Discussion of Art in D&D

[Hussar]

Damn, Arnie Swekel's been a busy boy. Just looked up his bit in the P&P Database. Wow.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Yeah WOW. that is really good. nothing jumps out at me as wrong or bad. give me some more of that in your next books WOTC, PLEASE!!!

Yeah, I like that one. I liked the W. Reynolds "hill giant" pick that was posted earlier, too (but didn't like the Reynolds spiky armor chick or the Elmore chick with weird-headed dragon).

 

[Kris]

Just took a look at the MMV gallery and This is a bloody good pic.

One word....
...Awesome

(well I'd probably use more than one word... but grandma probably wouldn't approve )

 

[rounser]

As for 3e, to quote The Simpsons, the whole thing smacks of effort -- trying way too hard to tart up the visuals to get those edgy Gen X kids not to feel embarassed to play D&D. It already looks dated -- the punky hair, the oft-mentioned spikes and straps. I hope that for 4e, WotC goes for a classic, clean, timeless look with a light touch and plenty of humor.

Agreed. And Eberron reminds me of Poochy with it's explicit emphasis on "attitude".

 

[Dyne]

Razz - a while ago there was a thread about anime in D&D art and I asked there for examples and no one could come up with any. I'm curious too what you think looks anime'ish.

I wouldn't say it looks "anime-ish," but more like "comic book-ish". It works great for Eberron, but it would be nice to see a different style every once in awhile.

I'll say this much: I do understand why art work is an important part of the dnd imaginative experience. I definitely like that dnd has evolved into its own world, as a previous poster put it. But two subgenres of art work within that world that annoy me: the incredibly embarrassing Larry Elmore subgenre (a style that makes introducing adults to dnd that much harder) and this genre:

Divine Crusader: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/cd_gallery/81344.jpg
Rainbow Servant: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/cd_gallery/81353.jpg
Vadania's Menagerie: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/cd_gallery/82295.jpg
Frenzied Berzerker: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/cw_ag/75409.jpg

Evidently, I just dislike Ron Spencer's work. Is it a neo-southwestern thing?

Can we have someone defend this stuff? 'Cause I don't get it. These kinds of illustrations actually make me not want to play the class that they depict...

I never had a problem with any of those (except maybe the Crusader's silly little wings). Then again, I suppose I'm not as much of a face person. To me, simple and to the point looks better than over-emphasized comic book-y stuff. But again, that's just personal preference.

Just out of curiousity, because this pic:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/c...lery/100497.jpg

was one of the ones posted by Dyne. How is that pic so much different that this one:

This pic from Biblioodyssey

I'm not seeing the problem here.

Or possibly This pic from the same place. How is that vastly different from much of the art we see in 3e?

The first link doesn't work, so I'm not sure what image I originally posted that you're referring to. As for the other ones, you managed to find some truly hideous (IMHO) Medieval/Renaissance art. I'd honestly rather see a bunch of spikes and straps than those horrible frills. I appreciate the elegance and flowing-nature of some Medieval/Renaissance styles, but I could never stand the frills.

EDIT: Wait, do you mean this one? Now that I think of it, probably wasn't the best example. Maybe it was all the string wrapped around their boots, though the center guy does seem to have an entire sleeve made of ribbons.

 

[Hussar]

The first link doesn't work, so I'm not sure what image I originally posted that you're referring to. As for the other ones, you managed to find some truly hideous (IMHO) Medieval/Renaissance art. I'd honestly rather see a bunch of spikes and straps than those horrible frills. I appreciate the elegance and flowing-nature of some Medieval/Renaissance styles, but I could never stand the frills.

Yeah, the linky was to the pic you linked in your edit.

Fair enough, but your point has changed. Your original point was that 3e art was too far removed from medieval looks. But, compared to actual medieval art, the looks aren't actually too far off.

I can freely accept not liking something. Heck, that's more than fair. Some people like Chuck Lucaks. Personally, I really don't. Some people get all gooey over De Terlizzi. I find his art leaves me cold. That's groovy. We can't all like the same thing. But, and this is a big but, there's a world of difference between saying, "I don't like this." and "I don't like this therefore it's crap."

 

[Dyne]

Fair enough, but your point has changed. Your original point was that 3e art was too far removed from medieval looks. But, compared to actual medieval art, the looks aren't actually too far off.

Well, medieval art/fashion varies widely depending on the region and time period. Lumping them all together is sort of like lumping together all the various styles and fashions of today and calling it "Modern Art". In general, I prefer D&D to have more of a medieval feel than a modern one, but that would still be limited to my viewpoint of medieval. I would probably use more flowing robes and knightly armor than frilly sleeves, and architecture would be heavily gothic. It wouldn't look exactly like Medieval Europe, but more like what I would want Medieval Europe to look like. That's pretty much what Medieval Fantasy means.

If you want an idea of the type of styles I enjoy, look at the Lord of the Rings and Conan. I don't believe you will find any frills there.

We can't all like the same thing. But, and this is a big but, there's a world of difference between saying, "I don't like this." and "I don't like this therefore it's crap."

Have I said the art in D&D was crap? I apologize if I gave that impression, it was definitely not my intention. I think some of the elements of 3e art are ridiculous and overdone, but I wouldn't want to insult people that enjoy those styles. Though, it would be nice if people like me were thrown a bone every once in awhile.

 

[Mokona]

it's a medieval fantasy game that tries to not look medieval.

I like art based on JRR Tolkien's work.

In general the style guide for art in Dungeons & Dragons characters seems to be "make it brown". I agree that D&D should look medieval and would like it to look more so.