paizo.com Recent Reviews by The Eldritch Mr. Shinypaizo.com Recent Reviews by The Eldritch Mr. Shiny2024-03-28T00:17:37Z2024-03-28T00:17:37ZVisions of WAR: The Art of Wayne Reynolds Hardcover: Excellent artwork, disappointing presentation (3 stars)The Eldritch Mr. Shinyhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8qac?Visions-of-WAR-The-Art-of-Wayne-Reynolds-Hardcover2013-08-22T17:16:00Z<p><b>Visions of WAR: The Art of Wayne Reynolds Hardcover</b></p><p>I finally received my copy in the mail several days ago, and I have some seriously mixed feelings. I was tempted not to post this out of respect, but a few things bothered me enough that I eventually felt the need to share.</p>
<p>First off, I want to say that as a professional illustrator and Wayne Reynolds fan, I really appreciated the depth and breadth of work in this book. Rarely does one see this many sketches, particularly thumbnails, as well as in-process pieces. The sheer volume of artwork really helps to show Reynolds' thought processes, as well as his growth as an artist. In these respects, this is a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it for these reasons.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, what the book has in content it sorely lacks in presentation. Nearly half of the images in the book are blurry, pixelated, or both, and look as if they were taken directly from Reynolds' website. In the section that displays his sketches and finished paintings of the Pathfinder iconic characters, many of the sketches were not properly adjusted after scanning, and you can still see the original background as a grey shape that awkwardly bleeds over the edges of the new paper texture. </p>
<p>In addition, with a number of pieces later in the book (his painting for the Black Gate website's "Lyssa" character, for example), the images were badly scanned, and you can still see the texture of the illustration board they were painted on, along with nicks in the painting surface. One could argue that this was done for artistic effect, but it's downplayed enough that it just looks sloppy.</p>
<p>In all, while there's a wealth of great artwork in this book, I can't seem to wrap my head around how a book that was delayed for so long looks like it was rushed out the door.</p><p><b>Visions of WAR: The Art of Wayne Reynolds Hardcover</b></p><p>I finally received my copy in the mail several days ago, and I have some seriously mixed feelings. I was tempted not to post this out of respect, but a few things bothered me enough that I eventually felt the need to share.</p>
<p>First off, I want to say that as a professional illustrator and Wayne Reynolds fan, I really appreciated the depth and breadth of work in this book. Rarely does one see this many sketches, particularly thumbnails, as well as in-process pieces. The sheer volume of artwork really helps to show Reynolds' thought processes, as well as his growth as an artist. In these respects, this is a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it for these reasons.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, what the book has in content it sorely lacks in presentation. Nearly half of the images in the book are blurry, pixelated, or both, and look as if they were taken directly from Reynolds' website. In the section that displays his sketches and finished paintings of the Pathfinder iconic characters, many of the sketches were not properly adjusted after scanning, and you can still see the original background as a grey shape that awkwardly bleeds over the edges of the new paper texture. </p>
<p>In addition, with a number of pieces later in the book (his painting for the Black Gate website's "Lyssa" character, for example), the images were badly scanned, and you can still see the texture of the illustration board they were painted on, along with nicks in the painting surface. One could argue that this was done for artistic effect, but it's downplayed enough that it just looks sloppy.</p>
<p>In all, while there's a wealth of great artwork in this book, I can't seem to wrap my head around how a book that was delayed for so long looks like it was rushed out the door.</p>The Eldritch Mr. Shiny2013-08-22T17:16:00ZFantastic Maps: The Temple Mound PDF: Solid product (4 stars)The Eldritch Mr. Shinyhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8g71?Fantastic-Maps-The-Temple-Mound2010-09-12T00:43:09Z<p><b>Fantastic Maps: The Temple Mound PDF</b></p><p>Fantastic Maps: The Temple Mound, from Rite Publishing, is a no-frills, two-map pack detailing the interior and exterior of a large, open encounter area. While slightly plain-looking in appearance, the Temple Mound map allows for a variety of scenarios to take place, and can be adapted to any number of games and settings.</p><p><b>Fantastic Maps: The Temple Mound PDF</b></p><p>Fantastic Maps: The Temple Mound, from Rite Publishing, is a no-frills, two-map pack detailing the interior and exterior of a large, open encounter area. While slightly plain-looking in appearance, the Temple Mound map allows for a variety of scenarios to take place, and can be adapted to any number of games and settings.</p>The Eldritch Mr. Shiny2010-09-12T00:43:09ZDowner--Volume 1: Wandering Monster: Dead men tell no tales. (5 stars)The Eldritch Mr. Shinyhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8xai?Downer-Volume-1-Wandering-Monster2008-03-25T18:50:41Z<p><b>Downer—Volume 1: Wandering Monster</b></p><p>The first installment of my favorite comic of all time, by my favorite artist of all time. Published by the only company I trust. Bliss.</p>
<p>Tight artwork, tight story, solid graphic design, cool.</p><p><b>Downer—Volume 1: Wandering Monster</b></p><p>The first installment of my favorite comic of all time, by my favorite artist of all time. Published by the only company I trust. Bliss.</p>
<p>Tight artwork, tight story, solid graphic design, cool.</p>The Eldritch Mr. Shiny2008-03-25T18:50:41ZKobold Quarterly 1 PDF: Return of the Dragon (5 stars)The Eldritch Mr. Shinyhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8r40?Kobold-Quarterly-12007-12-14T13:57:08Z<p><b>Kobold Quarterly 1 PDF</b></p><p>Oh, hell yes. I absolutely LOVED kobold quarterly. It really remided me of the old (pre-Wizards) Dragon magazine, mostly because of the b&w artwork and text-heavy articles. Pictures aren't all that they're cracked up to be. I don't think I'm going to regret this one at all.
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My only "complaint" is that there's no print version. Even so, it's still definitely worthy of the five stars I gave it.</p><p><b>Kobold Quarterly 1 PDF</b></p><p>Oh, hell yes. I absolutely LOVED kobold quarterly. It really remided me of the old (pre-Wizards) Dragon magazine, mostly because of the b&w artwork and text-heavy articles. Pictures aren't all that they're cracked up to be. I don't think I'm going to regret this one at all.
<br />
My only "complaint" is that there's no print version. Even so, it's still definitely worthy of the five stars I gave it.</p>The Eldritch Mr. Shiny2007-12-14T13:57:08Z