Find the Anime Challenge

[Mad Mac]

Gandalf-clone aside, the first picture has an amazing outfit for that female magic-user, the dracolich is superb, the fighter is in a very good plate mail and the overall composition is top-notch.

True. I do like the Dracolich and the Female Magic-User a lot. The Fighter is a little bland, but not bad, with nicely realistic armor. There's a lot of nice details in the background as well. It's the old Wizard and to a lesser extent, the thief (with goofy expressions to boot) that throw off the image.

 

[pawsplay]

Oh yeah? Check out these eyes. Totally anime.

This is not a fair contest, as Dr. Awkward isn't well armed to know if he has been defeated.

 

[pawsplay]

There's a difference though. I'm not actually claiming anything. I'm asking those who claim the anime influence on 3e and 4e art to actually back up their claim.

People have posted what they felt are good examples. You have stated they are not. But, as you say, people see what they want to say. What is the burden here? Solid evidence? Or persuading you to personally admit you were wrong?

 

[pawsplay]

As a side note, I've got no problems with saying you don't like the art. Personally, I dislike WAR. I find his overly detailed characters distracting. Then again, I didn't like Todd McFarlane's Spider Man for exactly the same reason. Too busy for my tastes. But, that's the point. I'm saying that I don't like it and that's fine. I'm not saying, "Oh, I don't like this, therefore it's bad and should never appear in a book".

I like anime. I do not believe 3e art has been overwhelmed by anime influences. However, I believe anyone who denies that anime and manga style art isn't an influence is simply mistaken.

Alll this "the lighting's too dark" or "that's the wrong color style" is quibbling. Was the original post to the effect of "D&D 3e art is anime?" Because I don't think anyone is going to champion that argument.

I think there is virtually no question that anime, manga, and media influence by manga and anime, have had a distinct effect on scene composition, anatomy, color, weapon size, subjects, and choice of subjects presented, particularly types of action scenes. Virtually all categories of american cartoon art have been so influenced.

 

[pawsplay]

I asked a friend of mine who is into both comic books and anime to take a look at this thread. I didn't tell her my opinions.

She is of the opinion that none of Wayne Reynold's art seems anime. She labeled it comic book styled.

She couldn't give a crap about anime influences in D&D, or even D&D itself, and has no preference between the anime and western art. I consider her objective.

I don't know her. I do know that someone who is equally intereted in western art and anime type art is not necessarily objective; just as people cannot hear their own accents, someone would be at a disadvantage in naming differences in the style when they consciously and unconsciously appreciate the similarities. In other words, I think they be more inclined to group a given piece into one or the other category based on personal criteria.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Nope. Animation requires hard lines between areas of different colour, especially when it comes to shadows, nothing like the smooth gradation evident in that picture.

I think you are being excessively picky about what is allowed to be called anime-style here... Certainly, in an actual anime, they don't have time to do that kind of gradiation of color. However, saying something can't be anime-style because it has that gradiation is ridiculous.

At the very least, I have seen many pieces of art (concept art and character designs, especially) that are unquestionably anime-style, but have complex gradiation of color. Also, in older eras of anime (before modern computer-assisted anime production), they ofen used static images of scenes that featured complex color gradiation. Opening sequences, eye-catches, and backgrounds often featured this kind of thing.

Besides, my agreement that the gnome seemed anime influences stems more from the character archetype (young, quirky magical girl genius) than from anything else. It is a rare character type in D&D, but rather common in anime/manga.

I never claimed the face was anime style.

 

[TwinBahamut]

I'm not a 100% sure about the chronology of some of them, but there you go...

Of course, they are not quite as "in your face" as the Reynolds action shots, and they are a bit lighter on screaming and shouting faces, and of course they did enough "stills" as well...but there was more than enough action in earlier editions, too.

These are a lot better than 99% of pre-3E D&D art I have seen, but there are so many things that are just wrong with them... The characters all seem like they are posing for a camera rather than actually fighting. Many characters are looking towards the viewer rather than what they are fighting, and very few people are actually looking where they should. In the dracolich image, everyone other than the wizard seems to be staring in horror at something outside of the image to the left, ignoring the dracolich completly (did the Tarrasque show up or something?). In the second picture, the wierd-looking horned-helmet guy is looking in the opposite direction of the guy swinging an axe at him. It's just strange...

 

[frankthedm]

Count me as a vote to make "Caves of Chaos" the new 4E PHB cover!

 

[Geron Raveneye]

These are a lot better than 99% of pre-3E D&D art I have seen, but there are so many things that are just wrong with them... The characters all seem like they are posing for a camera rather than actually fighting. Many characters are looking towards the viewer rather than what they are fighting, and very few people are actually looking where they should. In the dracolich image, everyone other than the wizard seems to be staring in horror at something outside of the image to the left, ignoring the dracolich completly (did the Tarrasque show up or something?). In the second picture, the wierd-looking horned-helmet guy is looking in the opposite direction of the guy swinging an axe at him. It's just strange...

I'm not sure where your impression about the "posing" comes from...the lack of "movement lines"? Those are paintings, not computer-colored and enhanced drawings, so they do have different components in their make-up. The companions in the first picture (the Gandalf-clone is Elminster, if I got that correctly) are staring at the first-ever mentioned Spellfire wielder slugging the dracolich with eldritch fire. The "horned fighter" (I think that's supposed to be a young Sturm Brightblade) seems to be staring at the axe of his opponent, at least that's how it looks to me. And the only one who's looking at the viewer is Goldmoon in the "White Dragon attack" picture, probably because the viewer is supposed to feel like he's part of the action, not an outside viewer...like, you know, being a character in the adventure this scene is taken from.

Just my opinion, of course...with artwork, that's always so difficult to agree on.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Come to think of it, I don't recall many "action" shots in 2nd edition. Lots of pre/post battle posing, or just generally scoping out the background, but not a lot of pictures of characters springing into action.

Interesting that the 1st edition pic above (Palace of the Silver Princess? I can't remember), is so action-packed that the figures look like they're about to pop their joints in several places.