Places to go: a review of Elsewhere by Jesper Ejsing

If you have always wanted a quality art book in your house, or if you’re looking to add to an existing collection, take a look at this Jesper Ejsing art book.

Elsewhere: the fantasy art of Jesper Ejsing, éditions Caurette, 408 pages, ISBN 979-10-96315-22-2

We never know where our imagination might take us. Jesper Ejsing got his start illustrating for a Lego magazine; today he’s a well-known fantasy illustrator whose art is frequently seen on Dungeons & Dragons book covers and cards for Magic: the Gathering.

This art book starts with a short biography (which is how I picked up the Lego story). This is followed by a brief but interesting look at Jesper’s process for creating an illustration, from first sketch to final colours.

This won’t replace an art class, but it offers an interesting insight into one artist’s creative process. The results of that process fill the remainder of the book.

The majority of the book is given over to the art, as you would expect. A few pages also feature commentary from Jesper on one of his pieces, again providing insight into the creative process. Each of these insights is printed in both English and French.

The book is thematically divided, so ‘dragons’, ‘adventures’, and ‘inhuman’ are three of the sections, each featuring art that follows the theme. Larger illustrations feature in great double-page spreads, while other illustrations take up a whole page, or sometimes two to a page.

It is with these larger spread that the binding quality becomes important, and I’m pleased to report that the éditions Caurette binding provides for both a sturdy book and the ability to clearly see art printed across two pages. The binding combines with the choice of thick, quality paper to give a great experience to anyone leafing through to gaze at the art.

For each illustration the title, property (e.g. World of Warcraft TCG) and medium are noted. You’ll learn through the credits alone that Jesper Ejsing does the majority of his works in acrylic. You also get to see the breadth of clients and places his art appears. I won’t list them all here, but there were several surprises for me.

I’ve featured Jesper Ejsing’s Magic: the Gathering art on this site before, and I was pleased to see almost every illustration is reprinted in this book, including those from just-released sets. His Bitterblossom art, one of my favourites from the recent Ultimate Masters set, gets a lavish two-page spread.

Elsewhere is a great collection of Jesper Ejsing’s work to date, and will bring joy to anyone who appreciates fantasy illustration. The artist anecdotes bring life to the works and the process behind them, while the art is presented well in a good quality package.

So pick up this book, and see where it takes you.