D&D (2024) Comeliness and Representation in Recent DnD Art

[LesserThan]

There is only one true movie Batman, and his name is Adam West.

Why is it that things from your youth are the standard, despite the fact they are themselves remakes?

First impressions? I dont want to get too far into movies and TV as the other poster I replied to tried to read false things into what I was saying, but if you see Adam West as the best version, I agree for TV. But he was not the first. In 1954 Batman had a gun in the movie. Today nobody would allow Batman to use a gun after the Jack Napier/Joker origin story.

I can not tell why comics audience accepts constant retroactive continuity changes happening 3 times a year, but for as often as Spiderman changes his suit, people will complain.

Needless change, always has dissentors. How many decades has Bart Simpson worn those same pair of shorts he wishes people to eat?

D&D art can be similar in regards to change. We like what we were introduced to most I guess?

 

[LesserThan]

I am also not a huge proponent of art as a driving force in RPG products, and feel it is as you said better off to fill in formatting and actually illustrate stuff where it is important to know what something looks like.

That ship has, however, largely sailed unfortunately.

Yes, the Titanic that was individual imagination has been sunk by the dinghy of shared monopolistic visuals. Theater of the Mind, probably takes a FMV, cut scene, or video now is the streaming sites are any indication of what the future holds with these VTT things.

 

[MGibster]

The D&D art may be more "medieval," but it's otherwise basically the same thing: a female spellcaster in not very much clothing at all. I kind of wonder how many people would be cool with cheesecake that looks like the TSW art (and weren't cool with it just because they have type and/or fetish), and how many would suddenly start wanting women to be more fully dressed if this was the type of women that was being drawn.

I'm not really the market audience for TSL, but I think it's a great game and one of the things I've always praised it for is its art. It's simply beautiful and fits the tone of the game. Kudos to their art director. Me, personally, I don't have a problem with that AD&D sorceress you linked to or the TSL art. But then I'm a Pam Poovy man.

 

[LesserThan]

The poster has been criticized for several assertions in his post, but I need to specifically call this out.

Suggesting that the “Revenge of the Nerds” films provide evidence that nerds are persecuted is equivalent to arguing that “Birth of the Nation” demonstrates that White Southerners were oppressed.

One difference between the two films is that in “Birth of a Nation”, sexually assaulting women was something the VILLAINS did.

Where did I mention Birth of Nations or claim the Nerds movies were historical reenactments or documentaries?

Another one making false claims for the sole purpose of starting fights on the internet.

So, I guess I called you out for misinformation? Lies? Slander?

 

[LesserThan]

I don’t. I would imagine there are folks on here who do small publishing who have a better idea. But I guarantee you Hazbro-owned WotC wouldn’t be paying for the amount of art they do if they didn’t have solid data saying it makes a net profit.

I have seen several other threads here about it, so do not want to go too deep, but with the repeated AI problems and copyright theft of art currently at WotC, I doubt they have any idea what they are doing with art for Magic or D&D.

 

[Fifth Element]

I said logic, not philosophy.

I suspect the response was rhetorical, in response to your statement that a Vulcan would persecute someone for not being logical.

 

[LesserThan]

I'm curious, what do we all mean by diversity?

Hey! I did not know I could split a quote like this! How did I do it?

For me diversity seems to mean applying modern racial, sexual, physical demographics into all fantasy settings that should be depicting the fantasy world, not our own.

For this thread, the OP was specifically speaking about diversity within the context of body types.

But what body types should D&D or other games depict? Glasses were mentioned, but what for creatures with no eyes? Should you have wheelchairs for creatures that never had legs? Hiw about skinny and fat for amorphous creatures? All of these are, I think, plasmoids? Those slime or ooze like monsters. If it was a PC race, hiw would you depict those body types? Would it make sense to depict them like hunans?

For me, and good question, thanks for asking; it is and should only be about art of humans, not any of the monster of fantasy races. But, we do not need art for humans at all. We already know what humans look like.

 

[LesserThan]

I guess it could be worse in regards to the intersection of what counts as practical adventuring clothing and matching real world trends. One of the warm weather themes on campus the past two years seems to be very short shorts that many wearers feel the need to readjust on a regular basis while walking (every 50' not being an exaggeration in some cases). Is that a free or bonus action? Would it change in melee with a weapon in hand vs. just walking? Anyway, apologies if this diversion was too cheeky.

Have you seen the latest womens trend even that Sweeney girl that recently hosted SNL is taking part in? Jundies, jeans shaped like womens underwear. I tried avoiding chainmail bikini discussion, but what purpose do jundies have?

Art can be just as silly as real life where "fashion" is concerned.

 

[LesserThan]

I think the best approach for having diverse art is having diverse artists, who have appreciation for different things.

This doesnt work when you need art direction where the atyle needs to conform.

Picasso, Studio Ghibli, Monet, Van Goh, CalArts, each for different PC race art would just make the art in a book disconnected. You need a style guide that all artist must follow so it does not look like someone just went to Google and found random pieces of art to put in a book.

 

[MNblockhead]

Another issue with art, what is gritty to one is not to another. I think it looks fairly gritty.

Yeah, "gritty" to me doesn't evoke stylized gore and violence. Gritty conjures more old-west images or haggard, tough, and worn settlers, outlaws, and marshalls. In fantasy, I think of low-magic, grizzled adventurers who look like they've spent weeks/months in the wilderness.