tattoos, spikes, punk, and goth in D&D images?

[buzz]

Lockwood was let go by WotC some time ago. I'm not sure if Sam Wood is still a staff member there but probably not if you're not seeing any work from him.

Right, but I figure most artists freelance. They don't need to be on the payroll for WotC to use them. They're certanly better than a lot of the artists who get spotlight time now, IMHO.

 

[Desdichado]

Uhh... nevermind. I should read further before I post, right?

 

[buzz]

See, this proves that appreciation for any sort of art is totally subjective.

Keep in mind, though, that Jody's whole purpose in life is to chime in on 3e/3.5e threads and tell everyone how much all aspects of them suck.

But, yeah, it's all pretty subjective.

I still don't like Elmore, though.

 

[Desdichado]

Well, Lockwood did do artwork in Draconomicon, so it appears that he still does occasionally do illustrations for WotC.

So did Sam Wood. Both are freelancing, though. Sam Wood is doing a lot of Malhavoc Press artwork, for instance.

For what it's worth, I like Sam WOod quite a bit better than Lockwood or WAR -- to me, he's the iconic 3e artist.

 

[WizarDru]

To-may-to, to-mah-to.

I like the art in every edition, although I'm not very familiar with 2e's art, as I never played that addition, except for seeing covers and the like.

What I truly loved about 1e art: the evocation of adventurous images, and not just heroic character studies or still-shots. Pictures like Emiricol the Chaotic riding hard through town, being chased, or the cover of the PHB...you were looking at a story in progress, a tale being told that you wanted to know more about. 3e has fewer examples of this, though it does have it. One of my favorites is Tordek and Regdar attacking the drow wizard with the staff as the ground explodes around them, for example. The picture of the adventurers in the tavern, checking the map is another.

The incorrect assignment of the term 'anime' to the current art has already been discussed multiple times, so I won't go into it again, other than to point out that if you placed Hamtaro, Master Keaton, FLCL, Lupin III and Fist of the Northstar side-by-side...you wouldn't make that claim as readily, if at all.

What I do think they need to scale back some in 3e art: too much mish-mash. No one has a simple set of armor any longer. They're all like Hennet, with what looks like pieces of four different outfits thrown on at the same time. Some leather here, some chain there....that's fine once in a while, but could we occasionally just have a guy with chain and a tabard, wielding a weapon, for pity's sake?

 

[I'm A Banana]

Although to me, using buzzwords like "dungeonpunk" as a way of equating 3e artwork to crap isn't a very compelling argument.

Indeed, "dungeonpunk" makes me think good things....this ain't yo father's sword and sorcery kind of deal....it's new,it's fresh....if 3e is dungeonpunk, sign me up as a fan.

Keep in mind, though, that Jody's whole purpose in life is to chime in on 3e/3.5e threads and tell everyone how much all aspects of them suck.

But....but....Jody Butt is not dialgo is he?

 

[Altalazar]

Why is it that people who don't like the current artwork adorning the WotC books call it crap? This is one of my peeves. Art is not crap, it just is. (with the exception of that one piece covered with elephant dung - that was crap ).

Any good discussion presents facts, and ladies, gentlemen - I can tell you with the utmost certainty, that the art in the PHB, DMG, MM, etc is not crap. I see no excriment hanging from the pages og my books - nor do I catch the oder either. Could we forgo the "crap" flinging, I just don't think it's showing respect for otherr people's opinions.

Erge

I don't recall calling it "crap" - I said I hated it, for the reason that it just doesn't fit my notion of D&D, carefully cultivated over 20+ years.

Not all of it, though I can't recall any 3E art in the main books that I particularly liked - that could be because I haven't had time to crack a book in two years.

 

[Desdichado]

I don't recall calling it "crap" - I said I hated it, for the reason that it just doesn't fit my notion of D&D, carefully cultivated over 20+ years.

Carefully cultivated? Really? I'd expect for most folks, it's rather haphazardly and subconsciously cultivated.

And, as has been pointed out already, it's not like this kind of art was new to 3e, so your "careful cultivation" has apparently missed the last 5-10 years of a significant chunk of D&D art.

 

[kenjib]

What I truly loved about 1e art: the evocation of adventurous images, and not just heroic character studies or still-shots. Pictures like Emiricol the Chaotic riding hard through town, being chased, or the cover of the PHB...you were looking at a story in progress, a tale being told that you wanted to know more about. 3e has fewer examples of this, though it does have it. One of my favorites is Tordek and Regdar attacking the drow wizard with the staff as the ground explodes around them, for example. The picture of the adventurers in the tavern, checking the map is another.

I have to agree with an earlier comment that the iconics have detracted from the inspirational quality of the artwork in the book, and it really ties into this statement. Even when there are adventurous images, all of the motion lies in what they are doing rather than the mystery of who they are, what they are thinking, and why they are doing what they are doing (which is really what makes Emiricol the Chaotic such a good picture).

Unfortunately, the iconics are valuable branding/marketing tools. While I don't think it was intentional, I think we are seeing a loss of inspiration to serve marketing purposes. 3e has had, overall, an amazing slick marketting machine far beyond industry standards to date.

 

[evildm]

I find the general style to be interesting and evocative of one's imagination far more than any old Easley or Elmore picture, and Elmore's always been one of my favorite artists.

I also don't agree with the statments that the art is anime-like. It's not. Not all of it, anyway. In recent FR books, a few of the illustrations have had anime-like elements to them, but not much. Additionally, this art is the exeption, not the rule.

Here's an example from Races of Faerun:

These sorts of pictures are few and far between. As for me? I actually like them quite a bit. I think they put a much needed spin on D&D that classic artists just can't provide.

The place you'll find the most anime art in D&D right now is in Dungeon and Dragon mags, because these guys have been doing illustrations: http://www.weewung.com/, and frankly, I think they're really talented artists.