3E art and age
- Thread starter jgbrowning
- Start date
ColonelHardisson
What? Me Worry?
36. Love the new stuff - Wayne Reynolds is one of my favorite RPG artists, as are Todd Lockwood and Sam Wood. But hey, I loved Jim Holloway, Erol Otus, Dave Trampier, etc. etc.
MeepoTheMighty
First Post
Gothmog said:
See, and this is exactly the opposite of my viewpoint. We're talking about a FANTASY world here. Why, in a world filled with dragons, magic, fireballs, and giants, would a warrior's armor look exactly like that of a medieval knight? If I were going to fight against a dragon who I knew would probably pick me up and eat me, I'd want as many spikes on that armor as possible. I find the historically-based stuff to be pretty much out of place.
Honestly, about the only 1E art I like is the cover illustrations to some of the later books. The B&W illustrations, for the most part, have all the technical proficiency of an etch-a-sketch. Look at the picture for Yeenoghu in the MM2. What the heck is wrong with his paw?
ColonelHardisson
What? Me Worry?
MeepoTheMighty said:
Very good point, especially since I've made it myself a number fo times
. Medieval knights didn't have to deal with anything that could grab them up, and medieval castles didn't have to account for flying opponents or the use of magic. Why should all this stuff look the same in a fantasy world as it did ours? It would be a good way for all those fantasy knights and masters of castles to get their heads handed to 'em. Literally.
MeepoTheMighty
First Post
Turlogh said:
I'll concede the covers, but really - goth? cyber? Where are you getting these from?
I don't see any of the iconics wearing black trenchcoats and white makeup and listening to the Cure or whatever the heck goths do. I don't see any wrist-mounted keyboards or cybernetically-enhanced limbs. Honestly, I really don't get it.
Are these just supposed to be insulting ways to say "looks like it was drawn in this decade?"
ninthcouncil
First Post
35+, Neutral on 3e art
However, 3e art is the best D&D art has ever been. I'm not a fan of "old-school" fantasy art - Larry Elmore, for instance, sucks in my book. If I want to look at big-breasted, big-haired birds with hardly any clothes on, I'll seek out 1980's back issues of Penthouse, thanks
My preference is for something a bit grittier, and 3e has thankfully moved in that direction. Quality can be variable, but it's a great improvement
The best 3e art IMHO is the Brom cover for Defenders of the Faith. The worst is Todd Lockwood's cover for Tome and Blood - that is just silly. One gnome illusionist in goggles and pointy boots is too many already - but four!
However, 3e art is the best D&D art has ever been. I'm not a fan of "old-school" fantasy art - Larry Elmore, for instance, sucks in my book. If I want to look at big-breasted, big-haired birds with hardly any clothes on, I'll seek out 1980's back issues of Penthouse, thanks
My preference is for something a bit grittier, and 3e has thankfully moved in that direction. Quality can be variable, but it's a great improvement
The best 3e art IMHO is the Brom cover for Defenders of the Faith. The worst is Todd Lockwood's cover for Tome and Blood - that is just silly. One gnome illusionist in goggles and pointy boots is too many already - but four!
Last edited:
The Sigil
Mr. 3000 (Words per post)
Let it be known that I'm not a fan of Elmore's busty babes... but might I remind you that he's done MUCH more than just babes...
While everyone's piling on Elmore for "big-haired, busty babes" I think many out there have forgotten about the rest of his body of work. I always felt his male warriors looked fantastic (e.g., cover and interior illustrations of the 1983 Basic/Expert sets) and his thief characters looked roguish without screaming "thief!" And nobody has defined the look of a dragon for me so well as Elmore - I like long, serpentine, and flowing but still lithe and strong (compare to Easley's compressed, "bulldog" dragons, for instance).
Elmore's "babes" are not his best work - but the Elmore gal I remember most is Aleena (From the interior "sample adventure" in the Basic Set)... no chainmail bikinis, no enormous bust. Just a well-armored, experienced and beautiful without being trashy.
The problem that I have with 3e art is that it is SOOOOO turn-of-the-milleniumish. By which I mean, "hey, in 1999/2000, tattoos, body-piercing, hairstyles, Fredericks of Hollywood, and freakish metal pieces on your outfit are cool." The iconic characters tend to reflect this - they are all into tattoos, piercings... etc. The iconic characters are, for lack of a better word, the embodiment of high school students - the way some of them dress and the rest of them would if their parents would let them. Blech. We're depicting a fantasy here, not depicting fantasy itself.
Already, I look at it and think, "ugh. That is SO dated." No self-respecting adventurer would wear that these days... because no self-respecting high-schooler would wear it now. Trends have changed.
I look at Elmore's (male) fighters. Solid, no-frills plate mail that still looks simple and utilitarian and looks like it will turn a hefty blow aside. Still "in fashion."
I won't quibble with the technical quality of the art, but rather with the "style" and "feel" of the outfits and locales and styles of dress. A t-shirt and pair of jeans is always in style. A dark suit with a white shirt is always in style. That, to me, is Elmore. Not at the "leading edge" of fashion, to be sure, but never "out of style." The work of the current cadre of 3e artists is "cool today" but will look supremely stupid soon... remember, zoot suits used to be cool. "Big hair" used to be cool. Flowers in ugly colors used to be cool. But even when they were, you were still not "unfashionable" in the basics (suits, frex). Today, zoot suits, big hair, and ugly flowers all look horribly dated and unfashionable. Dark suits are still here.
That's my opinion on the matter, like anyone cares. That's why I call it a "steampunk" style - these characters are for a specific genre which is cool today and which will be "out" tomorrow. And when it is, the characters will look positively ridiculous. In fact, to some of us, they already do.
--The Sigil
While everyone's piling on Elmore for "big-haired, busty babes" I think many out there have forgotten about the rest of his body of work. I always felt his male warriors looked fantastic (e.g., cover and interior illustrations of the 1983 Basic/Expert sets) and his thief characters looked roguish without screaming "thief!" And nobody has defined the look of a dragon for me so well as Elmore - I like long, serpentine, and flowing but still lithe and strong (compare to Easley's compressed, "bulldog" dragons, for instance).
Elmore's "babes" are not his best work - but the Elmore gal I remember most is Aleena (From the interior "sample adventure" in the Basic Set)... no chainmail bikinis, no enormous bust. Just a well-armored, experienced and beautiful without being trashy.
The problem that I have with 3e art is that it is SOOOOO turn-of-the-milleniumish. By which I mean, "hey, in 1999/2000, tattoos, body-piercing, hairstyles, Fredericks of Hollywood, and freakish metal pieces on your outfit are cool." The iconic characters tend to reflect this - they are all into tattoos, piercings... etc. The iconic characters are, for lack of a better word, the embodiment of high school students - the way some of them dress and the rest of them would if their parents would let them. Blech. We're depicting a fantasy here, not depicting fantasy itself.
Already, I look at it and think, "ugh. That is SO dated." No self-respecting adventurer would wear that these days... because no self-respecting high-schooler would wear it now. Trends have changed.
I look at Elmore's (male) fighters. Solid, no-frills plate mail that still looks simple and utilitarian and looks like it will turn a hefty blow aside. Still "in fashion."
I won't quibble with the technical quality of the art, but rather with the "style" and "feel" of the outfits and locales and styles of dress. A t-shirt and pair of jeans is always in style. A dark suit with a white shirt is always in style. That, to me, is Elmore. Not at the "leading edge" of fashion, to be sure, but never "out of style." The work of the current cadre of 3e artists is "cool today" but will look supremely stupid soon... remember, zoot suits used to be cool. "Big hair" used to be cool. Flowers in ugly colors used to be cool. But even when they were, you were still not "unfashionable" in the basics (suits, frex). Today, zoot suits, big hair, and ugly flowers all look horribly dated and unfashionable. Dark suits are still here.
That's my opinion on the matter, like anyone cares. That's why I call it a "steampunk" style - these characters are for a specific genre which is cool today and which will be "out" tomorrow. And when it is, the characters will look positively ridiculous. In fact, to some of us, they already do.
--The Sigil
Last edited:
Similar Threads
