Rant about stock art packs

[pawsplay]

Seriously, what is supposed to entice me about a package labeled Fantasy I or something like that, described as consisting of "three greyscale images" or "several portraits?" Doesn't it seem like it might be helpful to at least vaguely describe the subjects of the pieces, particularly if no one buys the package and therefore no one reviews it?

 

[Morrus]

A couple of things are needed in advance for me to buy stock art:

1) A preview of all the art inside [it can be low-res, watermarked, whatever]; most stock art does come with such a preview, fortunately.

2) I need to see the license BEFORE I buy, not buy it and then find the license doesn't allow me to do what I bought it for. Not providing the license in advance is too common, fortunately, and has resulted in a number of lost sales from me at the very least, since I don't know what I'm allowed to use the art for until I've paid for it.

 

[pawsplay]

Yes, seriously.

 

[EP]

Here here!

Especially when all the pieces inside are nothing more than glorified hookers in bikinis. That's a rather specific type of artwork most of us aren't looking to use in "serious" products.

 

[jaerdaph]

I'm not a publisher, but I buy about 98% of my RPG products now as PDFs. And not just from the "big boys" but from a lot of really cool smaller, newer 3PPs. With that said, here's my take:

[rant]
1. Please, for the love of God, NO MORE ART IN YOUR PRODUCTS MADE WITH POSER! It all looks the same - like a cheap video game! I'd rather see Evony ads again than Poser-generated art.

2. Photo Clipart Web site services - I pray I will never see a photo of that Asian woman clad in red and black leather in an RPG product ever again (and that goes for her cheerleader and Goth Chick sisters too!). I know these services are suggested to new publishers just starting out, but everyone uses the same pieces over and over again.

3. If enough people are telling you in reviews and on message boards that the clipart you sell sucks, they are probably right. Get over it and get out of the business. "Beauty/Art is in the eye of the beholder" only goes so far as an excuse.

[/rant]

 

[pawsplay]

Not all poser art is bad. I don't mind it... when I can't tell it's been done in poser! On the other hand, if someone, hypotheticaly speaking, flooded RPGnow with over a hundred separate "stock art" files that consist of a single character in several poses that were obviously made in Poser, causing browing for stock art on RPGNow to become an eye-bleeding chore, that would suck. Hypothetically speaking.

 

[jaerdaph]

Not all poser art is bad. I don't mind it... when I can't tell it's been done in poser!

I should add that I think Arion Games paper minis are a very good use of Poser.

 

[Klaus]

My Art Packs are previewed on the covers, and you can use it for everything.

Hmm... I should make more of those...

 

[los]

Yeah, the tools available to evaluate before buying are quite lame. Even the user reviews are of pretty limited utility - the reviewers rarely explain their criteria.

I've bought a lot of the packs, some turned out to be useful, some didn't. If it would be useful, I could write some reviews on what I liked and what I didn't, and why.

Are there any decent sources other than rpgnow/drivethrurpg?

 

[EP]

Are there any decent sources other than rpgnow/drivethrurpg?

Illodelli.com has some really nice pieces though they are quite a bit more than regular stock art but the site seems to be down an awful lot. Otherwise, this is the second place I check when looking for art after stock art on OBS sites.

Otherwise, stock art's like buying from a yard sale - you get what you paid for.