D&D artwork which captures something for you

[Theuderic]

Albrecht Durer? Now stop being so nostalgic lol. Just joiking by the way Hong, I like reading your posts believe it or not.

 

[mkletch]

I could name a bunch of examples, but I find it telling that they're almost all from Basic or 1st Edition products.

I love 3E, but I'm simply not as drawn in by the artwork. Don't get me wrong, some of the artists they have working for 3E are excellent, but the style is far more "comic-booky" than it was in previous editions. Comic book art has its place, but I don't think it's in D&D.

The older style of artwork may even have been technically "worse," but it was far more evocative, felt far more fantastic to me. Basic, 1st, and occasionally 2nd all had pictures that really grabbed me, that made me wonder who the people involved might be (i.e. the Emerikol the Chaotic pic in the 1st DMG), or made me wonder what was going on, or even inspired story ideas. Third edition art--again, while often of good quality--makes me instinctively look for word balloons.

I can't say it any better than this...

-Fletch!

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Hmmm, I seem to remember some really nice art in Oathbound when I was flipping through it. Another reason to pick that one up, I think.

*grumbles* people have been talking about this for MONTHS now! Why the heck can't I find this book anywhere?

 

[Ruined]

I'm always a fan of DiTerrlizzi and rkpost's work from the Planescape line. The erinyes and cat lord... mmm.

But on the lines of 'evocative' artwork, I've got a few favorites that always stick in my mind.

- the cover of the original Temple of Elemental Evil. Brooding, dark. That's what an evil mega dungeon should be like.

- there was a particular Dragon cover that had a female archer being approached by an undead giant in the snow. That always looked like the cool pic of desperation. I kept wanting to scream out 'they only take half-damage from arrows!'.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

More on topic, some pictures I liked:

-The one from the 2nd edition PHB where an army of orcs was on the march. I believe it was in the equipment chapter

-The cover from the 1st edition Greyhawk Adventures hardback

-The picture from the 2nd edition dwarves book that showed a handful of dwarves carting treasure away from a dragon. I loved the way that picture showed slim, muscular dwarves that moved beyond the "beards and axes" sterotype. I think this picture was also on the "Dwarven Kingdoms of Krynn" boxed set

-The cover to Demihuman Deities, where Corellon layeth down the smacketh on Grummush.

-The cover to Wild Spellcraft

-Most of the Planescape art

 

[Warrior Poet]

Without thumbing through all my books (which would only trap me into lovingly considering the artwork page by page and I'd never post, or the list would be ... extensive):

(some of these have already been mentioned)

Basic Set: Erol Otus for that which was familiar yet weird.

Expert Set: see above.

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 1st edition: compelling covers on the PHB and DMG. A Paladin in Hell. The troll following the adventurer. Emerikol the Chaotic. The wavy-bladed dagger dipped in murky poison. From the Monster Manual the menacing simplicity of the gray ooze sliding silently down the stairs, the succubus, the wight, the lich, the flesh golem, the stone giant, the neo-otyugh (my copy does not have the otyugh or mummy illustration), the vampire, the beholder, Tiamat, Asmodeus, Beelzebul, Orcus, the mind flayer, etc., etc.,

The original art from the original Ravenloft module. Not a big fan of Caldwell, but he nailed the art for that module.

Almost anything by Brom, and that fact scares the hell out of my players.

The cover and interior art for The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh.

The Tomb of Horrors, specifically any art dedicated to the mosaic, the green devil face, the demi-lich, or the juggernaut.

This is just going to go on and on...

Warrior Poet

P.S. Barsoomcore: thanks for your well-wishes a while back. I passed my first kyu test in aikido!

 

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

I agree with Tsyr I thought "Sturms Death" was the perfect view of that moment. Laurana stands over his body shocked that he is dead but you can see it in her face, her readiness for battle with Kitara. It was a huge moment in the books and in my opion it was captured perfect.

 

[Jim Butler]

*grumbles* people have been talking about this for MONTHS now! Why the heck can't I find this book anywhere?

Hmm. Good question. I've heard this comment 2-3 times on the message boards, and I think it's illustrating the overload problem that is paralyzing some retailers as they try and keep up with demand. They order in a couple of copies of the book and forget to reorder when it runs out.

Oathbound is still available. You can order it directly from our Online Store or have your favorite retailer order it directly from Alliance, ACD, Gameboard, or any of their other distributors.

 

[LostSoul]

How many pictures in 3E actually have something "going on"? (As opposed to those where some creature is just standing there, looking cool.)

The ones I recall from earlier editions had some kind of action or suspense. I think that might be why they grab the imagination more.

 

[arwink]

How many pictures in 3E actually have something "going on"? (As opposed to those where some creature is just standing there, looking cool.)

The ones I recall from earlier editions had some kind of action or suspense. I think that might be why they grab the imagination more.

Jozan stepping on Krusk's face to reach the top of a cliff?
Lidda in the aftermath of a magic item explosion?
Lidda sneak attacks a troll?
Tordek in a dragons mouth, beating on it with an axe?

Those are the four that come to mind.

The last two, in particular, are probably my favorites in the 3e core books.