D&D 5E Art direction and 5th edition

[Tequila Sunrise]

The artists they used for AD&D were, by my way of thinking, head and shoulders above the new batch of artists.

One thing that'd get me really excited about 5e would be rehiring Tony DiTerlizzi...or on a much more probable note, artists in his tradition. Now that's D&D to me.

Or a team of French impressionists. I do love those too.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

For me the height of D&D art was later first through mid second editions, maybe a ten year period, right in the middle.

The Auld Grump

 

[Klaus]

Yes. The pages are too filthy. And that isn't art, its draftsmanship. Give me just about anything else, please. I definitely agree with those who want more 'realism' and landscapes.

Draftsmanship *is* art.

On another note, Dragon has used Larry Elmore in the 4e era. And Fred Fields, another of the great artists of the TSR era, has been doing WoW work. Same with Todd Lockwood.

 

[Mercurius]

I wouldn't be so sure. Wasn't it an Elmore cover that drew a lot of people to buy a certain 4E product recently?

Also, the Dungeon Crawl Classics successfully employed a lot of the old artists to do module artwork, so people will buy into that old art style. I think its just a matter of the designers buying into bringing those artists back.

So you're investing in the nostalgia effect? That might work for a specialty piece, but probably not the core books. I mean, let's be honest: Elmore and Easley were ground-breaking at the time but there are better fantasy artists out there. If we're talking a new edition and direction for D&D, I don't think Easley and Elmore are the way to go; sure, maybe a few pieces here and there, but I think you want a new vision.

A cool Jeff Easley story. A friend of mine in junior high (we're talking 1987ish) sent Easley a drawing of a dragon, asking him for feedback. Easley took a piece of tracing paper and sketched over my friend's drawing, making suggestions and sent it back to him. That's one classy move.

 

[Glade Riven]

I always find it funny when people start talking "realism," "realistic," and "fantasy" all at once. As an artist, I have found what people feel/see is real is far different that what I, as a trained observer in form so I can draw it, see as real. I could write a whole disertation on it, but such would be boring and probably ignored.

Of course, I'm a fan of this guy, but he's back at Privateer Press. I wouldn't mind some Inkthinker, even though his style has kinda shifted in a direction that I'm not as much of a fan as. Or maybe the screen just doesn't do his inks justice and something is lost. I'd probably like his newer stuff a lot better in print.

I don't see WotC going WoW - mainly because Warcraft started out blatently ripping off Warhammer (although it's shifted a bit to more along the lines of Joe Mad), and WotC doesn't need to get into a fight with Games Workshop.

For my own campaign setting that-will-someday-be-published (hey, I'm making progress), I have been waffling between aiming for something more along the lines of speed rendered concept art or cartoonish, because both are relativly quick and I've got a lot to draw. Cartoonish is actually kinda easier, but..well, there are issues each way and I haven't had the time to devote to really developing a specific look and I need to.

 

[Pour]

A Michael Komarck 5e would be ideal for me.

 

[Kaodi]

A Michael Komarck 5e would be ideal for me.

Sign me up for that one. I have just been checking his website ( Michael Komarck Illustration ) and he would easily be a top tier candidate to create the look I would want to see in 5E.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh, then it turns out that the new art direction is inspired by Jackson Pollock....

The Auld Grump

 

[Zulithe]

For me the height of D&D art was later first through mid second editions, maybe a ten year period, right in the middle.

The Auld Grump

I remember walking into a fantasy game store at the mall when I was a kid in the very early 90s and seeing all of those books. The entire store thrilled me, just the idea of these adults who were interested in this sort of thing was a very foreign concept to me, but the covers of the books and adventures in particular really drew me in. Of course, i could never get my parents to let me by anything there, not that I would have known where to begin anyway.

Little did I know that just a few short years later, I would have my very own core set and be masterminding my own campaign for my friends.

The art was a big part of what sold me on the concept. A lot of the fantasy art from the 70s, 80s and even a good part of the 90s has a magesty to it that much of the art finding its way into today's books aren't creating.

I don't even think it has anything to do with the transition to digital, either. There are some really amazing artists working today that work ALL digitally. If anyone doesn't believe me, visit the magazine rack at your local bookstore and look at the Photoshop painting magazines. There's some amazing stuff in there. A lot of it is very different from what you would find in a 4th Edition manual, or on its cover.

 

[avin]

Is anyone really thinking a fantasy roleplaying game could have a better (more fitting) art design than THAT?

FRCS3E did a far better job.

Another art style I'd like to see in D&D is Icewind Dale's (CRPG) one...