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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dougmander" data-source="post: 3629374" data-attributes="member: 14375">Then I guess you didn't start with the Eric Holmes set that was subtitled "Rules for Fantastic Medieval Role Playing Adventure Game Campaigns." <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />As a seventies kid, i can tell you that visual sources for fantasy illustration were sparse back then. 1e illos were produced in a relatively sterile climate. There was no sizable body of contemporary fantasy illustration to literally draw upon, as there is today, no DeviantArt or Elfwood to swipe from. No one knew what dwarves were "supposed" to look like, or had worked out a reasonable physiology for dragon wings. I'm looking at the old DAT, Darlene, and DCS illos as I type this, and it's really fun to see them work out these and other visual problems, basically from scratch. The only references I can pick out of their work include:-- contemporary wargame minis (the look of the armor and so on is very much in the style of old Minifigs 25mm medievals)-- 19th century paintings (including a direct Darlene swipe from pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones)-- underground comix artists like Rick Griffin and Greg Irons (especially in DAT's work)By the way, we're clearly meant to see analogues in their work to historical medieval armor and weapons, plus influences from orientalist fantasy films like The Arabian Nights and The Thief of Baghdad.Erol Otus broke  out of this mode. He's a one-off, for sure. His illustrations evoked a quasi-medieval aesthetic with no direct historical analogue. God knows what inspired those amazing HPL illos in the recalled Deities and Demigods edition! (I remember hauling a case of those -- a case! -- up from the stock room of the toy store I was working in that summer.)Most 2e illustrations seem reactionary in comparison. Easley and Elmore had a tight, academic, literal style, firmly rooted in historical source material. I have to say I don't care for their work; it's admirably workmanlike and painterly but not particularly inventive or inspiring. DiTerlizzi came as a breath of fresh air, with looser, whimsical elements and a vigorous imagination.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.</blockquote>

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