D&D 5E Which Is Better: Regular or Alternate Cover Art For Theros?

Here's a look at the full art pieces for the covers of Mythic Odysseys of Theros. The first is the regular, and the second is the alternate cover. Which is better?

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[Iry]

Motion changes the perspective relationship though - that is my point

It does in many pictures, but this one doesn't for me. Each individual part is pretty, but nothing about it conveys the idea that he's about to torque around and throw the spear to me.

 

[dave2008]

It does in many pictures, but this one doesn't for me. Each individual part is pretty, but nothing about it conveys the idea that he's about to torque around and throw the spear to me.

I was actually speaking about the leap and the lunging hydra head. The spear could easily skewer the head/neck without ever leaving the warrior's hand.

 

[Iry]

I was actually speaking about the leap and the lunging hydra head. The spear could easily skewer the head/neck without ever leaving the warrior's hand.

Judging by his legs, he's leaping towards us / away from the hydra and somewhat to the left. Maybe he's just running away and the way he's holding the spear is a coincidence?

 

[Harzel]

As a former bowhunter and archery competitor this does not bug me nearly as much as the gazillions of artists who have no idea on which side of a bow riser the arrow should rest on the shelf (or hand ). You'd think artists would look at some people actually shooting a bow.

Man, I'm glad this bothers someone else. A less frequent but more egregious fault is having the bow canted so that the arrow would be falling off the rest. And then there's the matter of the draw hand, wherein the nock, the bowstring, and the hand all converge on the same point and come together ... somehow. Generally, the archer is lucky if the bowstring is not physically embedded in their hand.

On the regular cover, the arrow is on the correct side of the riser, and the draw hand is, well, not as bad as it could be. But why is the archer's head bent backwards 30 degrees? That makes it really tough to aim.

 

[Umbran]

Judging by his legs, he's leaping towards us / away from the hydra and somewhat to the left. Maybe he's just running away and the way he's holding the spear is a coincidence?

Nah. He's jumping mostly up, and a little to the left, and is about to throw the spear at the head on the farthest left of the scene.

The fact that, in real world body mechanics, you never want to throw a thing while in midair, and that the shadow of the head makes you think it is farther back in the scene, and how that knee is moving, are beside the point.

 

[Umbran]

On the regular cover, the arrow is on the correct side of the riser, and the draw hand is, well, not as bad as it could be. But why is the archer's head bent backwards 30 degrees?

He's doing ballroom archery.

 

[Harzel]

Nah. He's jumping mostly up, and a little to the left, and is about to throw the spear at the head on the farthest left of the scene.

The fact that, in real world body mechanics, you never want to throw a thing while in midair, and that the shadow of the head makes you think it is farther back in the scene, and how that knee is moving, are beside the point.

I still want someone to explain the perspective on the short pillars flanking the steps in the foreground. Just looking at them makes me dizzy.

 

[Harzel]

He's doing ballroom archery.

Ah, ok. I overlooked that possibility.

 

[Umbran]

I still want someone to explain the perspective on the short pillars flanking the steps in the foreground. Just looking at them makes me dizzy.

Umm...

Okay, so... you see how all the areas of the monster that are not in direct sunlight are stars? Clearly, that entire beast is a walking spacial anomally, warping space in the vicinity. Either that, or the viewer is an aquatic creature, so there's a bit of a fisheye lensing going on there.

 

[Iry]

shadow of the head makes you think it is farther back in the scene

I honestly think the head is looking at him. Almost all the other heads are.
The location of the nostril also seems to point towards the hero.