D&D 5E Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft Art Preview

SageAdvice.eu has compiled a bunch of art shots from the upcoming Ravenloft setting book. I've featured a handful below, but click through to the link for the full set of nearly 30 pieces.

ART Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft26

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[Bitbrain]

Kinda gobsmacked by people knocking the art. I think it is amazing.

A lot of D’Terlizzi’s work was monochrome sketches. Bron created the art for Dark Sun but it ironically made the non-Bron stuff look jarring. Not to mention the fact that only really his amazing front covers were full colour.

Yes Darksun had this...

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But remember, 90% of the art was this...

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Here in Van Richten’s Guide we have dozens of amazing full colour artworks. Throughout the book. They are dramatically better than the art for Tasha’s. That actually made me cringe...

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Compared to...

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No contest!

Setting aside the issue of Brom & Baxa (because I like both of them and thought their different styles complemented each other), I prefer the Tasha’s example over the Van Richten’s.

On the one from Tasha’s, I can clearly distinguish each individual character and piece of armor, while on the one from Van Richten all I see is a human face floating in a sea of blurry gray stuff.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

I don't agree any of those

 

[overgeeked]

Obviously not anything as extreme as H.R. Giger, but I agree that some art styles seen here "feel" a little too... clean? Safe? Some are great and atmospheric, but that image of Strahd and Azalin (?) just feels cartoony and lacks any of the moody atmosphere I'd expect from Ravenloft books.

I’m kinda with you. The art is amazing in itself. It just doesn’t feel like horror. It feels like your typical D&D art. With maybe a monster. Where’s the fear? Where’s the blood? Where’s the viscera?

 

[TheSword]

Setting aside the issue of Brom & Baxa (because I like both of them and thought their different styles complemented each other), I prefer the Tasha’s example over the Van Richten’s.

On the one from Tasha’s, I can clearly distinguish each individual character and piece of armor, while on the one from Van Richten all I see is a human face floating in a sea of blurry gray stuff.

I don’t want to knock peoples work more. They can draw a damn sight better than me. But the reason you can see every piece of armor is that it looks like a cartoon. The inane grins on the heroes faces is also pretty out of context.

The Ravenloft art I posted clearly shows zombie hordes coming over the castle walls as defenders try vainly to push them back.

In terms of quality art, I’m pretty amazed you’ve taken the position you have. Though as has been said, art is very subjective.

 

[Remathilis]

I’m kinda with you. The art is amazing in itself. It just doesn’t feel like horror. It feels like your typical D&D art. With maybe a monster. Where’s the fear? Where’s the blood? Where’s the viscera?

This is a book that is aimed at young teens through adults; gore was never going to be an option.

This is Spirit Halloween decorations level, not Hollywood horror movie level.

 

[overgeeked]

This is a book that is aimed at young teens through adults; gore was never going to be an option.

There are a lot of young teens who go ape for Hollywood horror movies. That’s one of the main target demographics. You know that, right?

This is Spirit Halloween decorations level, not Hollywood horror movie level.

I’m beginning to suspect even Spirit Halloween might be over selling the “horror”.

 

[Remathilis]

There are a lot of young teens who go ape for Hollywood horror movies. That’s one of the main target demographics. You know that, right?

I’m beginning to suspect even Spirit Halloween might be over selling the “horror”.

Granted, but they're are some who don't and WotC wants to hit the largest demographic. You surely get that they can't determine what is a reader's line or threshold when publishing a mass market book and must aim for the lowest common denominator?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

There are a lot of young teens who go ape for Hollywood horror movies. That’s one of the main target demographics. You know that, right?

And most have parents who decide what is and is not suitable for them, your know that, right?

 

[TheSword]

I’m kinda with you. The art is amazing in itself. It just doesn’t feel like horror. It feels like your typical D&D art. With maybe a monster. Where’s the fear? Where’s the blood? Where’s the viscera?

If you look at Ravenloft art... has there EVER been blood and viscera?

Anyone who tries to use blood and viscera to evoke horror has failed at the first hurdle. We are well beyond that.

The beleaguered defenders on the walls, the man dragged back by black slime, the unnatural movement of the eastern vampire. These convey terrific horror situations.

Im not gonna judge the Azalin vs Unknown Vampire preview as it’s clearly part of a larger piece.

Awesome to see a ghostly lightning rail. Could Cyre have been sucked into Ravenloft? Now that is an exciting idea?

 

[Bedrockgames]

If you look at Ravenloft art... has there EVER been blood and viscera?

Anyone who tries to use blood and viscera to evoke horror has failed at the first hurdle. We are well beyond that.

I believe there were some instance of it to be fair in some of the art (the art really varied a lot depending on the book and the artist), but generally Ravenloft was about not showing lots of blood and gore. There are of course exceptions, but I think those exceptions, when they were introduced, were done because the person viewing them felt they fit for the purposes of the Horror side of fear and horror. I am thinking of stuff like how Gobylyns ate your face, the living wall (which I suppose is potentially gory but not in a slasher way). I think overall the setting works best when the art is suggestive of things and evocative rather than done for shock value