RIP Fantasy, toy and metal album artist Ken Kelly, 1946–2022

Ken Kelly, one of the most talented fantasy artists of the last 50 years, died at the age of 76.

Nephew of Frank Frazetta, Kelly is known for his album cover work, having done everything since KISS. Destroyer to the rainbow growth to a whole bunch of compositions for Manowar records.

Kelly also worked closely with several major US toy manufacturers. 1980s, and perhaps his most recognizable contribution came from his Masters of the Universe as well as Micronauts paintings, while he was also responsible for some of the coolest Star Wars: Expanded Universe stuff from the 1990s onwards as well.

However, in addition to his more commercial work, Kelly was also known simply for the amount of cool fantasy art he was able to create throughout his career, sometimes for Conan the Barbarianand sometimes just because he had an idea for something incredibly metallic.

You can see more of Kelly’s work on his personal website.

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