D&D 4E In terms of theme, tone, and spirit, I hope 4e . . .

[Xyxox]

God damn that's bad.

3E art has some misses, but that's just dorky beyond imagination.

Wait, this was a joke, right? That picture was never in a product .. got me going there for while

I'm pretty sure it was in a module from back in the day. Can't say I remember which one, though. For the record, most of the B&W line art in modules back then was abominable.

 

[Ulrick]

I agree with the original poster.

I like 3.X art. It's okay. But most of it doesn't inspire wonder. When it comes to monsters, it brings to mind stat blocks, instead of making me wonder how this monster would interact with a group. And a lot of it is that half-anime stuff that's lots of spikey bits and teeth, and, as The Gneech said, "YAAA WE'RE POWERFUL BUTT-KICKERS!!!"

If you think you're powerful butt-kicker then you're not afraid of anything, and you don't wonder at anything. You go up attack stuff without considering the consequences. I see this time and time again in D&D 3.X. (I also think a Video-Game mentality is has to do with this as well).

Back to topic.
Yes, much of the old D&D artwork lacked style. But it still invoked a sense of wonder. Even that picture from the White Plume Mountain module is still cool because it makes on ask "Is that a stream floating through the air in the middle of a room? What's going on there?"

One of my favorites in the old DMG is the series of pictures of adventurers going through a dungeon. At first they encounter kobolds, next they fight some trolls, and they hold off some stone giants while a couple try to sneak into a room full of treasure...and an evil overlord awaits them!

I've also read that one reason gamers like the old artwork better (besides nostalgia), is that it looks like illuminations from books from medieval times. And I think there's something to be said about that.

 

[Korgoth]

I'm a big fan of the "let's go explore a dark, mysterious, and dangerous place" atmosphere compared to the "YAAA WE'RE POWERFUL BUTT-KICKERS!!!" feel of a lot of the more contemporary stuff myself, actually. I don't think that's strictly an "edition" thing so much as a gradual shift in the philosophy of the game.

Well said.

My personal aesthetic reaction: I think much of the new art is just cheap anime trash. Not all of the old art was good, but I'd rather have it, warts and all, than have to suffer through all of the adolescent foolishness of Dungeonpuke.

 

[Nifft]

I like 3.X art. It's okay. But most of it doesn't inspire wonder.

Nothing will ever inspire as much wonder as something similar did when you were 12.

"Sadder and wiser man", -- N

 

[GreatLemur]

I've been around since the Red Box, and I far, far prefer so-called the "dungeonpunk" ethic to anything that came before (with the possible exception of Brom's work on Dark Sun, but that's more of a setting-specific thing). I love that modern D&D no longer tries to look particularly medieval. The quasi-historical armor and pointy wizard hats will not be missed.

But, yeah, Hennet is absolutely a joke.

 

[Ulrick]

Nothing will ever inspire as much wonder as something similar did when you were 12.

"Sadder and wiser man", -- N

Speak for yourself. I'm never gonna "grow up." ;D

 

[The_Gneech]

I would like to mention that there ARE more recent illustrations that do evoke that sense of exploring the unknown for me ... two examples I remember in particular from PHB II were

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/ph2_gallery/97179.jpg

and

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/ph2_gallery/97180.jpg

...both by Michael Komarck. I think one important thing is that these aren't just static portraits or big battle scenes -- these images show the heroes within the story context, and have the expectation of things to come, if that makes any sense. The illustrations aren't just there to show off a spell effect or what a monster looks like. They tell a story, or at least invite you in to one.

-The Gneech

 

[VirgilCaine]

. . . returns to this:

There is something to be said for "feel", after all.

There's also something to be said for backpacks, which that group of wee little men have none.

It's annoying to see all this art of characters and whatnot and to think they aren't carrying hardly any supplies, food, water, tools, etc. at all.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

And why are dwarves carrying torches, anyway?

 

[VirgilCaine]

Wait, this was a joke, right? That picture was never in a product .. got me going there for while

No, that's real. It's from White Plume Mountain. It should be, IIRC, in the 3.5e conversion on the WotC website.