D&D 5E I hope this isn't 5E...(art that screams "not this, not this!")

[Lanefan]

To build the sword the woman is holding in the very first post here all you need to do is take an ironing board, remove the cloth covering, sharpen the edges, and stick a handle on it.

Who knows, maybe she found it was effective as a weapon...but it, along with the rest of that style, sure looks ugly.

Keefe the Thief's selection of "bad art" is perfectly acceptable art to me (well, 3 of 4 are; the Chronomancer one doesn't grab me). But, to be fair there should probably be some buff guy art to go with it.

Lanefan

 

[mkill]

Unfortunately, because D&D is a secondary product line, it doesn't warrant WotC's highest dollar considerations. I brought up Brom's interest in doing a little D&D art again someday, and the matter of TIME came up. WotC's aggressive product scheduling apparently doesn't warrant waiting for the best artists, so we're going to be stuck with the best FAST artists. This is probably also why WotC products are plagued with errors.

It also explains why they completely removed typesetting and layout from the book production process and we get these horrible database dumps. They don't even bother to justify the text, it's all ragged. *sob*

 

[Incenjucar]

- Eladrin eyes are supposed to be friggin weird. Planescape fans should be aware of how far this goes.

- I can forgive an oversized sword if it's magic or something. The rest of the outfit is just very very very anti-functional and the bulbous angles are a bit cartoony. Maybe if she was part umber hulk... Overall it looks too much like a dungeon punk costume. It's right in there with steampunk costumes with gears and pipes that do nothing.

- Jeff Easley's art is strange. All his dragons look like skinless cows. Gorgeously-painted skinless cows in beautiful scenery, but still. There are a lot of other artists that seem to draw things without skin... not sure what the heck that comes from, but I have a hard time taking things seriously when they look like they're made of piles of meat. AD&D 2E had way too many Garbage Pail Kid-looking things, like on the re-release of the 2E DMG.

 

[Holy Bovine]

I hate anime, it's a very big turn off for me I think that the best art in any edition was the one in 2e player handbook and DMG.

Warder

Please tell me you're exempting the horrid blue & white line art that is rife in both those books. I loved the full colour 'plate' art pages but a lot of the rest of the art in the 2E PHB & DMG was pretty bad.

 

[exile]

This is a real pet peeve of mine, pretty much all the art that is bandied about as being "anime" isn't. It just is not. Full stop.

Here is some Japanese fantasy art that ranges from the more subtle to the full on stereotype of anime art.

Digik Gallery - Gallery: Takuhito Kusanagi - INNOCENCE Illustrations
Digik Gallery - Gallery: Capcom - Breath of Fire
Digik Gallery - Gallery: Record of Lodoss War Illustration
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Art / Pics / Pictures / Images - Creative Uncut
Digik Gallery - Gallery: Final Fantasy IX Character Book
Digik Gallery - Gallery: Nausicaa Artbook
Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon Art / Pics / Pictures / Images - Creative Uncut
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Art / Pics / Pictures / Images - Creative Uncut
Digik Gallery - Gallery: Yoshitaka Amano - Final Fantasy Japan Artbook
Digik Gallery - Gallery: Yoshitaka Amano - Sonolama Artbook
Dragon Quest VIII / DQ8 Art / Pics / Pictures / Images - Creative Uncut

That is, of course, just the tip of the iceberg, there are a huge ranges of styles in what is considered anime, the important point is that pretty much none of what has been produced for D&D looks remotely like any of it.

Thanks for those links-- really enjoyed much of that art.

 

[CleverNickName]

Are you talking the internal line art by Terry Dykstra (which I agree I don't want that style anywhere near D&D 5E) or the Cover Art by Jeff Easley which is nothing short of magnificent and everything that should be in D&D... in my humble opinion.

Oh no, the cover art is magnificent...Easley is a god. No, I am referring to the cartoony, monochrome, paper-ink drawings inside. Yikes.

 

[Klaus]

I'm convinced 90% of the Eladrin hate is caused by their artwork. What's up with these Roswell Alien eyes?

Also, the easiest way to spot when a company hired the artist that was 50% cheaper? They can't draw feet, so they don't.

At least I can clearly see the 3 photoshop layers, and the blur effect on the background. I wonder if the woman stands on some kind of pedestal.

That's not a battle pose, that's walking the catwalk in sword 'n board.

The best eladrin artist, IMHO, is Eva Wiederman:

Arcane Archer, Coure of Mischief & Strife, Bladesinger (MM2).

 

[Weregrognard]

Just pick this up, turn to any page, and be prepared to rinse your eyes afterward:
[SBLOCK="Please no..."]

[/SBLOCK]

It's probably psychological imprinting and nostalgia (I started w/D&D in 91), but I like the interior artwork in this book. In particular, the multicultural aspect given to adventurers in the illustrations. Some favorites include:

- A line of multicultural adventurers (hirelings?) signing up for an adventuring party (table of contents)

- A female "gypsy" thief (thief class chapter)

- A pseudo-arabian magic user casting an illusion spell of a monster to frighten an ogre (magic chapter)

- A meso-american fighter entering a treasure room (treasure chapter)

Point being, good and bad D&D art are highly subjective. I care little for Erol Otus' art, for example, but others love it.

 

[Scribble]

Yeah I think the nostalgia in me makes me like the art in the Rules Cyclopedia.

I think I've figured out what I dislike about a lot of the new art... it feels "flat" to me. Like not enough time was spent on contrast, and shadows and highlights and stuff.

 

[Yora]

There's a certain lack of texture. It looks like paint on a surface, not like actual people and objects.