Art, is it important to you, does it help your roleplaying?

[1QD]

I remember, when what was it, 3rd ed DnD came out there was a big reaction to the art, that seemed to set a trend in the RPG world of great art or bust. This is an impression, not a fact. That said I am wondering does art still carry a lot of weight in the RPG comuunity and if so, I would like to understand why. I myself will hold up a picture , my players will give me a quick nod of understanding and away we go.

Is it like that for you? Do your players rely on pictorial reference or imagination more?

 

[Tonguez]

I like using art as a reference to help me visualise what a creature or scene might look like, I even do my own little sketches during play as an imagination prompt.

 

[cbwjm]

I like using art as a reference to help me visualise what a creature or scene might look like, I even do my own little sketches during play as an imagination prompt.

I do the same with art and like to use it as a reference for my players to actually show them where they are or what they're encountering.

 

[Piperken]

I appreciate visual art when it's used effectively. I place less a premium I think than others might.

For some, an rpg book gets purchased because its art was what did it. They liked the book, and for whatever reason the art perfectly captured their imagination.

Older rpg books still inspire with those full color pieces on their cover that you find now on t shirts, posters etc.

In long campaigns with many named npcs or monsters to introduce, having a nice reference helps break up the monotony of introducing a notable detail. "Remember this person?" while showing a small piece just works.

 

[Basic Expert]

We play over VTT (Roll20) exclusively and I use art assets as backdrops instead of battlemaps a lot of the time. I'll have tokens or pics of important NPCs or monsters. This all helps to convey information quicker and more precisely, especially since playing online starts with a pretty steep communication barrier. If we were playing face-to-face I wouldn't bother.

As for artwork in game manuals, I mostly couldn't care less. Oh look it's a castle. Oh look, it's a halfling bard. Yawn. The exception is monsters. I always want my monster pics!

 

[Li Shenron]

I remember, when what was it, 3rd ed DnD came out there was a big reaction to the art, that seemed to set a trend in the RPG world of great art or bust. This is an impression, not a fact. That said I am wondering does art still carry a lot of weight in the RPG comuunity and if so, I would like to understand why. I myself will hold up a picture , my players will give me a quick nod of understanding and away we go.

Is it like that for you? Do your players rely on pictorial reference or imagination more?

It does matter to me. I just recently made a significant change/addition to our Ravenloft game just because I saw an inspiring picture.

 

[djotaku]

I'm an extremely visual person so art means a lot to me. There are systems where I feel happiness when I open them because of the art and others that almost turn me off the whole system for the art. I love good monster art because I've never heard of most of these monsters. Seeing them inspires me as well as helping me understand how they might move or sound.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Art is important to me. It helps set the feel and aesthetic of the game/setting I'm playing in. And as an artist myself, I really appreciate good art. Very evocative for me.

 

[soviet]

I think it makes a big difference for books. AD&D 2e benefitted hugely from all those full page paintings. MERP similarly gained a real feeling of groundedness and epicness from those wonderful Angus McBride covers and the incredible Pete Fenlon maps. Vampire and Werewolf's moddy black and white interior art also created a powerful and resonant atmosphere for the setting but also helped depict some of the odder things that might otherwise have been difficult to visualise.

If a game is consumed and used as a PDF rather than a book - that I don't know. It might be in that case the art is less important.

 

[Blue]

I'm a very visual person, and art helps me visualize at the table. That said, I don't care about most of the art in an RPG rulebook. Honestly, it more an opportunities to lose points (Freaking 2014!PHB Halflings) than gain them. Maybe if there's a unique weapon type or something else I don't have a frame of reference for a picture is needed. But during play art of NPCs and monsters really helps. Both for immediate but also for remembering who they were at a later point. Art of fellow PCs is a big deal, and I generally always try to have art for a character I run for others and it helps ground me in the character as well.

(Though the biggest part of grounding in a character for me is how they talk, completely separate from my visual nature.)