certain elements or merely conform to space limitations.Long's quarter-page illustration in Rifts Conversion Book (Siembieda 1991, p. 83) of a sorcerer
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
atop a mountain – clouds swirling overhead as he calls down a bolt of lightning from the sky – has been featured, at least in part, among four other Palladium titles. Small segments of the image, vaguely centered on the eye of the vortex (and not showing much else), are found serving as placeholders on page 67 of Rifts World Book Two: Atlantis (Siembieda, Sheiring, & Marciniszyn 1992), and again – reframed slightly and turned upside down, for no discernible reason – on page 144 of Rifts World Book 18: Mystic Russia (Siembieda, Sumimoto, & Cartier 1998). In all cases, the illustration's provenance is not indicated. Subsequently, the signature or identifying mark of the artist – traditionally located at or near the margins of the work – may be omitted, which can make it difficult to determine a given illustration's authorship. Such is the case with many of Long's contributions to Palladium; despite having received attribution on a given book's title page, often the sole means of identifying specific instances of his work is through recognition of his singular style and technique.There are a number of titles published just before and then following Long's separation from Palladium in which his work was used but his name was not correspondingly listed on their respective title pages. Several of them – Nightbane
Nightbane
Nightbane is a dark fantasy role-playing game and setting created by C. J. Carella and published in 1995 by Palladium Books. The game uses Palladium's Megaversal system, which is also used by the multi-genre game Rifts and the horror game Beyond the Supernatural, among other games.Originally...
(Carella & Siembieda 1995, p. 186); The Rifter Number 7 (Smith ed. 1999, p. 70); Rifts Aftermath (Siembieda & Coffin 2002, p. 45); etc. – involve large or otherwise full-page illustrations. In certain cases, there would appear to be a catchall category – such as "other Palladium madmen" in The Rifter – designed to cover any contributors not specifically mentioned, but the work is still listed as "uncredited" for purposes of this section. (It should be pointed out that Long is not the only artist employed by Palladium, whether past or present, for whom this holds true.)
Beyond the Supernatural
[Out of Print] – Interior art. [Out of Print] – Additional text and ideas, interior art and photographs.Heroes Unlimited
[Out of Print] – Author, cover and interior art. [Out of Print] – Cover art. – Additional text and concepts, interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Author and interior art.Macross II
[Out of Print] – Cover art. [Out of Print] – Cover art. [Out of Print] – Cover art. [Out of Print] – Cover art.Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game
[Out of Print] – Author and additional art. [Out of Print] – Cover art. – Interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Additional text and concepts, interior art.Rifts
Core [Out of Print] – Interior art and paintings. – Interior art, Rifts logo design.World – [Out of Print] Cover art and interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Cover and interior art, additional text and ideas. – Cover and interior art, additional designs and concepts. – Interior art. – Additional concepts, interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Cover art; interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art.
Dimension – Interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Cover and interior art.
Source [Out of Print] – Cover and interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Interior art.
Conversion [Out of Print] – Cover and additional art. – Interior art. – Cover and additional art. – Interior art.
Other – Cover and interior art. [Out of Print] – Interior art. – Cover and interior art. – Interior art [uncredited]. – Interior art. – Interior art. – Interior art [uncredited].