RPG artwork and community preferences

[cybernetic]

I've been going through my rpg books lately (very bored lately) and have noticed that there were some peices of art that I didn't like because it just kinda seemed pointless and didn't really serve a purpose other than filling space....and I got to wondering..how do others feel about artwork in rpg books...this poll is one were you can select all that apply...post with any comments to of course

Its my assumption that people do want to have some sort of Cover Art or Cover design, would like to have Good art in books, and would not like Bad art in books...(i could be wrong though... )

 

[RangerWickett]

I like art to be topical, and to have some bearing on the text in that area of the book. Books with random illustrations put in as filler annoy me. I am particularly fond of illustrations for prestige classes and sample NPCs. Though I do enjoy nicely-done action scenes or images with detailed backgrounds, I realize that these can be a hassle for artists -- capturing action in an image that might only be three inches by 4 inches is difficult, and often detail is lost if the image is reduced. Thus, even when I'm asking for art for Natural 20 Press books, I try to take it easy on the artists.

Two of my pet peeves are bad anatomy, and cheesecake. Blatant images of women who are scantily clad for no reason is borderline offensive to me, especially if there's more than two or three such images in a book. Similarly, if people can't draw human bodies with a consistent proportion, they should work harder to pin down a style. It's not too hard to tell the difference between a talented amateur and an experienced artist.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

5 important "OTHER" categories:

1) art depicting NPC's

2) art that depicts the described setting material including Landscapes, Cities, Buildings and Rooms

3) Cartography/Maps

4) Monster art

5) Item/Treasure art

 

[JeffB]

5 important "OTHER" categories:

1) art depicting NPC's

2) art that depicts the described setting material including Landscapes, Cities, Buildings and Rooms

3) Cartography/Maps

4) Monster art

5) Item/Treasure art

What the Goblin said! Exactly

 

[Psychotic Dreamer]

I'll have to third what JeffB and the BigFreekinGoblinoid said.

 

[333 Dave]

Art depicting new Races.
Art depicting new (non-prestige) Classes.

 

[Churchill]

Artwork

My preferences for art in gmaing material runs along the lines of stuff that cooperates with and enhances the written material.

Kinda like comic books.

In a comic, the art and the writing should work together. The writing shouldn't describe the action that's depicted in the illustrations, and the illustrations should assist in telling the story.

Pin-ups of PrCs don't do much for me as there's too much variation in how a character with that class will actually look.

Illustrations of monsters I like. Same with buildings and odd equipment. I think the strongest artwork illustrates things that are difficult to describe with words.

That said, I think you need to have "filler" art in a book to break up the monotany of the page. Novels are fine without illustrations, but the text of those (hopefully) is more compelling than the text of a rulebook.