Core books cover art

[Seeten]

For all the WAR haters, there is 2 WAR lovers.

I proudly stand as one of those who LOVES his art.

 

[Hjorimir]

WAR is generally pretty darn good. Though if it were up to me, I would have gone with Michael Komarck.

 

[HeinorNY]

There were a lot of postings about this after the Gencon release. I hope they redo it. Why we can't get a party of adventurers in a "Dungeon" fighting a "Dragon" I'll never know. Here's the redux cover I did some time ago. While I'm not WAR's biggest fan, this is pretty close to perfect for me.

Much better. I hope WOTC take a look at this thread.
D&D PHB needs a D&D cover.

 

[Desdichado]

They're an improvement over the 3e covers. But I really wish WotC would hire someone other than Reynolds to do art. I really think Angus McBride, John Howe, or Alan Lee would do a much better job. And if any rpg company can afford them, it's WotC.

Well, Angus McBride has been dead for a year or two now, so it might take more than the lure of cash to bring him back to do artwork.

And... I guess you're saying that you think D&D should be a Lord of the Rings clone?

Hey, that green dragon pic---that's not on WAR's website. Where'd you find that? I need a copy for my digital fantasy art collection. Badly.

EDIT: Whoops! My bad. He died this last May, so only 4-5 months ago.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I really think Angus McBride, John Howe, or Alan Lee

vade retro me satanas.

 

[WhatGravitas]

WAR is generally pretty darn good. Though if it were up to me, I would have gone with Michael Komarck.

While love WAR's art, I have to say, Kormarck would be a better choice for the cover. WAR's art is dynamic and powerful - and doesn't suffer from being interior art. And his covers are often associated with Eberron. I like his association with Eberron, give him all Eberron covers... and fill the books with WAR. But for a PHB cover, I like Kormarck's atmospheric art.

In any case - we need the Green Dragon pic, if we go with a WAR-piece.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Scribble]

Well, Angus McBride has been dead for a year or two now, so it might take more than the lure of cash to bring him back to do artwork.

And... I guess you're saying that you think D&D should be a Lord of the Rings clone?

Hey, that green dragon pic---that's not on WAR's website. Where'd you find that? I need a copy for my digital fantasy art collection. Badly.

EDIT: Whoops! My bad. He died this last May, so only 4-5 months ago.

ARISE ARTIST! ARISE! I COMMAND YOU TO RISE UP FROM YOUR GRAVE AND PAINT FOR ME THE MOST UNHOLY OF PHB COVERS!


Also, I think as others have said, the thing that blows the cover layout is the stupid background banding they use to offset the words.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

...if it were up to me, I would have gone with Michael Komarck.

This.

Komarck would be an excellent choice.

 

[Klaus]

I guess the reason I *don;t* like the green dragon cover is because it looks just like D&D.

There's nothing new or different about it. Just a bunch of guys in a room with a dragon. We've seen this image before.

*shrug*

I like the new cover because it effectively conveys a vision of D&D that is unexpected while still grounded in the swords & wizards genre.

It's called "branding". If you are putting out THE main book of D&D, it HAS to look like THE main book of D&D. In a perfect world, it has to show a dragon and a dungeon. It has to grab the eye. It has to prove the sentence "a picture is worth a thousand words" right.

The green dragon mock-up JVisgaitis put together does that.

The original PHB cover does not.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

The green dragon mock-up JVisgaitis put together does that.

It'd also be a cool Otus tribute, bringing to mind the cover of the Moldvay/Cook Basic set (stairs coming down, fighter vs. green dragon, etc) -- especially if the dragon on the other book is scrying the scene.