[3.5E] Is it just me or...

[ColonelHardisson]

Hmmm, is Arnie Swekel still on the WotC payroll?

For me, Arnie and Wayne really capture what "D&D is all about" with their very dynamic, "capture the moment" styles.

Ah, a person of superior taste!

Swekel has been doing a lot of work on many of WotC's books for 3e, such as the chapter frontispieces for the core books and many (if not all) of the rest of the hardbacks. He's one of my favorite D&D artists, and is probably my absolute favorite from the 2e era.

 

[A'koss]

Originally posted by ColonelHardisson:

Ah, a person of superior taste!

Swekel has been doing a lot of work on many of WotC's books for 3e, such as the chapter frontispieces for the core books and many (if not all) of the rest of the hardbacks. He's one of my favorite D&D artists, and is probably my absolute favorite from the 2e era.

Ahh, well maybe you could help me out then Colonel! I'm trying to find an image of Arnie's in a 2e product - it's a b&w panoramic image of a group of adventurers in a dungeon battle scene (I thought it might be against a beholder but I can't remember for certain). The most striking element was the full plate armored knight with his sword raised about to strike. It's a very dynamic scene and is one my favorites. I wanted to show this image to one of my players but for the life of me just can't find it...

Now they just need to get Arnie back doing illustrations you can see...


Cheers,

A'koss.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Ahh, well maybe you could help me out then Colonel! I'm trying to find an image of Arnie's in a 2e product - it's a b&w panoramic image of a group of adventurers in a dungeon battle scene (I thought it might be against a beholder but I can't remember for certain). The most striking element was the full plate armored knight with his sword raised about to strike. It's a very dynamic scene and is one my favorites. I wanted to show this image to one of my players but for the life of me just can't find it...

Now they just need to get Arnie back doing illustrations you can see...


Cheers,

A'koss.

Sorry; I don't know where that one is from.

If you're a Swekel fan, he also did a lot of work for Pendragon. That's where I first saw his work.

 

[I'm A Banana]

There is little that is so bizarre as gamers arguing about art.

Honestly...dragons with wings their entire length....weird-looking blackguards....people gettind disturbed about spikey armor...

Do you hold it against the spider that it is ugly? Or do you say that Orcs should not look so barbaric and stupid? Do you think that if Cattle were created by something divine, that said something divine should have made them look pretty?

I mean, I get uppitty about art as easily as the next guy, but as long as it's semi-realistic, who cares?

Though perhaps my apathy stems from being generally happy with the 3e artwork I've seen...there's been a few I didn't like so much (the Swamplight Lynx from MM2, and some other illos by that same guy, I think...), but really....who am I to gripe about artwork? I'm just happy they HAVE artwork!

 

[Left-handed Hummingbird]

I dislike the blink dog art - it doesn't seem very fantastic - but the other artwork looks good, IMO. I really liked the old blackguard art, it was funny and harked back to the old 1E artwork. In general, it seems to me that some people take this game waaay to seriously: Wacky and funny artwork is a good antidote to some of the more pompous, bombastic artwork. I mean, it's okay to run a funny 8-bit theater type campaign, isn't it?

 

[Jody Butt]

I mean, it's okay to run a funny 8-bit theater type campaign, isn't it?

No. Life is too short for such frivolity.

Keep it real.

 

[rounser]

I mean, I get uppitty about art as easily as the next guy, but as long as it's semi-realistic, who cares?

Because the artwork affects the feel of the game, a lot more than you may think.

A lot of the 1E pictures get you thinking and can inspire ideas (the troll with the twine in the maze, the "honour among theives" picture etc.), and bad artwork can affect how you think of a class (such as the blackguard, for instance). It's good to see a bit of a small move away from vogue, "strike a pose, there's nothing to it" artwork which we saw in the 3E books.

Think back to 2E - how much was that game affected by average artwork? The Rules Cyclopedia is full of 2E era artwork, and it definitely affects the feel of the book - and not in a good way, IMO.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Like the Balor... hate the Marilith.

-Hyp.

 

[Kweezil]

... hate the Marilith.[/B]

It's different, but I think I like it. IMHO, it looks more like such a creature should look like and less like they stuck a (six-armed) woman's body onto a snake. The forehead, hair and nose are all too similar in colour, though, and that makes her face look all scrunched up.

 

[Olive]

It's different, but I think I like it. IMHO, it looks more like such a creature should look like and less like they stuck a (six-armed) woman's body onto a snake.

i agree...