D&D 5E D&D Next weekly art column!

[JohnSnow]

I don't know... out of proportion art doesn't appeal much to me... it's my impression, and I may be wrong here, but nostalgia speaks loudly over 1E art...



Easley is kinda clumsy sometimes and may look outdated for today's generation, who is probably going to buy more DDN than some of us who already got their fave editions or retroclones.

Komarck, on the other hand, would fit very well...

Just FYI, I'd guess that's an image of Eddard Stark cleaning Ice as depicted in A Game of Thrones. The give-away is the Weirwood tree.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Lee Moyer. His work is consistently stunning.

I couldn't find a bigger version of this picture, but it's your favorite female human cleric from the 4E PHB (see page 258).

 

[TheSleepyKing]

For the artistic style I would like to see in 5E, these are my main points:

• Realistic proportions and good detail.
• Sense of mystery. A lot of light and shadow play, a lot of mist and half-concealed creatures and ambiguous scenes. The art should invite the reader to imagine what might be happening or about to happen. This is a game of imagination, after all.
• Scenery! Play up the setting. Pictures of cool characters may inspire the players, but evocative backdrops and panoramas inspire the DM.
• Reasonable clothing and armor. No stripperiffic outfits for female characters (exemptions allowed for succubi and the like). No gargantuan shoulder pads or Coats of Ten Thousand Buckles.

I'll echo those calling for more "window on the world" images rather than the "character/monster strikes a pose" shots. I find these far more inspiring.

As a finer point, I also prefer realism and a sense of perspective in the art, as if you're a viewer there witnessing events. I generally find these more evocative than "aerial shots" of scenes.

Of course, the art budget may not extend as far as we'd like. It's obviously cheaper to produce art that's just a guy or gal standing and looking awesome than it is to produce a massive panorama.

Also, WoTC should actually make better use of their art this time around. In the early 4e products, for some reason the layout artists decided that images would fit into columns like text, and so what were potentially great pieces of art were squeezed down into thumbnails in which details were lost. Please, WoTC, make better use of your art this time!

 

[Dragonblade]

I want to see more vistas of nature, and a mixture of exotic and not so exotic landscapes, such a panoramic forest shot, or moss covered ruins hinting at ancient civilization.

I'd prefer less straight on portraits like in the 4e PHB1, and more scenes that tell a story and hint of what happened before or whats about to happen. For example, a fighter pic using that Komarck Ed Stark piece posted above. Or a ranger trekking through a forest.

I also like the occasional dynamic action piece showing a battle scene. In such pieces, I don't like Elmore style realism. I like more dynamic anime-inspired art. Not full on cartoon style anime, something more subtle. There are several action pieces in the Pathfinder APG that are exactly what I want. The exact page and artist escape me though.

In fact, I think WotC would do well to look very closely at the Paizo art style and layout of their books. Their products are gorgeous and are the driving force behind why I continue to buy Pathfinder books despite my distate for the rules.

 

[WheresMyD20]

That "Open Letter" by Kris Hansen made me roll my eyes. I want good art, not over-sensitivity to political correctness. I really don't care what the male/female ratio is, the skin-tone ratio is, the disability ratio is, etc. Just give me good art. Leave the politics and the political correctness out of it.

 

[Incenjucar]

That "Open Letter" by Kris Hansen made me roll my eyes. I want good art, not over-sensitivity to political correctness. I really don't care what the male/female ratio is, the skin-tone ratio is, the disability ratio is, etc. Just give me good art. Leave the politics and the political correctness out of it.

Absolutely! I would love a PHB that only featured fantastic art of Asian women with eyepatches.

 

[ArmoredSaint]

Inclusiveness--however one defines that nebulous concept--is fine within reason, but I don't care to see the game held hostage by it. Sure, reach out to people who aren't traditionally so well-represented in gaming, but please don't do so by arbitrarily, heavy-handedly mandating "quotas" in the artwork. Don't alienate your traditional base in order to cater to minority demands and tastes.

 

[Li Shenron]

Anyway... how about picking a really distinctive, unique artist, having him (her!) draw a bunch of stuff that doesn't blend in with everything else out there, and then building a campaign setting around it?

I am not sure... Another reason (beside giant manga swords and heros with arms the size of a tarrasque's neck) why I can barely stand another cover by Wayne Reynolds, despite him being one of my favourite artists in 3ed, is that he has been too much everywhere all the time... It feels like the same thing as when an actor or TV presenter is too often on the screen in too many shows, and even if very good then he gets overexposed and you come to hate the sight of it.

Thus I think it would be much better to diversify, diversify... I don't mean that any artistic style should be represented in the books, but at least bring many artists into the job and spread them around the books. It would be also kind of in sync with the spirit of 5ed, to treat every gaming style and every fantasy vision as equally worth part of the D&D world.

 

[Klaus]

Lee Moyer. His work is consistently stunning.

I couldn't find a bigger version of this picture, but it's your favorite female human cleric from the 4E PHB (see page 258).

Love that picture.

And she's an elf or half-elf (look at the ears and the leaf-y motif on the armor).

 

[Incenjucar]

Inclusiveness--however one defines that nebulous concept--is fine within reason, but I don't care to see the game held hostage by it. Sure, reach out to people who aren't traditionally so well-represented in gaming, but please don't do so by arbitrarily, heavy-handedly mandating "quotas" in the artwork. Don't alienate your traditional base in order to cater to minority demands and tastes.

The "traditional base" has never been reflected in the art, and if you only cater to the "traditional base" you'll never expand the base.

Put in art that as many people as possible can identify with or aspire to, and you get the largest possible audience, which is great for everyone, even people who don't care for diversity. Quotas are an easy way to do this, since otherwise artists will tend to do what's most familiar.