D&D 5E Art direction and 5th edition

[SSquirrel]

I'll pipe up in defense of WAR. I went to GenCon this year and I was looking around the artist area in the main room and I found Wayne in there. Extremely nice and he had a lot of art I really like. Sadly, I didn't have the cash for the Lord of Blades Eberron cover (it was an original), but I did get prints of the 4E PHB, Eberron Player's Guide and a Drow Swashbuckler girl from Dungeon (I think). He had a discount on 3 pcs and the Eberron and Drow were the last copies he had at the Con. I like his art and I have no problem with more of it in the next edition.

Is the dungeon punk a bit goofy? Sure, but I'd rather see dungeon punk than anime schoolgirl designs. I find the calls for realism in a magic setting kind of amusing, but I can definitely get behind getting rid of the ridiculous Cloud and Tidus sized weapons. A more realistic take on the art ala 2nd Ed, but keeping demons and not being as buttoned up as that edition was overall could be fine. I'm generally ok w/the different editions art. It's all about a time and place. The Gnome Bard from 3.5 is still one of my favorite Gnomes ever....besides "I'm a Monster, RAWR!"

 

[Pour]

On a related note, and I'm not sure quite how feasible this is, I would enjoy artistic continuity with one, or even two, artists assigned to entire books (cover and interior). Depending on the style of the work, I think it would make for stronger, cleaner, more memorable products- and set clear tones of the content, too.

My wishlist: Puddnhead and Izzy on an Open Grave product, Justin Sweet for a Feywild product, Kekai Kotaki and Aleksi Briclot on Manual of the Planes, Michael Komarck, Karl Kopinski, and Igor Kieryluk on the PHB, Volkan Baga, Michael C. Hayes, and Bud Cook on Shadowfell/Ravenloft, and more landscape artists like Min Yum, Richard Wright, and Stephan Martiniere on the DMG.

It tends to happen that one artist really stands out and makes a product anyway, traditionally campaign settings (Brom, DeTerizzili,), but I'd love for all books to really set an artistic tone save the Monster Manuals, where variety really serves an imaginative purpose and should be a proving ground and friendly competition for all WotC artists to show their stuff.

 

[JoeGKushner]

WoTC has a few options here.

I keep hearing a lot of talking about 'uniting' the player base. But, as we can see here, art alone, is something that has very different meanings to different people. Looking at the OSR, we see a lot of nods and winks to the older editions and how they went about things. Newer editions seem obsessed with belts, spikes, studs and detail.

I personally think that WoTC has done the D&D fanbase a diservice by not bringing in Larry Elmore, Erol Otous and other artists to do more work on things like Dragon and Dungeon magazine and while I give them a nodd for having the Penny Arcade artist do one cover for them, I poner where they think that the art needs to be. Jeff Easely or William O'connor for example. Both great artists, both associated with very different branches of the system.

While some may say have one do X and another do Y, I honestly think that would just piss off fans of the earlier and later editions.

In some aspects, WoTC might be better getting some unknown artist, or one whose work hasn't appeared extensively in the RPG field, and use them and direct them to take homage from the old images and art styles.

 

[foolish_mortals]

I hate the anime art. It's not something that makes me want to buy the game. I like the cool b+w and paintings they did in some of the 2nd edition supplements. If it's not something I don't want on the wall it's not something I want in the book. Anime is crap.

foolish_mortals

 

[MortalPlague]

Michael Komarck's work is amazing. I hadn't heard of him before this thread, but going through his website...

This is exactly the sort of evocative, interesting piece of work that I'd love to find sitting in the PHB. It hints at intrigue and danger, and really draws the viewer in.

Likewise, this piece.

And this one.

Man, I really hope Wizards takes that sort of direction with the art. It would be nice to have inspiring RPG books.

 

[Klaus]

Michael Komarck's work is amazing. I hadn't heard of him before this thread, but going through his website...

This is exactly the sort of evocative, interesting piece of work that I'd love to find sitting in the PHB. It hints at intrigue and danger, and really draws the viewer in.

Likewise, this piece.

And this one.

Man, I really hope Wizards takes that sort of direction with the art. It would be nice to have inspiring RPG books.

The last two are from an Eberron novel and from Expedition to Undermountain (iirc). And Komarck did the cover for the 4e FR Campaign Setting. He's been doing covers for Marvel Comics recently, so maybe his schedule is kinda busy.

 

[Nebulous]

5E is a fantastic chance to reset some things to how they were while also taking others in drastically new directions.

If there was but one thing I could change about 5E it would be this: No Wayne Reynolds.

I LOVE Wayne. A lot. He is perhaps my favorite D&D artist of all time. But it bothers me how D&D 4E and Pathfinder both utilize his art so heavily. There are some subtle differences in how he portrays things in each brand, elf ears for example, but overall it's just too similar.

I hate walking into a bookstore and seeing D&D and Pathfinder both with covers that look way too similar. I think WotC should cut their losses, let Paizo have him, and take a new direction. There are so many amazing artists in this world, why should these two products that are already so much alike also use the same artist for the majority of their major art pieces?

What are some of your thoughts on D&D 5e and its potential use or misuse of art?

I have to say i am NOT a fan of WAR. He has the amazing ability to fragment gamers right down the middle, i don't know how. Some of his stuff is good, but i'm SO sick of seeing it. They've got to hire new talent to define the look of D&D. And the steampunk of 3e and 4e, they've been there and done that, i think it's time to revert to the style of older editions. Don't be afraid to throw some gritty b/w art in there! We don't mind.

 

[Nebulous]

Michael Komarck's work is amazing. I hadn't heard of him before this thread, but going through his website...

This is exactly the sort of evocative, interesting piece of work that I'd love to find sitting in the PHB. It hints at intrigue and danger, and really draws the viewer in.

Likewise, this piece.

And this one.

Man, I really hope Wizards takes that sort of direction with the art. It would be nice to have inspiring RPG books.

100%. THAT, that is the kind of art that could and should permeate all of 5e. WotC can EASILY make that happen, the question is WILL they? thanks for those links btw.

 

[Hussar]

Oh, yeah, Michael Komarck's stuff is GROOVY.

Eva Wildeman is another one I really like, as well as Raven Mimura. I hope they continue to produce stuff.

Another artist I'd like to see is Uwe Jarling Fantasy Art at Jarling-Arts GALLERY - Fantasy Art, Fine Art, Illustration by Uwe Jarling Very cool stuff.

 

[Nebulous]

Another artist I'd like to see is Uwe Jarling Fantasy Art at Jarling-Arts GALLERY - Fantasy Art, Fine Art, Illustration by Uwe Jarling Very cool stuff.

yep, any of that is great. I obviously don't like cartoony art where characters carry weapons bigger than they are.