falkedtung's page

Pathfinder: The Anime.

Mr. McCartor, Such a shame REH died so young. I can only imagine what would have become of (t)his world if he lived as long as Tolkien. I would say he would have upstaged him, being allowed another FIFTY years of writing. Sadly, it was not so.

The Last Rogue, My manner of speaking is dependent on mood, whether the moon is full, whether there's magic in the air, and so on and so forth.

Ungoded, You dream of Merisiel?

Zeugma, I lol'd reading your post--and not mockingly, either, but joyfully! In all seriousness, you have made me laugh, and for that I thank you!

As for the Cleric, Kyra, I'm afraid that like Merisiel she could also use a "filling meal". Notice the "subtle" area of black just below the breasts, between the body and the blue cloak (on both sides) accentuating the slim figure? Hehe! Check the blog out, man. http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/2007/july

I agree that with training, even the most unimaginative can roleplay half-decently. But then, like most things, you either got it or you don't. No amount of formal training can replace natural ability, and those with propensities towards tank-rushing half-orc barbarian seem unable to play the silver-tongued bard.

Re:. topic

Yes yes yes! Gender bias is most certainly evident (& prevalent), but at least the Paizo employee supplies a single plausible reason. "Sex sells, manga sell etc etc.". This was conclusively proved in my thread entitled "Pathfinder artwork".

But reaaally, the other reasons supplied a lol'able. A motley crew of all-female adventurers? roflmao. Is no Paizo employee a reader of REH, specifically Conan?

You do know what Conan does, don't you? You are aware how many arses of his foes he hands to them, aren't you? This is called suspension of disbelief, my friends..and it is mandatory! Gimme a crew of she-Conans and your sales will drop significantly! Well... on the contrary, on the contrary, but puhleeze refrain from this regardless..I did ask nicely!

The Paizo employee used the word "crass", tongue-in-cheek I suspect. I wouldn't say crass, but "rather unpalatable."

The thing is, I wouldn't mind one or two female adventurers if they had realistic (ie., non-Merisiel) bodies. Not to say females must look sooo frail (like the women in the blog), but what on Oerth's wrong with a gritty amazon, or perhaps a serene, Rubenesque figure, y'know with CURVES? Must they all be conceptually contradictory: stern facial expressions, unbridled egotism, yet to all apppearances seemingly snappable like a twig?

I love female PCs, I love to flirt! But implausible it is for a woman to break the forearm bones of a warrior with a "tight", slender grip!

So yes, more male warriors, assassins and the like. The female sorcerer and rogue are to my mind absolutely appalling! If any of my PCs dare choose such a pre-gen , regardless of my personal/professional relationship with them, they will receive the bum's rush right out the door!

Ah, Azzy Schmazzy, art is not JUST subjective. Well, maybe manga is but, then, manga isn't reaaally art! Hehe!

Why, oh why! didja haveta bore me with that inanity, anyway? And I 'spose you parrot that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" as well! roflmao.

Sooo, when a Mozart melody appeals cross-culturally, for centuries caressing the ears of, say, uppity Viennese aristocrats, right down to African tribes dieing of starvation (a rather broad spectrum, wouldn't you say?)--that's not objective art, not objective genius? Oh, noes! snickers

(God, these democratic "aesthetes", I dunno! They think we all gotta bitta Mozart in us! rofl @ pop-psychology sham-empowerment)

Well, Azzy, accompany WAR to the Uffizi, with your precious Pathfinder proudly tucked under your arm, and demand the curator replace Botticelli's Venus with the soulless, sexless, nothingness-stare of manga-Merisiel! When he lol's at you, slam that fist down hard and also demand that tentacle-entangled pre-pubescents are given more prominent exposure as well! Then, having failed miserably to convince, having been dismissed with a curt hand-wave, storm out hotly, flailing your arms about, ranting and raving something incoherent about elitists--those dogs with discriminating tastes!!!

By the way, if the Art Director of Pathfinder has a distaste for manga, why on Oerth is manga-style artwork at all present in these publications?

Excuse my lack of business sense and general corporate naivete, but am I correct in suspecting all this is attributable to the popularity of this style? Kinda like sex sells, manga sells, too? If so, ick!

You have to be kidding, gah!

After hearing a recent WotC podcast, I became so mentally unstable I mulled over slitting my wrists!

No, no more podcasts!

If I want to hear inanity passed off as insight I will walk into a cafe or a pub.

Kurosawa r0x0r. Although, his Anglophile tendencies bothered me slightly (i.e., his fetish for Shakespeare, for Dostoyevsky etc.). At least he had literary taste!

But then, the influence was reciprocal: Americans in turn got better Westerns.. and Darth Vader... we should be grateful! Big respect to a filmmaker who brought us Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Hidden Fortress, Kagemusha, etc etc.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, a fine anime... far better then Princess Mononoke etc etc... Miyazaki's studio is no longer great, however. His animators lack life experience (the ones who tweened Spirited couldn't draw canine teeth to save their lives since they never even owned a dog). lol.

And Lilith, I meant if it was for Pathfinder (or some other publication I might purchase), no thanx!

And why do you deem me a troll, Azzy? Is it because I disagree with you that you ad hom me? Hehe!

Greyhawk r0x0r.

Oh, hai FR! Oh, hai Eb! lols twice.

I just luuurve the progessively backwards advancement of RPGs, and look forward to WotC D&D4e, a MMORPG.

James Keegan wrote:

For what it's worth, I like Gary Gianni a lot. His painting is less polished and painted with a heavier hand than some other fantasy artists, but that's what I find appealing about his work. And, for me, it fits the tone of those Conan stories better than the super polished beefcake Conans that Vallejo had painted where he's got the body of a professional bodybuilder. Gianni's more raw, brutal, unpolished. And if you like pen and ink stuff in the vein of George Clement Coll, he's one of the last guys to do it. His covers for the Dark Horse books of Witchcraft, Hauntings and the Dead are pretty excellent, in my opinion. Gary Gianni and Greg Manchess, illustrators with a more impressionistic style, take a little examination to really appreciate sometimes. Just because the right nostril isn't perfectly rendered and photorealistic doesn't mean it isn't a good piece or that they aren't great artists. Not that anyone said as much here, but that's my opinion. Stuff like that sometimes breathes and lives more as a painting, with more action, than stuff that's more fussed over, which can look stilted and frozen.

^QFT.

Someone before said something about people having different tastes. Like, duh! But then, some have BAD taste, and some have NO taste at all!

It seems many here are unable to appreciate depictions of warriors by artists who really know their subject. They prefer gloss over grit, seemingly.

And if the subject matter is not crystal clear to them, not spoon-fed to them, so that their imagination requires even the slightest exercise, they wave their hand dismissively, reaching for their mainstream manga and other vapid eyecandy, with redoubled enthusiasm.

I agree Gianni's work requires analysis to appreciate fully. All authentic artworks do. Literal depictions bore me to tears, unless they are of technical mastery. Surely I need not cite particular pieces from the Renaissance, or from the Flemish school...

And your use of the words "raw" and "brutal" are apt with regard to his work, like my use of "gritty" and "exuding energy". My preferred depiction of Conan by Gianni shows him seated "comfortably", partaking of crimson wine from a jewel-encrusted goblet in almost palatially-decadent conditions. Yet, sitting there, engaged in conversation with a self-indulgent, arrogant warlord (a buffoon for whom luck has indiscriminately favoured), a subtle, violent undercurrent is evident in Conan's body-language, penetrating gaze, fixed jaw, etc. And the facial expression of the warlord, though stamped with utter greed and defiance, nevertheless contorts with wariness ("I'm about to have my arse handed to me!")

That particular scene ends in a lovely bonecrunch, though not lethal damage (Conan shows mercy). All this perfectly bolsters the written word, showing this diplomatic (though ruthless) character, not the stereotypical brainless barbarian who tank-rushes at every opportunity...

By stark contrast, the portrayl of the male Pathfinder "warrior" depicted in the blog--what a namby-pamby pre-gen! lol.

Just one more thing about Gianni... his use of lighting/shadows demonstrates much insight, especially how rays tend to obscure things, again leaving the viewer to exercise their imagination. (Note, this doesn't mean I want cookie-cut Photoshop-generated lens flares and raytraced shadows for every, single light source in your other images, Paizo..!)

As for this chibi (WTF?), no offense to the artist, but, umm, no thanx.

BTW, there are some fierce depictions of Conan in the new Del Rey editions (Gary Gianni). In Bloody Crown (w/ Hour of the Dragon), I reaaally like pp.13, 35, 181, 283. Even the sketchy black ink depictions are grittier, exude more energy, than most of these overworked Photoshop renderings.

Well, at least the odd person agrees the manga fetish is getting a little long in the tooth. Perhaps if the artwork was tongue in cheek, I could stomach it.. but nooo.

The mean n' lean characters in the blog strike active/offensive poses, yet they look so emotionally vulnerable! Would their bottom lip not quiver, their eyes not well up with tears if their meanness was reciprocated?

Admittedly, the male fighter looks less overtly egotistical. Has this something to do with the overall dehumanisation/feminisation of Japanese men?

Anyway, it looks like REH's Conan is outmoded for these artists! I wonder what Mr. Gygax thinks of these wimpy looking adventurers? I know REH would laugh his ass off, like me!

Ah, gentlemen (and ladies)! I thank you all for your insightful comments.

I myself have no real style preference. My preference is simply whatever I perceive to be authentic, innovative artwork.

My issue is not so much with manga per se (some of it exhibits genuine artistic flair), but with the saturation of manga mimicking in the market.

Big eyes, small mouth, etc. Yawn. Perhaps artists need to be reminded that other (less in-your-face) styles can be mimicked, but more importantly that self-styling is still possible?

I love and adore diversity in the arts! Let us hope Paizo keep an open-minded outlook, even if the rabble sooo luuurve manga.

If others fail to detect manga influence in the characters I cited (those in the blog), perhaps they lack sustained exposure to alternatives (a primary symptom of dwelling in a Hobbit-hole).

Moving on from the style, I would like to comment now on the renderings themselves. Firstly, the portrayl. Sorry, but pouting facial expressions, though sexy in a superficial kinda way, are to my thinking rather cliche. As are the egotistical poses. Can I just say that Order of the STICK figures exhibit more personality?

Secondly, the medium. Again, I apologise, but colourful sleek-like-satin doesn't do it for me. While there is evidence of tonal gradation and texturing, the glossiness is still evident.

Just for once, perhaps an artist could render an ugly grot of an adventurer, in tattered rags, smiling happily? Please do it in black ink using either a stippling or cross-hatching technique. Tah.

Believe it or not, portrayl of a character or scene using a simple medium can be effective, kinda like the sketch evokes more than the oil painting sometimes. Allowing the average player to envision the appearance of their OWN elven kunoichi (instead of hijacking their feeble imagination), might expand their mind a little, perhaps even resulting in more meaningful roleplay!

Scanning the artwork in your blog, my eyes nearly rolled outta their sockets! Guys, I understand this manga-style is popular and pervades all (kids just luuurve it), but reaaally...

Are artists unable to style themselves these days, preferring instead to pander to fashions and fads... or are they forced to by publishers?

Uncreative, unoriginal character concept art (even if high quality)... bothers me slightly. Luckily, only the writing and the roleplaying opportunities really matter to me.

But pahleaaase, try breaking from the mainstream manga mold anyway. I know you can do it!

And I fail to see how this Merisiel can be roguish, what with all those bells and whistles dangling about and weighing her down. My suspension of disbelief took a hit, I gotta say!

What do others think? Perhaps as an ancient thirty year old my sensibilities blah blah blah

Well, I suppose this stuff seems worthy of purchase. (And by contrast, overall, the Wizards catalogue made me yawn so wide that my jaw almost dislocated.)

Guess I should be grateful!

Insert smiley face here.