Robin Wood, Prolific Dungeons & Dragons Artist, Dies at 67

Robin Wood, the cover artist of several iconic Dungeons & Dragon covers, has died. She was 67 year old. Wood is best known for her painted cover illustrations of many Dragon magazines, as well as a series of iconic portraits for Anne McCaffery’s Dragonriders of Pern series and a popular set of Tarot cards. She also provided the cover art for several Dungeons & Dragons products, including Van Richten’s Guide to Ghosts and Treasures of Greyhawk.

Wood started off as a convention artist before she was hired to do art for Mayfair Games’ Dragonriders of Pern board game. From there, she transitioned into a cover and portrait artist, collaborating with McCaffery to do portraits for the People of Pern art book. She also provided numerous covers to Dragon magazine, including her iconic piece “The Music Lover,” which depicts a black dragon captivated by an unlucky human as she plays a harp on top of the dragon’s hoard. Outside of fantasy media, Wood also provided cover art for several well-known books about Wicca written by Scott Cunningham.

In the early 1990s, Wood retired from doing traditional drawings and paintings after a fibromyalgia diagnosis. However, she continued to create art via digital programs and became involved with the Second Life community, providing tutorial and assets for creating content for that platform.

In 2019, Robin Wood was diagnosed with cancer. Wood provided occasional updates about her condition and continued treatment on her blog up until January. Her husband Michael Short provided a final update last week stating that her condition had declined significantly, and news broke on social media that she passed away on April 19th. After her passing, several fans posted tributes to Wood featuring some of their favorite pieces of her art.

Our thoughts go out to Wood’s family and friends during this difficult time.