D&D 5E About the artwork...

[Crimson Longinus]

I edited my earlier post to add the halfling ones to it.

Yes, I see. To be perfectly frank, I hate them. They have gigantic heads and bizarrely tiny legs and feet. As a pieces of cartoony art they're fine, but as attempts to depict anatomy of a creature I very much do not like them.

 

[Daëgoros]

Buddy, you joined the forum today, and have posted less than a dozen times. Screeching "debate me" at people that don't know you isn't especially impressive. Particularly when you literally haven't even made an argument.

If you want to come across as a genuine participant in these forums, and not a troll, you might want to rethink your approach.

Here's the argument.
Watch it all, please.

 

[Daëgoros]

Yes, I see. To be perfectly frank, I hate them. They have gigantic heads and bizarrely tiny legs and feet. As a pieces of cartoony art they're fine, but as attempts to depict anatomy of a creature I very much do not like them.

For the first time, someone hates something!

 

[Daëgoros]

Ok. Go ahead and deny literally all scholarly, academic, and critical consensus for the past several hundred years if you want. Here in the real world, yes, a can of feces can be art. I imagine most people would not find such art appealing or particularly thought-provoking, but it’s still art.

And why is it art?

 

[Daëgoros]

No, no, people can absolutely criticize art without needing any kind of special training. But I think it’s important to focus critique on either objective observations (the foreshortening on this arm is wrong, this pose is implausible, the anatomy looks off, etc.) or subjective assessments (“I don’t like the choice of colors, I would prefer more detail, this is too impressionistic for my taste, etc.) over blanket statements of quality (this sucks, it’s ugly, it looks like a 12-year old did it, etc.) Specific criticism over what you like or dislike and why, rather than treating your distaste for a piece as an objective indication of its quality.

Also, it’s off topic, but food is every bit as subjective as visual art.

Those are both "subjective" statements, according to what you imply is subjective, it's just that the former sounds like facts.

 

[Charlaquin]

Yes, I see. To be perfectly frank, I hate them. They have gigantic heads and bizarrely tiny legs and feet. As a pieces of cartoony art they're fine, but as attempts to depict anatomy of a creature I very much do not like them.

That’s fair. They were quite divisive at the time, and a lot of folks felt very much as you do, and I can totally see why. Personally I quite like them, but I hate what we got in the PHB, despite them having the same direction. In retrospect, I should have realized that while the direction worked in a way I liked in Aaron’s art, it would be very difficult to translate to other artists’ styles.

 

[Daëgoros]

Yeah, IMO, the concept art was way better than what we ended up with.

I feel bad for that artist, I really do. You get a dream job and everyone craps on you for it. I don't blame the artist at all. Not one bit. I do blame the Art director though.

Yes, art is subjective, just like food. And I don't begrudge an artist for a piece of art that I don't like that others do. I may not find it pleasing, but if other do, OK. just like the artists who did the 5e half orc and halfling. But just like food, sometimes it's not subjective. And you don't need a culinary degree before you can criticize it. If I dice up strawberries and mushrooms, that's not going to be good. You don't need to be a chef to know this. Like that 3e tiefling I posted upthread. Just objectively bad.

So I think we can agree that while art is subjective and we should keep that in mind, we shouldn't act like people aren't allowed to criticize it unless they have an art degree. That's silly.

I do agree that Wizard's art direction sucks.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Yes, I see. To be perfectly frank, I hate them. They have gigantic heads and bizarrely tiny legs and feet. As a pieces of cartoony art they're fine, but as attempts to depict anatomy of a creature I very much do not like them.

This is a first for me, but I agree with you in this post. I dislike that concept art of halflings, and very much prefer the current 5e art for halflings.

 

[Charlaquin]

And why is it art?

If it is an artifact created to express something, it’s art.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

And why is it art?

They were produced by a professional artist, have been displayed in art museums and had been sold in art auctions for over 100 000 euros. I don't think there is any question of their status as object d'art.