D&D 5E Toward a new D&D aesthetics

[beancounter]

What does “ Disneyfied” mean? Care to share an example?

Read post #240.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

The complaint is that they're different. That time has passed and the in-vogue art styles have changed. That it's not the same as when the poster first fell in love with D&D 20/30/40 years ago. That kids these days have no respect for tradition and listen to terrible music and are ruining everything.

There's no reasoned explanation because it's not a reasoned complaint. It's an emotional one about being left behind by change, which is one as old as recorded history.

Okay. That's...pretty much impossible to meaningfully discuss though.

 

[Scribe]

That kids these days have no respect for tradition and listen to terrible music and are ruining everything.

OK but hear me out...

This part is true.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

A trend toward softer, gentler and more kid friendly art. That's all I was saying saying.
That is the "common thread" among these and other pictures posted by others.

Okay. Was D&D all that "kid-unfriendly" even in 2e, to say nothing of the WotC editions?

2e literally scrubbed out a whole bunch of actual demon names and such because of the satanic panic. This, by comparison, is so small a change as to seem hilarious--they aren't literally rewriting the game to kowtow to a small handful of overzealous mothers, they're just...showing a colorful, positive world. Which, given all the stuff that has happened in the past decade, I can't blame them for showing a lighter side to things. D&D is an escapist fantasy at its heart. If the times are grim, one is likely to want to escape to something less grim. (Unless it's a superhero movie. Because the only trajectory superhero films have is "darker and edgier." Much to my chagrin.)

But I think most of you knew that...

Being rather blunt, it sounded like a casual dismissal of things purely for being colorful (instead of grungy) and positive (instead of grim). Hence why I asked.

 

[Bacon Bits]

Yet I like the more funny/cartoon style of the black/white art of like 1E/OG I think it is, but 2E art, and heck even 3E was something at times.

I have a ton of nostalgia for the magic-users on the page about intelligence in the 1e PHB. And the full-page paladin fighting the demons in the class section. And the terrible drawing of the different races, each one labelled, in the section on races. And from the MM the picture of the beholder is simply legendary. But I don't think many of these... most of them... are good art. It's pure nostalgia.

Elmore's work I think is good, but, even though I'm nostalgic for it, to me it feels dated now. The style is too clean, I suppose. The scenes don't feel lived in. Many of the full page pieces from the 2e first run of the PHB and DMG are beautiful, but the style is older. There's occasionally some weirdness going on, too. The 2e PHB original cover has some odd proportions or positioning, for example.

Of the above there's a lot of stuff that's clearly the work of hobbyists, especially in 1e. That's okay because that's what it largely was, but it sure looks goofy and cartoony.

View attachment 154162

This does not look far removed from any of Tony Diterlizzi's Modrons from 2e AD&D Planescape. Indeed, it looks surprisingly like the most famous modron: 1999's Nordom from Planescape Torment, a CRPG that is more focused on an adult audience than Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale.

Modrons have always been goofy and cartoony.

 

[beancounter]

Modrons have always been goofy and cartoony.

These are examples of 1E modrons. Simple drawings, but not goofy or overly cartoony as far as anthropomorphic shapes go.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

A trend toward softer, gentler and more kid friendly art. That's all I was saying saying.
That is the "common thread" among these and other pictures posted by others.

But I think most of you knew that...

It's well known that WoTC wants to expand it's market share to kids, and that's one of the reasons for the recent change of aesthetic.

Wizards of the Coast hires video game vet Leah Hoyer to lead new Wizards Kids Studio

Leah Hoyer‘s new gig leading a kid-focused initiative at Wizards of the Coast has been a “dream come true.” “In many ways, this feels like the position my entire career… Read More

www.geekwire.com

"While both can be enjoyed by kids, they aren’t the target demographic. That’s why Wizards of the Coast recently launched a new studio aimed to design new projects targeted directly at kids."

Well, well, well, the dreaded "D" word associated with a WoTC exec... OMG

Creative storytelling has been the focus of Hoyer’s career. She spent eight years at Disney overseeing the creation and production of kids’ television programming including popular shows Kim Possible and Phineas and Ferb. An experience working on an interactive attraction at the Epcot Center sparked her interest in games.

“That project made something click for me,” she said. “I realized that, while I loved being part of telling stories to kids, the idea that I could craft a story with a player was amazing.”


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Your complaint is that the art isn’t bleak and grim? It’s been over a decade since it was!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

These are examples of 1E modrons. Simple drawings, but not goofy or overly cartoony as far as anthropomorphic shapes go.
View attachment 154169

Those…are extremely cartoonish.

 

[beancounter]

Okay. Was D&D all that "kid-unfriendly" even in 2e, to say nothing of the WotC editions?

2e literally scrubbed out a whole bunch of actual demon names and such because of the satanic panic. This, by comparison, is so small a change as to seem hilarious--they aren't literally rewriting the game to kowtow to a small handful of overzealous mothers, they're just...showing a colorful, positive world. Which, given all the stuff that has happened in the past decade, I can't blame them for showing a lighter side to things. D&D is an escapist fantasy at its heart. If the times are grim, one is likely to want to escape to something less grim. (Unless it's a superhero movie. Because the only trajectory superhero films have is "darker and edgier." Much to my chagrin.)

Who is blaming anyone? It's an aesthetic I don't care for. That's all. You disagree. OK

 

[beancounter]

Those…are extremely cartoonish.

Compared to the one I posted, the "newer" ones are extremely goofy.