D&D General D&D Art across the editions

Hussar · Nov 28, 2019

I'd actually kind of forgotten how pretty the 5e DMG is. And, honestly, the 4e one. Although, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the 4e style. There's just something ... off about it. Not sure what.

One thing that always made me laugh about Scarred Lands was they actually had an in world reason why all those casters run around half naked - arcane magic generates heat. You basically drop most of your clothes before casting.

dave2008 · Nov 28, 2019

Hussar said:
I'd actually kind of forgotten how pretty the 5e DMG is. And, honestly, the 4e one. Although, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the 4e style. There's just something ... off about it. Not sure what.

Me too, teh 5e DMG has some great evocative art (some of it is recycled though). I feel you about the 4e art too. The art is brilliantly colored and highly detail, but it is just off a bit. The best I could come up with was that it is a bit too exaggerated for my taste.

Hussar said:
One thing that always made me laugh about Scarred Lands was they actually had an in world reason why all those casters run around half naked - arcane magic generates heat. You basically drop most of your clothes before casting.

That's fantastic! I didn't know that.

dave2008 · Nov 28, 2019

Sacrosanct said:
The 1e Easley PHB is still my favorite. And not just nostalgia. (I had actually been playing years before it came out). I just think it’s best.

My one issue with that image being the cover of the PHB is that it only shows one character. To me, D&D is about a group of adventures working together, not a single character and i feel the PHB cover, if any, should reflect that.

EDIT: The rest of the covers are not much better in this regard though!

dave2008 · Nov 28, 2019

Ancalagon said:
Could you find another version of the first image of the 2nd ed PHB (not the cover)? It's way too dark - the image is brighter and clearer IMO, this doesn't do it justice. As I think it's one of the best pieces D&D has generated...

I updated the image for you. It is much better now. Luckily it wasn't too difficult to find on the web.

generic · Nov 28, 2019

@dave2008 this thread was a great idea!

Your work here is impressive, thanks for creating this.

dave2008 · Nov 28, 2019

Aebir-Toril said:
@dave2008 this thread was a great idea!

Your work here is impressive, thanks for creating this.

Thank you for inspiring me to do it!

dave2008 · Nov 28, 2019

I've updated the 2e DMG interior Easley piece with a better image. It doesn't change the fact that her foot is pointed the wrong direction, but cool image none-the-less!