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Mearls on RPG Art
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<blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 7768087" data-attributes="member: 907"><p>I like that he's essentially suggesting using the Marvel Method for RPG design.</p><p></p><p>I also believe there are places for both evocative and illustrative art. For example, unless you also have verbal descriptions of monsters, monster art should be more illustrative than evocative - though it doesn't hurt to have a few evocative art pieces as well in there. The same goes for things like symbols - they should be established through illustrative art first, but after that it's awesome to show various embellishments of it. For example, in Princes of the Apocalypse, each of the Elemental Evil cults has a very sparse symbol. The water cult's symbol is an X with a line connecting the bottom parts of it. While it doesn't show up on art in the adventure itself, there are a number of scenes that could have been illustrated where the symbol is described, such as an altar where it has been built out of driftwood. Or as a real-world example: the symbol of Christianity is a cross. If you were to describe Christianity in a sourcebook, the first picture of its symbol should be a plain cross. After that, you might show a knight with a Maltese cross on their shield, a church with a crucifix in a prominent place, a gravestone in the shape of a Celtic cross, a flag where the cross is part of the heraldry, or even a church built in the shape of a cross - but each of these refers back to the basic shape. You don't <strong>start</strong> by showing the knight with a Maltese cross on their shield, because then it's harder for the reader to figure out what is the actual symbol and what is embellishment.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Staffan, post: 7768087, member: 907"] I like that he's essentially suggesting using the Marvel Method for RPG design. I also believe there are places for both evocative and illustrative art. For example, unless you also have verbal descriptions of monsters, monster art should be more illustrative than evocative - though it doesn't hurt to have a few evocative art pieces as well in there. The same goes for things like symbols - they should be established through illustrative art first, but after that it's awesome to show various embellishments of it. For example, in Princes of the Apocalypse, each of the Elemental Evil cults has a very sparse symbol. The water cult's symbol is an X with a line connecting the bottom parts of it. While it doesn't show up on art in the adventure itself, there are a number of scenes that could have been illustrated where the symbol is described, such as an altar where it has been built out of driftwood. Or as a real-world example: the symbol of Christianity is a cross. If you were to describe Christianity in a sourcebook, the first picture of its symbol should be a plain cross. After that, you might show a knight with a Maltese cross on their shield, a church with a crucifix in a prominent place, a gravestone in the shape of a Celtic cross, a flag where the cross is part of the heraldry, or even a church built in the shape of a cross - but each of these refers back to the basic shape. You don't [B]start[/B] by showing the knight with a Maltese cross on their shield, because then it's harder for the reader to figure out what is the actual symbol and what is embellishment. [/QUOTE]
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