Keefe the Thief
Adventurer
I admit it, I have always been somewhat conservative if it comes to D&D art. I didn`t rail against the "belt economy" in 3.x as much as others, but most art from Reynolds et. al. grew old very quick for me (beyond Eberron).
Fast forward to today and to me preparing a new campaign. I always do a PowerPoint presentation to show prospective players what kind of campaign they can expect. In a way, doing so is showing them the world through the DM's eyes. Yet I was always especially picky when it came to character art. I wanted it to represent the "true" feel of D&D, as I saw it. So i mostly used official art or art that was very similar to it.
Now, not long ago I read one of the greatest stories about adventuring of all time: Delicious in Dungeon. If you never heard about it: it is about an adventuring party that loses all their money when they die and get resurrected and have to "live of the land" by eating the monsters in the dungeon. It has cool, funny (and dark!) stories and gorgeous art.
Seriously,read it. It is the most "D&D" thing possible. They even eat living armor. And use earth golems as gardens, planting their food on their back after subduing them.
It was the character called Marcille that changed my perspective on art. She is the no-nonsense mage of the group, keeping the group together by staying level-headed (though she often gets angry at the rest). I began to like this more playful interpretation of an elf, and it made me lose my old biases and look at other, more alternate artwork for D&D characters and races.
It made me appreciate how creative and different fantasy art in general has become. I used art from many different places here - some of it from D&D, most of it from the internet (with me not knowing the source). These pictures are (at least in my opinion!) examples how different styles can enrich the "look and feel" of D&D.
Now, I know there was a big discussion about the "new" dark elf look . While skeptical at first, I`ve now fully embraced them for a simple reason: they look like people my players would want to play. And yes, this has become my new measuring stick for art.
I always thought that orcs could look more interesting
We were lacking interesting Tabaxi, too
And how about impressive kobolds.
Also, I lost my disdain for the more warm, stylized artstyles that you often find.
And the weirdest thing I never expected: I`ve grown to love the new Tiefling - just because of how much love they get on the internet. The outpouring of art is nothing short of amazing, and it never stops.
It seems that no other race has inspired more drawings and love and passion.
And while I was one of the people who laughed when Wotc revealed the Tiefling called "Poetry" back in the day, I am now fully on board.
My experience is that it is hard or even impossible to create a thread like this without seeming to attack art that is older and / or different. This is not my intent. It is just that I - personally - think that the art used for D&D has become somewhat narrow. Sometimes it lacks that fantastical feeling I think is appropriate for the game.
It also helped me make my NPCs more fresh and interesting - is the art is inspiring, you can play them much better.
So, this post is not supposed to go "against" something, but for something: diversity. Uh, there`s the D word that makes everybody so mad. Sorry.
Now, what is the true message of this post? I think it is this: embracing new artstyles for my campaign preparations made me happy and broadened my horizon.
And maybe made me return a little to the time when I was younger, when my first contact with fantasy art inspired me to dream about settings and campaigns.
I love searching for these new interpretations of fantasy because they allow me to see things differently, and this time through eyes that are much younger than mine. Also, these pictures are really popular with my groups, which also helps.
I just thought we needed more threads that say "I found something that I think is neat and makes me happy." I hope that`s okay.
Thanks for listening. Or, uh, reading.
Fast forward to today and to me preparing a new campaign. I always do a PowerPoint presentation to show prospective players what kind of campaign they can expect. In a way, doing so is showing them the world through the DM's eyes. Yet I was always especially picky when it came to character art. I wanted it to represent the "true" feel of D&D, as I saw it. So i mostly used official art or art that was very similar to it.
Now, not long ago I read one of the greatest stories about adventuring of all time: Delicious in Dungeon. If you never heard about it: it is about an adventuring party that loses all their money when they die and get resurrected and have to "live of the land" by eating the monsters in the dungeon. It has cool, funny (and dark!) stories and gorgeous art.
Seriously,read it. It is the most "D&D" thing possible. They even eat living armor. And use earth golems as gardens, planting their food on their back after subduing them.
It was the character called Marcille that changed my perspective on art. She is the no-nonsense mage of the group, keeping the group together by staying level-headed (though she often gets angry at the rest). I began to like this more playful interpretation of an elf, and it made me lose my old biases and look at other, more alternate artwork for D&D characters and races.
It made me appreciate how creative and different fantasy art in general has become. I used art from many different places here - some of it from D&D, most of it from the internet (with me not knowing the source). These pictures are (at least in my opinion!) examples how different styles can enrich the "look and feel" of D&D.
Now, I know there was a big discussion about the "new" dark elf look . While skeptical at first, I`ve now fully embraced them for a simple reason: they look like people my players would want to play. And yes, this has become my new measuring stick for art.
I always thought that orcs could look more interesting
We were lacking interesting Tabaxi, too
And how about impressive kobolds.
Also, I lost my disdain for the more warm, stylized artstyles that you often find.
And the weirdest thing I never expected: I`ve grown to love the new Tiefling - just because of how much love they get on the internet. The outpouring of art is nothing short of amazing, and it never stops.
It seems that no other race has inspired more drawings and love and passion.
And while I was one of the people who laughed when Wotc revealed the Tiefling called "Poetry" back in the day, I am now fully on board.
My experience is that it is hard or even impossible to create a thread like this without seeming to attack art that is older and / or different. This is not my intent. It is just that I - personally - think that the art used for D&D has become somewhat narrow. Sometimes it lacks that fantastical feeling I think is appropriate for the game.
It also helped me make my NPCs more fresh and interesting - is the art is inspiring, you can play them much better.
So, this post is not supposed to go "against" something, but for something: diversity. Uh, there`s the D word that makes everybody so mad. Sorry.
Now, what is the true message of this post? I think it is this: embracing new artstyles for my campaign preparations made me happy and broadened my horizon.
And maybe made me return a little to the time when I was younger, when my first contact with fantasy art inspired me to dream about settings and campaigns.
I love searching for these new interpretations of fantasy because they allow me to see things differently, and this time through eyes that are much younger than mine. Also, these pictures are really popular with my groups, which also helps.
I just thought we needed more threads that say "I found something that I think is neat and makes me happy." I hope that`s okay.
Thanks for listening. Or, uh, reading.
