Is Art Necessary?

[d20Dwarf]

Can a pdf be successful with little or no art, as long as it is still professionally laid out and visually appealing? It seems that most of a pdf's appeal is in its utility, and art is really only for books anyway, isn't it?

 

[Crothian]

I like art in pdfs as it helps break them up and easier for me to read. While I'm sure that a talented person could make a pdf that is visaully appealing without art, I not sure there are that many people who can do it well.

 

[d20Dwarf]

Phil Reed could do it.

 

[Crothian]

Ya, but as long as he has Christopher Shy doing art for him, he doesn't need to.

 

[jmucchiello]

Can a pdf be successful with little or no art, as long as it is still professionally laid out and visually appealing? It seems that most of a pdf's appeal is in its utility, and art is really only for books anyway, isn't it?

Does 225+ sales since August 2002 for Joe's Book of Enchantment qualify as a success in your book? I think its layout is decent. Professional? I don't know. Read the reviews for comments on the lack of artwork.

Or take advantage of my one-day birthday sale and find out for yourself.

 

[Flyspeck23]

Does 225+ sales since August 2002 for Joe's Book of Enchantment qualify as a success in your book? I think its layout is decent. Professional? I don't know. Read the reviews for comments on the lack of artwork.

If only we knew how much you had sold if you included illustrations...
(Btw, 225+ sales on the PDF market is a succes in my book.)

 

[jmucchiello]

If only we knew how much you had sold if you included illustrations...

Well, no one has specifically written to me saying I refuse to buy your unillustrated book.

And although the 3.5 update that is underway for it will be illustrated but I doubt that will be a good gauge.

 

[annadobritt]

Well, no one has specifically written to me saying I refuse to buy your unillustrated book.

And although the 3.5 update that is underway for it will be illustrated but I doubt that will be a good gauge.

The Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe pdf was without artwork and is one of the top-selling pdfs at RPGNow.

If you're going to have artwork in a pdf, try and get it to match what is being written about and make sure it's b&w to make it easier on those who like to print out pdfs.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Just speaking as someone whose read pdf and print books.

I like it when a PDF has art.

Art does many things for me as a reader.

It gives the company identity. V_Shane and Ed of Skeleton Key Games almost always get a thumbs up from me and a look over at their products just because I know I can trust their art.

It gives the material identity. Maps, flowcharts and other tools can be used to augment a product's utility and make it so much more. I've rarely seen any use of flowcharts in any product and they're often great things to get people visually into a product. I'm not just talking about chase scenes or random encounters either. They can be used for character creation, spell memorization simplification and anything where there is more than a two step process.

Personality for the faceless hordes. A book about mages with prestige classes is cool. A book that uses great art to highlight what these individuals look like, as From Novice to Master did, is even better.

I don't think art alone will cut it, but art does have a big influence on what I think of a product.

On the other hand, get several opinions before you go with an art piece. Several early d20 print products and many d20 pdf products have horrible art and that goes against the grain. Go with no art before you go with bad art.

 

[Voadam]

The Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe pdf was without artwork and is one of the top-selling pdfs at RPGNow.

If you're going to have artwork in a pdf, try and get it to match what is being written about and make sure it's b&w to make it easier on those who like to print out pdfs.

I like the full color art in Complete Minions, From Novice to Master, and the various counter products.

I printed out minions rebirth in black and white and the color pictures gray scaled well.

For the IDA counters I have the full color ones printed out in black and white are much better counters (easier to see and distinguish details) than the black and white line art.