D&D 5E Starter set cover art meh?

[Emirikol]

I'm sorry, this topic has probably been attacked to death, but I got my Starter Set for 5e and immediately saw that "blah" art. What the heck? Are they attempting to save money? The artwork is incomplete and... blah... Isn't the year 2014? Didn't we get overwhelmed with every marketing gimmick known to man..and now we have this blah artwork? "..it's got really great rules..." isn't going to cut it when I try to sell this game against others that my kids play.

Well, what do I like about it?
* It is simple
* It conveys a sense of action
* The Dragon is front and center and follows the tradition of D&D's previous covers
* Good enough to make a basic point

..but not enough to compete..not enough to inspire.

When I go to Target and imagine seeing it sitting next to a whole slew of other games with inspiring/appropriate/flashy artwork, here's what I see:
* A pencil drawing of a guy with a shield (no sword visible) that looks like it came off somebody's grade school notebook
* blah blah blah gray and green lack of contrast
* a very diminished splash of a brand name. STARTER SET is profound though..I'm not sure that will inspire someone to pick it up.
* The dragon, compared to artwork that actually looks finished, really looks digitally smeared and severely unfinished
* There is nothing else going on in the picture (until you see the booklets..assuming your mom bought this box for you, you're then opening it to 2 booklets, 5 charcter sheets and a cardboard filler. The dice look nice though..if you knew what good/bad dice looked like. There are no pawns. There are no combat examples. The first art you see inside the book is a bunch of people sitting around and sleeping and an old man talking. The other artwork is a bunch more blah, low-contrast, ugly people in ugly burqa-like armor (without the veil) shooting in random directions against some goblins. [Don't get me wrong, this art is fine on it's own, it just seems randomly acquired, dispersed, and again, not really piquing the imaginatory sense that I would expect of the flagship game.]

..but the rules seem good..to an established gamer of 30 years..not sure that a 12 year old gives a crap about stuff that looks like school homework though...

Compare it to other editions (1974 doesn't count..that's not even fair

Tell me what you like or would have done differently I love talking about art!


[EDIT: added from below:
What elements do you guys like about the cover?

As specifically as we all love to talk about rules, what do you like about it? Otherwise you're just making the equivalent of a "me too" or "not me" post.

How is it that you feel this art is more appropriate to selling a "starter set" than perhaps something with a bit more of the elements of marketing?


Read more: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?357602-Starter-set-cover-art-meh#ixzz3949NvlUC

 

[Agamon]

One thing that's been very much confirmed here is that appreciation of art is subjective. One person's bleh is another's awesome.

So while it's kind of boring to agree with you that your opinion is indeed your opinion, that's more to the point than uselessly trying to convince you otherwise.

Edit: I see you'e not so much complaining as wanting to discuss. Sorry, that's unusual for these parts. My bad for assuming without reading the very end of your post.

I like most of them for different reasons. The black box is kinda dull despite the action shot, but the rest are either well done or have their charm.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

Your opinion is wrong.

 

[Emirikol]

Yes, reviewing older covers, the black box has big contrast, but like the new boxed set, not much else going on. Plus, is that even a dragon? It [black box] looks like a chubby daemon cherub


My biggest complaint with the new boxed set is the objective (not subjective) finding that there is really low contrast and dull gray/green colors. It doesn't follow basic concepts of marketing with art.




(not to beat the dead horse but.. liking/not liking art is subjective. Comments on physical elements of media, contrast, color, content, elements, etc are objective and art can be reviewed objectively (as I recall all of my art instructors informing me).

jh
Here's a perfect example..the denver demon horse that is the first thing people see when they approach my home city...

 

[jadrax]

Its pretty clear they cut back the art to cut down costs. That said I do like the cover, its a homage to the Basic Set cover you have pictured above.

Some of the filler art strikes me as very odd though. Page 12: Some Mushrooms... why? How many meetings did they have to discuss if that should be there? I am not keen of the cultist of Zoltar on page 34 either.

That said, I do like the Hobgoblin of page 38. There is an element of Hasbro 90's toy range to him, but even so its a really different take on a hobgoblin, almost a samurai vibe maybe even a touch of a like a Peter Jackson Elf; A squad of those comes at me and I am going to be taking the fight seriously.

 

[Morrus]

I really like it. Best D&D cover in many years. Decades, I daresay!

 

[Thaumaturge]

I like the cover. More importantly, the 16 year old I mentor saw the cover and thought it was cool. He's much more the target than I am.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Emirikol]

What elements do you guys like about the cover?

As specifically as we all love to talk about rules, what do you like about it? Otherwise you're just making the equivalent of a "me too" or "not me" post.

How is it that you feel this art is more appropriate to selling a "starter set" than perhaps something with a bit more of the elements of marketing?



jh

 

[Morrus]

What elements do you guys like about the cover?

As specifically as we all love to talk about rules, what do you like about it? Otherwise you're just making the equivalent of a "me too" or "not me" post.

How is it that you feel this art is more appropriate to selling a "starter set" than perhaps something with a bit more of the elements of marketing?

I'm not really good at analysing art and saying what I like about it. I just really like it. If I had to pick something, I'd say it's kinda nostalgic, and not anime-ish, and it draws me in and gives me good feelings.

 

[Thaumaturge]

I, for one, have much more experience talking about specifics of rules or what I like about writing. With art, "I like it" is close to as detailed as my analysis can get.

I like the homage. The dragon looks pretty menacing.

Thaumaturge.