IMO, bad art is worse than no art. For others, they are the same thing. YMMV.
__________________ Joe Mucchiello, Head Honcho at Throwing Dice Games
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If you can find a way to replace artwork with other filler material, then I don't think it matters. For example, we've run into so many problems getting artwork done for our latest project that we've pretty much given up and are trying to find new ways to fill in the pages and make it visually interesting.
I think PDFs have a greater chance of getting away with it, particularly if they're used for screen-reading only. Anytime you have to scroll up and down, read around artwork, it can make the process tiresome to read...but most people like to print at least some of a PDF out to use at the table, so it's a damned-if-do moment.
But I agree with jmucchiello about bad artwork. Go good or don't go at all.
These mirror my impressions, and it's good to have them validated.
As for those problems in getting art into production. Is there a location for fair pricing info? I see the open calls for artists and might do something similar, but would really like to know what's fair/if it's financially viable.
These mirror my impressions, and it's good to have them validated.
As for those problems in getting art into production. Is there a location for fair pricing info? I see the open calls for artists and might do something similar, but would really like to know what's fair/if it's financially viable.
Thank you for the info! (^_ ^)v
Essentially, it depends on a lot of things. Generally, $25 for a 1/4 B&W, $50 for 1/2 page B&W and $100 for a full page is a standard. However, that standard has not changed in years. HinterWelt offer $20 for 1/4 page and our artists are usually pretty happy with us. I have seen PDf publishers offer $5 or less per piece and catch a lot of heat on the forums but they still get takers. Remember, you generally get what you pay for. Someone like Storn Cook will cost more like $50-100 for a 1/4 page while an art student will cost you far less.
Oh, and color is generally double.
So consider who you want as an artist, look at their portfolio and be upfront about your budget. If you can only offer $5 per piece then tell the artist this.
Wayyyyy back when I was working on RPG's
We did $20-$25 per 1/4 as HinterWelt stated, we paid a wee bit more for color and we paid A LOT more for a Lockwood B/W interior for Bluffside, cover we rangerd as low as $250 on up, overall I liked the art I accepted for TG/MEG and Bastions when I was doing it, I prefered more realistic non anime feel except for Giant Monster Rampage, then I wanted a real comicy, Japanamie feel and think we achieved it.
Ok, ducking my head back in my hole................
Seacrest out!
__________________ Just Hal
Some people are like Slinkies... Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
Which is better, to have passable art for an otherwise good product, or no art at all?
No art > Bad art
In my opinion, I'd rather see icons than art. For me, the main purpose of art in a book is to give me a visual memory of a page that needs to be looked up. For instance, when looking up rules for starting characters above 1st level in the 3.0 DMG, I looked for the picture of Mialee in the blue robe.
If you can do this more effectively with icons, I say go for it. Save the money on production costs. Also really great is when the "art" is on the edge of the page, so one can find the proper section of the book while it is closed.
__________________ I knew D20 was crap when i saw the bluff and diplomacy skills way back when. Any game that takes role playing and reduces it to rolling a D20 with a few modifiers has completely failed and killed real RP. - boredgremlin
The number one problem with planning a character's 1-20 path is this: you're assuming the character will *have* a 1-20 path; if you can safely make that assumption, your DM is being way too easy on the PC's. Me, I'll plan for maybe a 1-3 path, and see if I last that long... - Lanefan
I like seeing a variety of art. If you have one cool picture, use it once and only once. Don't use a picture more than once.
That being said, any art--even bad art--visually breaks up the text and can make things easier to read. If it's really bad art, then maybe it's just not useful at all.
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Make sure the art is applicable to the book. Even if it is good art, if it doesn't carry the "feel" of the product or product line, it's just as bad as having bad art. Sure the picture of the woman riding a blue dragon is cool, but it doesn't really belong in a book dealing with Soviet Era tanks.
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