D&D 5E D&D and who it's aimed at

[Jahydin]

So what is it that makes this art speak to you differently?

Good question. More of a gut reaction of overall tone really.

It's like the Secret of NIMH movie art.

The old art:

Spoiler

I think this is a pretty good reflection of the movie, as seen in scenes:

Spoiler

Now compare to the new movie art they used for the bluray:

Spoiler

Both depictions have the same characters and are representing the same movie, but the first is much closer to what the movie actually entails tone wise.

That's more or less how I feel about most of the newer products coming out when matching the "movie" in my head. Totally subjective of course.

But more specifically? I'd have to say none of these characters look they have the capacity or desire to inflict harm. A trait critical to D&D's core gameplay loop IMO.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I'd have to say none of these characters look they have the capacity or desire to inflict harm.

I recommend that you look through the character art from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. Strixhaven is a university, which is going to make most of the character shots in that book look more "friendly" or "non-hostile," simply due to the fact that most people on a college campus don't look like they want to rip your head off.

But stuff like this?

Spoiler: Character Art from Tasha's and Van Richten's

Yeah, I can definitely believe that these guys are badass adventurers that have the capacity (and sometimes even desire) to commit harm to others. That Tiefling Artificer in the first image is smiling while thunder-punching a Gnoll. That Beast Barbarian perfectly encapsulates the theme of a Beast Barbarian and how ferocious they can be. That Orc Monk makes me want to play a Way of the Four Elements Monk, and I'm a dirty, minmaxing powergamer that would otherwise have no attraction to the subclass. They somehow put a Gnome in an action scene and made her look cool.

You're right that Strixhaven (and Witchlight) has bright art. It has more bright and "fluffy" art than dark art. But the dark art is present, and in some books, it is even more present than the bright/fluffy art (Van Richtens, Rime of the Frostmaiden, Netherdeep).