MNblockhead
A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site
The online early release of Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons and Dragons was just released to Kickstarter backers.
I just finished watching it and my first impressions are mostly positive. It is wonderful that documentary film makers are capturing the memories and insights of those who helped make this hobby. There have been a number of written and film documentaries that have come out recently or are in production.
The recently released Art & Arcana: A Visual History is an impressive scholarly work as well as an accessible homage to the hobby and the artist who brought it to life.
Eye of the Beholder is a worthy companion work and a film that an fan of D&D art will enjoy and want in their collection.
It is interesting that the current D&D Art Director and other current D&D art staff are not interviewed in the movie. While there are some recent and current freelance artists interviewed, I don't feel that the film satisfactorily tied the D&D's roots to its present. Kate Irwin (current D&D art director) has given many interviews, including to Dragon Talk and Dungeon Life. I'm wondering if WotC refused to make their employees available for this documentary.
The inclusion of interviews with a selection of "gamers" seemed unnecessary. I'm a fan of Satine Phoenix, for example, but I don't think she has much to add about the history of D&D art. I don't know who the other "gamer" interviewees are.
But other than that, this was an interesting, insightful, and entertaining look as the art and artists of D&D, especially from the 80s and 90s.
I just finished watching it and my first impressions are mostly positive. It is wonderful that documentary film makers are capturing the memories and insights of those who helped make this hobby. There have been a number of written and film documentaries that have come out recently or are in production.
The recently released Art & Arcana: A Visual History is an impressive scholarly work as well as an accessible homage to the hobby and the artist who brought it to life.
Eye of the Beholder is a worthy companion work and a film that an fan of D&D art will enjoy and want in their collection.
It is interesting that the current D&D Art Director and other current D&D art staff are not interviewed in the movie. While there are some recent and current freelance artists interviewed, I don't feel that the film satisfactorily tied the D&D's roots to its present. Kate Irwin (current D&D art director) has given many interviews, including to Dragon Talk and Dungeon Life. I'm wondering if WotC refused to make their employees available for this documentary.
The inclusion of interviews with a selection of "gamers" seemed unnecessary. I'm a fan of Satine Phoenix, for example, but I don't think she has much to add about the history of D&D art. I don't know who the other "gamer" interviewees are.
But other than that, this was an interesting, insightful, and entertaining look as the art and artists of D&D, especially from the 80s and 90s.
