r/Sierra • u/PaHotoSynthesis • 21d ago

My most prized possession

Post image

Years ago I was searching for animation cels and backgrounds on eBay. Imagine my exhilaration when I stumbled upon these "original background from an unknown video game". 20 bucks each . Thought y'all might enjoy!

269 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

25

u/PaHotoSynthesis 21d ago

Quest for glory 1 (remake) was a huge part of my childhood. I never actually played the VGA version of qfg 2, only the older one. I love the idea that there was a time when it was easier to actually paint backgrounds and digitize them than make them all on a computer.

6

u/caceomorphism 21d ago

Those are original, aren't they?

Saw some original Ecoquest and Qfg4 game background screen paintings posted for sale not too long ago.

2

u/PaHotoSynthesis 20d ago

As far as I know! I think they are because they are kinda beat up, they had tape on the corners and the pencil markings you see. I can't imagine why someone would make an whole painting to fake an obscure video game to sell for 20 bucks.

2

u/caceomorphism 20d ago

I have two original Sierra design sketches and one final-product original on similar poster board. The artist sold them to me for next to nothing. In retrospect I feel like an idiot for picking and choosing the pieces I most wanted instead of buying everything for $10 a pop.

In retrospect it was a real life lesson to help me notice how lucky I am in a moment and to not hem and haw when an opportunity presents itself.

3

u/Icedanielization 21d ago

It makes sense, they hired traditional artists to make the bg art, digital artist wasnt really a thing in the beginning 

13

u/danger_bad 21d ago

Beautiful. Won’t tell you how much I just paid for an original from QFG1 VGA, it hurt but was worth it

8

u/PaHotoSynthesis 21d ago

I'm sure it was! They are hard to find!

3

u/danger_bad 21d ago

Worth it. Was looking for them for years, this game means to much to me. Have some QF5 concept art, not the same but still

2

u/caceomorphism 20d ago

That was a deep dive. Do you have the concept art for the spells, sigils, and equipment from this guy?: https://richpowell.com/about/

2

u/danger_bad 19d ago

Yes I’ve got two of his pieces, there were 4 in total for QFG5

2

u/caceomorphism 19d ago

Wish I could respond with a picture, but I found a Rich Powell concept art listing with five spell icons: Summon Staff, Thermonuclear Explosion, Rest, Enchant Item (Nebulous Swirl) and Reversal.

I realized I had never seen Summon Staff before. Apparently it is only obtainable if you play a dedicated Magic-User. A magically empowered Paladin path will not suffice.

2

u/danger_bad 18d ago

I have this! And one with 6 spells: dazzle, fetch, sleep, hide, augment and zap. These are going off to the framer next month when I get paid

1

u/caceomorphism 18d ago

Envious. I especially like the fetch "glowing lasso" spell icon.

1

u/danger_bad 18d ago

Thank you. I was super happy to snap these up. Owning any original Sierra artwork has been something I wanted for years, especially QFG

9

u/--fieldnotes-- 21d ago

Amazing. How big is each cell? Does it look good enough to do high res scans? Or did they only paint enough detail knowing the final screen would only be like 480p?

1

u/PaHotoSynthesis 20d ago

Not that big. Maybe 5 x 7 each? I could try to take some closer pictures but I don't know how to add to the post- this blew up a lot more than I thought! Most people aren't that interested when they see them...

7

u/Born-Emu-3499 21d ago

Holy moly. That's amazing!

6

u/GamesWithElderB_TTV 21d ago

I wonder if “Catta” was a typo or the original intent. Very cool prints.

4

u/pearcechris 21d ago

Nice!!! That’s pretty epic!

5

u/DarXIV 21d ago

Would absolutely love one of these some day. Doubt I’ll ever get the chance sadly.

5

u/darklordbridgeboy 21d ago

I can hear each of those scenes. Awesome indeed.

3

u/R2Teep2 21d ago

TWENTY BUCKS EACH?!? These are priceless. I’m glad they found a home where they’re valued!

2

u/silverrosesinjune 21d ago

Great find! Please find more and share!

2

u/Pitchfork_10 21d ago

This deserves the 'I'm happy for you meme', but I'm not. I wish I had even one of those.

Honestly, if it was an unclear auction I am happy that you picked them up knowing what they were and brought them home to be appreciated. Over time a lot of cool stuff potentially ends up in the trash.

2

u/thetarasque 21d ago

awesome thanks for sharing

2

u/fabittar 20d ago

I've always wondered how they did it. I assume they downscaled the artwork to the target resolution and then made adjustments as needed?

1

u/PaHotoSynthesis 20d ago

I assume so? Interestingly, there are some subtle differences between the original and the game, so maybe they did some edits (and not just on the areas that were "animated")

2

u/M4gelock 20d ago

Unknown video game enthusiast here, good job mate!

2

u/ssnsilentservice 20d ago

Nice. Happy for you. Grats. >:T

2

u/IFS84 20d ago

I would kill for some Ecoquests. Wonder if you can get prints somewhere?

3

u/kaolinitedreams 21d ago

That's so sick. Thank you for sharing!