Replace AI art with real art and charge for it? Looking for advice.

[Jaiken]

Not in that particular style, no. My games lean more toward horror and different aesthetics, but I'm always interviewing new artists. If I see one that fits what you're looking for, I'll mention it here!

Thank you!

 

[junsey]

I'd rather buy a product with a coherent visual style representing a coherent vision even if it is (well-curated and edited) AI art than a random hodge-podge of whatever art an underfunded creator could assemble on a low budget.

Which is to say in most cases I'd probably agree with the "replace the art" crowd. If the plan was to commission the same artist to do the whole book, awesome. But I prefer a consistent and well-executed visual style and an expression of someone's vision (be it yours as an AI-art curating author or one or several artists with a coherent style) to it just not being AI for not being AI's sake.

I couldn't agree more. Controversy aside, any visual resource in a game must always be consistent and convey the tone and setting of the game. For me, that's key. It's not just about having drawings that represent things; art is part of the manual, just like every page with text, layout, illustrations, and iconography is a piece of art in itself, and everything must feel like part of a whole. That's why it's always key to have good, active artistic direction that oversees the entire process.

 

[aco175]

I would not invest money to remake the older game. It seems like people who want it already have it and an updated version would not likely sell to make your money back. I would invest that money into the new product to make that one better.

 

[Jolly Ruby]

Maybe controversial, but if I released the paid version with real art, I would also replace the free version with a black and white PDF with the better formatting of the second edition, but no art (neither real nor AI). Two reasons: for many (myself included) the AI art is a downside and I would rather a book with no art than a book with AI art. And the second reason is a black and white book with no art is printer friendly, and I love when games I don't have a physical copy have printer friendly PDFs, so I can use it on table (I did that with Knave for a long time before the second edition came out, kudos for the Questing Beast).