PHB, MM, DMG covers

[Darth Shoju]

PHB - I don't quite like the "adventurers posing while looking at different directions with nothing dangerous in sight".

Y'know, the WAR cover to the first Dungeon issue that featured the Dungeon Iconics was pretty much "characters in the middle of nowhere", but it was better composed than the PHB cover.

As much as I like WAR, I'd love to see Michael Kormack (Dungeonscape, Dragon Below trilogy of novels) do the 4E covers.

I like that Kormack cover for Arcana Evolved quite a bit, but I've got to ask: why does he get a pass for having "adventurers posing while looking at different directions with nothing dangerous in sight" while "in the middle of nowhere", where WAR gets trashed for it (which, to be fair, has been said by more posters than just you -- I just picked out your quotes for simplicity)?

(and BTW I really like that giant illo; it really brings me back to the D&D art that got me into the game in the first place. Kudos!)

 

[JVisgaitis]

I put this together quick in Photoshop. I think this pic by WAR makes a far better cover. Only problem is with this I couldn't use their same masthead. I still like it better though.

 

[JVisgaitis]

Double post.

 

[Klaus]

I like that Kormack cover for Arcana Evolved quite a bit, but I've got to ask: why does he get a pass for having "adventurers posing while looking at different directions with nothing dangerous in sight" while "in the middle of nowhere", where WAR gets trashed for it (which, to be fair, has been said by more posters than just you -- I just picked out your quotes for simplicity)?

(and BTW I really like that giant illo; it really brings me back to the D&D art that got me into the game in the first place. Kudos!)

I wasn't thinking of the Arcana Evolved cover (first time I saw it), but of the covers of the Dragon Below trilogy (facing hobgoblin ghosts in The Binding Stone, a fiery undead dolgaunt in The Grieving Tree, and a Gargantuan copper dragon aboard a fiery airship in The Killing Song).

 

[Geron Raveneye]

I took that image and made it into my own version of the PHB cover. With the image as it is, I had to move stuff around a bit. I like it better as it looks more iconic D&D to me.

You know...that would be perfect for a 4E PHB cover! Good work! Now how come the guys at WotC didn't see that?

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I like it b/c it reminds me of the AD&D books that had real pictures on the cover rather than the stale, textbook-looking 3E books.

Sure you can get some bad cover art, but it still looks more dynamic and interesting.

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

i like the cover myself and it does indeed look better in black

 

[Klaus]

I put this together quick in Photoshop. I think this pic by WAR makes a far better cover. Only problem is with this I couldn't use their same masthead. I still like it better though.

Awesome! Someone should call Scott Rouse and show him this. There's still time to swap art around!

 

[Mephistopheles]

I don't mind either the art look of 1st and 2nd editions or the tome look of 3rd.

Personally I'm not thrilled that they're using Wayne's work for any of the manual covers let alone all three of them. Two things that always bother me about a lot of his work are the awkward way many of his characters are standing around with one foot off the ground for no apparent reason, and the vastly, hugely, mind-boggingly oversized wrists he puts on a lot of his characters. Both of these traits are in these covers. Those issues aside there are still pieces of his that I can appreciate but I'd have to say for my taste these covers are not ones I'd like to be looking at for the lifetime of 4th edition.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Awesome! Someone should call Scott Rouse and show him this. There's still time to swap art around!

Seconded - that looks pretty cool, probably because of the more vibrant colours. And it's eye-catching (due to the colours), without the eye-straining effect of the white.

EDIT: Hmm... I'd like to know the reasoning behind he white title... I wonder...

Cheers, LT.