Where do you like to see your art dollars in a ttrpg book?

[cavetroll]

So if you have a budget for art and you want to split up between

• cover
• character classes
• character races
• monsters
• miscellaneous throughout the book
• etc

Of course the cover is the most important, but apart from that where would you put Color vs Black & White vs not necessary?

Does every class and every race need a color drawing? Can you get away with just black and white drawings for monsters?

How would you split it up?

 

[Cadence]

Classes, Races, and Monsters are all important to me. I really liked the 1/4 (1/6th?) page character class pictures in Tasha's.

I don't think many miscellaneous pictures are needed throughout the book, but a few memorable ones are nice (thinking of some of those in Moldvay). Maybe something to start each chapter (like Pathfinder 1e's core book). The problem for me in the 5e books is that a lot of big pictures don't seem particularly memorable and take up a lot of page count when you put all those 1/2 and full pages together.

Color seems important for the cover if you decide to go with an illustration there - but I'm not sure one is needed. As for color, I'm not sure it's worth the money anywhere else.

So, I guess the vast majority on the classes/races/monsters just because there are a lot of those as compared to the chapter starters needed (although they'd be bigger). I'd probably either go with a simpler cover or put the cover money into the interior.

 

[Cadence]

A page of pictures of the different weapons and one of the different armors would be nice too. Is being more technical like that a different rate?

 

[R_J_K75]

More poster maps and full-page maps in the book. Full page art is good, but I think there is alot of quarter page and half page art space that could be better used for something else imo in WotC books.

 

[cavetroll]

A page of pictures of the different weapons and one of the different armors would be nice too. Is being more technical like that a different rate?

Thats a great point, I think it would be cheaper than drawing people.

 

[cavetroll]

More poster maps and full-page maps in the book. Full page art is good, but I think there is alot of quarter page and half page art space that could be better used for something else imo in WotC books.

I'm think more like a players hand book, not an adventure. Or did you mean something else when you say "poster map" do you mean literally a map?

 

[R_J_K75]

I'm think more like a players hand book, not an adventure. Or did you mean something else when you say "poster map" do you mean literally a map?

Yeah, poster maps. I was thinking more along the lines of adventures and supplements rather than core books, not much use for maps in those. Think of the old late 2E College of Wizardry or Den of Thieves. Both had poster maps with them, one was the mage school, and the other was a thieves guild. I just like maps.

 

[MGibster]

Art is one of those things I say I don't have a strong opinion on but if its bad I'm going to notice it. I suppose when it comes to art I want something nice on the cover and I want the illustrations inside the book tell me something about the world. What do people look like? What about the natural landscape and buildings? Monsters of course. And sometimes it's nice having an illustration that goes along with the text. Someone trying to pick a lock, fight a monster, cast a spell or whatever.

Here's an image of a soldier charging with a bayonet in 4th edition Twilight 2000. This illustration can be found in the section of the rules on close combat and just look at that person. That is savage AF! I would not want this person charging me.

Edit: I won't lie. This picture is giving me serious Lt. Hooks of Police Academy vibes.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Art, other than maps, is completely unimportant to me. Maps should be of very high quality, because maps are a critical tool to the game.

 

[AtomicPope]

I want quality, thematically consistent art. I'd rather than fewer pictures so long as they're higher quality. Having said that, what's important to me is races, classes, and monsters. When I'm buying a Monster Manual I want to see every single monster, no exceptions. Even skeletons? Yep. I know what a Skeleton looks like and I want to see it.