Feldon Tad Ehrlich is a lead artist on the EQ2 Development team. He was a major part of the creation of the zone art for the beautiful Vasty Deep zones. Some excerpts:
How did you get started in the industry?
I began in comic books and worked as a colorist for Wildstorm, Jim Lee’s comic book company. I was very fortunate to land in an industry that I was extremely passionate about and had amazing people to learn from. My experience there led to me starting as a texture artist at Midway. The rest is history!
What are some of the other areas you’ve done the art for in EQII?
The first instance I did was Nu’roga and then I did all the Guk instances for the last expansion.
Do you draw on elements from the other EverQuest games for EQII?
If the zone is based off a previous zone from Everquest 1 then I make sure to do some research. At the very least I’d like a player who comes in to the zone and has experience in the first Everquest to say “Hey!! I recognize that!!”
Check out the profile and interview with him at EQ2Players.
Vasty Deep: Conservatory and especially Cella are the most amazingly looking zones in the game so far imo.
Guk : Halls of the fallen is both a beautiful zone and one that feels steeped in history, the pool especially near the entrance with the shaft lighting it far above is a highlight for me.