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I just got my issue of Shattered Star AP1 in the mail.
I have to say that the art is stunning. All the art for Pathfinder so far has been wonderful. I looked to see Wayne Reynolds did the art. Does he do all their art?
Either way I just wanted to complement Paizo on their presentation. When I first started using PF I mainly used the SRD website (wonderful resource I use every day btw) and the final straw that made me decide to buy all the books was the art.
Anyone else find themselves drawn to purchase the books because of the art?
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Anyone else find themselves drawn to purchase the books because of the art?
For me it's sort of the opposite -- I like Paizo DESPITE the art, which I personally find annoying.
(I'll qualify that by saying I really liked the decorative layout stuff from the Legacy of Fire AP, and I loved the cartigraphy from the Jade Regent AP, but 99% of the art depicting people/monsters/combat rubs me the wrong way, and continues to do so, and WAR is probably my least-favorite artist on earth.)
But guess what? WAR and clones are what the overwhelming majority of the fan-base wants (you're proof of that!), so more power to Paizo for using them -- that's just good business sense, and I salute them for it.
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Wayne Reynolds is definitely one of my favourite artists. He has done a lot of work for wizards of the coast as well. I've seen his work in 4e as well as for Magic tcg. I think he may have been one of the primary artists for Zendikar block.
Wayne Reynolds kicks ass.
His work is occasionally very hit/miss though as his designs tend to be very very crowded. Characters tend to be overloaded with THINGS from scrolls to potions (alchemist, I'm looking at you) to weapons.
There's something anime/mangaish about his works too, without feeling like he's ripping off a particular style.
I saw the Barbarian with her Frost Giant sword in the Core-book and I was Ready to Rage!!!!! Instantly.
I think that I could design a whole module conceptually, but with big books like the New Beastiary the weaker artists get owned and they should really strive for quality versus diversity. If Mr. Reynolds get's two dollars and free dice for each book, he should have a lot of dice before I'm dead. He does rock, and Paizo knows this.
I just got my issue of Shattered Star AP1 in the mail.
I have to say that the art is stunning. All the art for Pathfinder so far has been wonderful. I looked to see Wayne Reynolds did the art. Does he do all their art?
Either way I just wanted to complement Paizo on their presentation. When I first started using PF I mainly used the SRD website (wonderful resource I use every day btw) and the final straw that made me decide to buy all the books was the art.
Anyone else find themselves drawn to purchase the books because of the art?
I LOVE the art beyond words. Its the kind of art that just smacks you in the face and says "Hey wouldn't THIS make a great character???"
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I appreciate the consistency in the quality of the art, but it's not my absolute favorite style exactly. I like comic books and anime a lot but I prefer something different for fantasy RPG art. I can't quite explain why, and when I try to it I end up contradicting myself. One of these days I'll figure out how to put it into words.
I'm really excited to see what direction the new DnD goes with for art.
I appreciate the consistency in the quality of the art, but it's not my absolute favorite style exactly. I like comic books and anime a lot but I prefer something different for fantasy RPG art. I can't quite explain why, and when I try to it I end up contradicting myself. One of these days I'll figure out how to put it into words.
I'm really excited to see what direction the new DnD goes with for art.
As a big comic book/manga guy I often like or dislike different styles while at the same time not being able to explain why. Ill find art thats fine but clashes with a style of story with out being able to properly explain why I feel that way.
Although I am more a story guy than an art guy in general.
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I have never been a fan of Wayne Reynolds' artwork. Look at the size of the feet of everyone he has ever drawn. I don't think anyone has a size larger than 4 or 5. Also, some of his proportions are dubious at best. I'm not saying that the man can't draw, quite the opposite, he can, but he'll never match the likes of Kerem Beyit who did the covers for The Serpent's Skull. That guy is talented.
@Edgewood: Admittedly I'm only able to look at the Serpent's Skull covers online but they seem a little off to me. I mean yes Kerem Beyit is a good artist but I think it comes down to our personal preference, neither of us being right nor wrong.
I feel blessed that there is a company with a big enough budget to give us monster books with full color quality art for every creature, but the uniformity of the style used for everything is a mixed blessing IMO. It all starts to feel very homogenous. There is a lot that I miss from the other eras. I don't expect Paizo to mix it up more because it's part of their brand identity and I get that, but I'm eager to see more styles of art from other companies.
Open Design has great art for example.
I have never been a fan of Wayne Reynolds' artwork. Look at the size of the feet of everyone he has ever drawn. I don't think anyone has a size larger than 4 or 5. Also, some of his proportions are dubious at best. I'm not saying that the man can't draw, quite the opposite, he can, but he'll never match the likes of Kerem Beyit who did the covers for The Serpent's Skull. That guy is talented.
I had no idea Kerem Beyit had done work for Paizo. I only knew of him from Deviant Art. Anyway, I like his stuff 10,000,000 times better then WAR & similar, and oddly enough if there was a game system that featured that kind of art heavily I would be likely to switch systems on that basis alone, as illogical as that would be.
I like PF for it's mechanics, but having a stack of hardcovers with the same iconics on the covers in the same superhero poses is starting to influence the tone of play in a way that I'm not crazy about. I hope that doesn't offend anyone, I know it's kind of crazy and obsessive of me. It would just be really cool to have art that complemented the mood I'm going for, when I hand a new player a book for character creation for example. I kind of preferred the way 3.5 books looked like old tomes.
Every era had it's own style of art that has an uncanny way of reflecting the feel of that time.
I would love to see more Erol Ottus, more Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley, but also updated and enhanced with that digital sheen.
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I second more Larry Elmore. His art helped define the Dragonlance setting which was the first setting I got into.
I was a big fan of the art in Rise of the Runelords. Not sure who did the early modules but I thought the style was terrific.
Current art is similar to 3.5 - pretty hir or miss, though I love most monster designs :)
Kyle Hunter, I believe. I liked it too.
You know what's funny, some of the 0e and 1e grognards don't like Elmore and Easley, because they think it doesn't capture the feel of "true" DnD. They insist it has to be someone like Errol Otus. So I don't want to be closed-minded like that and refuse to appreciate progress. The WAR style is obviously modern and clean and well executed, and it resonates with a lot of fans. I do appreciate it for what it is.
I give the art in Pathfinder on average a B+. The majority of it is quite solid, but there are a few pieces that I feel slip through "quality control" on it.
I also understand that art is expensive. But conversely, I get a bit miffed when companies re-use the same art in books separated by 3-4 months.
How to go from a B+ to a rock solid A? Bring on the main man, Tony D.. his work for Planescape practically defined the setting. Of course, I admittedly don't know if he does any work for Roleplaying Games anymore. I'd also love to see some more work from Jason Engle. Rebecca Guay, while probably my favorite of all time, is probably too stylized.
I have found I like a lot of the art used in the various PF books I have bought. I think Paizo has done a good job of presenting art that helps fule the imagination and that is what RPG art should do in my opinion.
This might not make sense, but I would give the art an A+ by industry standards... and yet I don't really like it.
How to go from a B+ to a rock solid A? Bring on the main man, Tony D.. his work for Planescape practically defined the setting. Of course, I admittedly don't know if he does any work for Roleplaying Games anymore. I'd also love to see some more work from Jason Engle. Rebecca Guay, while probably my favorite of all time, is probably too stylized.
You have great taste, Tony Diterlizzi and Jason Engle are awesome. Rebecca Guay, now that is art.
Can we link stuff here? That would be a cool thread, everyone's favorite fantasy art.
For the most part i like the art direction, however tbere are a few of the artists i dont care for. First time i flipped through the B2 and B3 most of it looked like standard fantasy style but then i turn the page and boom, a heavily anime influenced drawing. It is quite jarring sometimes.
Also not a big fan of alot of the weapon art on the iconics, valeros' stone looking triangles are one of the prime examples. Dont get me wrong i like wayne and the others art, just not big into the anime styles of some of them.
Can we link stuff here? That would be a cool thread, everyone's favorite fantasy art.My favorite artist is Luis Royo but I can't link his stuff cause so little of his art is work safe.
Really amazing stuff!
For the most part i like the art direction, however tbere are a few of the artists i dont care for. First time i flipped through the B2 and B3 most of it looked like standard fantasy style but then i turn the page and boom, a heavily anime influenced drawing. It is quite jarring sometimes.
Also not a big fan of alot of the weapon art on the iconics, valeros' stone looking triangles are one of the prime examples. Dont get me wrong i like wayne and the others art, just not big into the anime styles of some of them.
I often complain about the "anime" look of WAR, but once again I contradict myself because I love anime... so maybe I just don't like anime influence in my fantasy RPG art? Nope that isn't it either because I love the art from BESM RPG.
Basically I just make no sense I guess.
Couple oldies:
Erol Otus Tomb of Horrors!
Willingham Check out the dynamic pose of the sword n board elf chick!
Paizo has fairly good art. A few really stand out, a couple though I could do with out.
I second more Larry Elmore. His art helped define the Dragonlance setting which was the first setting I got into.
His pic towards the front of the AD&D 2nd ed of the party standing around a dragon strung up in a tree still is my favorite.
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I appreciate the consistency in the quality of the art, but it's not my absolute favorite style exactly. I like comic books and anime a lot but I prefer something different for fantasy RPG art. I can't quite explain why, and when I try to it I end up contradicting myself. One of these days I'll figure out how to put it into words.
I'm really excited to see what direction the new DnD goes with for art.
Yeah, the consistency in the quality of the art is what I like about Paizo, even if I'm not a fan their style. Unlike D&D 3.5, which had some very good pieces of art and a lot of very mundane, if not ugly, drawings, Paizo art is, IMO, rarely awesome, but it's also rarely ugly: it's consistently good and I prefer it that way. Advanced Race Guide is the first Pathfinder book that has, IMO, some very bad drawings in it, and I hope this will not become the new standard for Paizo.
One of my favorite artists working for Paizo is Tyler Walpole (he drew some monsters in the bestiaries, including almost all the devils in the first bestiary).
Paizo has fairly good art. A few really stand out, a couple though I could do with out.
I second more Larry Elmore. His art helped define the Dragonlance setting which was the first setting I got into.His pic towards the front of the AD&D 2nd ed of the party standing around a dragon strung up in a tree still is my favorite.
Yep, that one stands out in my memory as well. For Dragonlance the 2e box cover and the scene with Laurana standing over Sturm are also strong in my memory. More so now that I just flicked through the book :-)
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Paizo have used quite a lot of fantasy artists that I really like, among them Wayne Reynolds, Kerem Beyit, Jason Engle, Ben Wootten, Daryl Mandryk, Tyler Walpole, and others. But one person I really feel has helped define the look of Pathfinder in the last few adventure paths is Craig Spearing. I'm a huge fan of the half-pagers he's done for Carrion Crown, Jade Regent, and Skull & Shackles.
Personally, I think the majority of artwork featured in Paizo products is absolutely top notch with a few slips here and there. The thing about artwork, though, is that it really comes down to personal preference and for me Paizo is doing a top job mixing between known talent (Wayne Reynolds et al) and new talent.
I'm impressed overall. The best art in say 2nd ed or 3.5 can beat Paizos choices but overall I think PF consistently has some of the best art in RPGs.
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I have to say I really like Pathfinder Art. Wayne Reynolds is amazing. I have liked his stuff back in 3.5. Some don't like all the scrolls and knick knacks I love it. Given the equipment lists some people have I think it lends an authenticity to think its not all out of sight.
I am a big fan of the art. It was one of the things that drew me to Pathfinder. Every book I get, the first thing I do is flip through the entire thing looking at art.
I have been very impressed with the (overall) consistently high quality of artwork in Paizo products.
Keep it up!
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Larry "Permanent hairdos and satin blouses" Elmore?
Erol "Is this an RPG sourcebook or a kid's coloring book?" Otus?
Gimme a break!
Nothing wrong with coloring books! In fact, once I get settled after my move, I plan on getting the Slumbering Tsar Coloring Book.
Paizo's art is really good. For my favorite, I'd have to go with Fantasy Flight Games Warhammer 40K RPGs, though. Awesome art.
Personally, my fave bits of art in the Pathfinder books have been from, in no particular order...
Gonzalo Ordóñez Arias
Mauricio Herrera
Wayne Reynolds
Carolina Eade (Superior version of catfolk, all day, every day)
Andrew Hou
However, I'm more than a little biased.
I wouldn't try to tell Paizo to do anything different in the art department. They have a clear, consistent art direction with the bar set very high for quality control.
When I say I would like to see more nostalgic art or more stylized things I don't mean I expect it from Paizo.
Larry Elmore Dragon Slayers
Kerem Beyit's personal stuff on Deviant Art looks better then what I saw from his skull and shackles covers. I think he's my current favorite though.
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Kerem Beyit "Dragon Mage"
Kerem Beyit's personal stuff on Deviant Art looks better then what I saw from his skull and shackles covers. I think he's my current favorite though.
Added to watch, because I loved his Distant Worlds cover, and had no idea who he was. Glad that's been rectified!