So why did you decide to significantly reimage the Dragons in the Bestiary? In some cases the pictures are quite drastic in their look. In some cases they look too much like birds for my tastes, what with how their wings now look to be feathered and their scale patterns having a featherish look.
For example, the Red Dragon. On the cover of the PRPG the Red Dragon looks totally different from the Red Dragon in the Bestiary. The Bestiary one looks The PRPG has that look which I think of when I think of Dragons. Then the White Dragon. In AP #5 Arkhryst a White Dragon has that classic lizard like look to it's wings, but in the Bestiary it looks like they are covered with large feathers.
Now I'm not silly enough to think that all Dragons will look the same, but these are completely different styles. I also realize that Paizo is trying to make things their own, but I think that many of these new Dragons just don't work. The artwork is great, but too different. It doesn't invoke that majestic and powerful feel. In one case, the Green Dragon, it just doesn't feel Draconic to me, more big winged lizard, even if it is close to the classic Dragon look. I think mostly it comes down to not liking the look of the feathers.
That being said I actually love the new White Dragon. It is now, by far, my favorite Dragon. This one you managed to keep that Dragon look even with the feather like wings. It looks fearsome, powerful, and majestic. I love it. I also like that you got rid of the sail like wings of the Gold in 3.5.
Maybe the rest will grow on me. When WotC released 3.0 I wasn't totally sold on their reimaging of all the Dragons, but over time they grew on me.
What do others think about the reimaging?
The pictures are reused art from Pathfinder Chronicles: Dragons Revisited. They reflect the Golarion branch of dragonkind - as does your avatar.
Just something to remember, while other companies do not own the names "Red Dragon," "Gold Dragon," "Mauve Dragon," etc, they do own the specific looks their company creates for said dragons. This is true not just of dragons, but every monster to some extent.
Its like if we wanted to do a cartoon about a crazy duck and decided to make him white, give him a lisp, and dress him up like a sailor: we might not call him Donald Duck, but we'd still get a letter from Disney's legal giant.
So, the Pathfinder look for dragons - which first appeared in Pathfinder #4 in 2007 - is not born of any distaste for past takes, but rather a need to separate our creatures from previous intrepreations owned by other companies.
And, at the same time, I personally think it's nice to be able to tell if you're looking at a Paizo product just by the look of its dragons. It's something most folks will never notice, but the die hards will be able to pick out in an instant.
Creative Director
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Another thing to keep in mind. Dragons change appearance slightly as they age. The red dragon on the cover of the core rulebook is MUCH younger than the one illustrated in the Bestiary, so that's one reason they look different. Another is the simple fact that they're painted by different artists. We use the same dragon reference for every artist, so they get the basic ideas down, but sometimes the artists add personal flourishes. I'm okay with that.
Every egg breeds differently.
The red dragon on the cover of the core rulebook is MUCH younger...
Awww, lookit, he's still got his egg-tooth, how cuuute~ <3
The pictures are reused art from Pathfinder Chronicles: Dragons Revisited. They reflect the Golarion branch of dragonkind - as does your avatar.
Ah, I would have noticed the change earlier had that book not been in my sidecart! I'm still waiting for the delayed AP#27 for all of it to ship.
As for the Avatar, all the ones I would have liked to use were already used by far too many people. Red Dragons having always been my favorite in the past I went with the one I liked most and of those that were used by the least people. I like to maintain a modicum of individuality. Too bad we can't upload our own, but then I guess that would lead to copyright issues with people putting up their favorite images from other companies.
It's not that I don't like the artwork, it's outstanding as is all of Paizo's work. It's the bird like look of some and the unintelligent look of the Green that bothers me the most. They definitely have a look that is unique to Paizo and I really do aprreciate that. My favorite Dragons are the Elmore Dragons though and Paizo Dragons look to take more inspiration from those than they do the 3.X WotC ones, and perhaps a little from the McFarlane ones. I do like that.
Like I said in my first post, I suspect it's a case of me having a strong idea of what Dragons should look like. Just as the 3.X WotC dragons eventually grew on me, so too will the Paizo ones. As I said the new Paizo White Dragon had me at hello... I know I'll stop now!
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The pictures are reused art from Pathfinder Chronicles: Dragons Revisited. They reflect the Golarion branch of dragonkind - as does your avatar.
Some, I believe also appeared in the regular Pathfinder Adventure Path series... this was done a long while back too. To the OP: I'm great with it. PAIZO and the artist they've carefully selected have done an amazing job honoring the tradtions of our game while still presenting something fresh and new. Brillaint, well done imo.
I have to admit, while I rather miss the look of the 3.5 edition black dragons (though my roommate complains they look too undead,) the Pathfinder ones have this... Disney's Sleeping Beauty dragon look to them, which I find quite charming.
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After reading this thread, I looked at the dragons again, and I've got give praise to the artists. I think they all look good, but with the blue, white, and silver standing out to me.
They all did a good job capturing the nature of the types of dragons, I think, and I don't mind the bird and plain lizard looks of the red and green. Bravo, artists.
The white dragons, especially, are my favorite dragons. Probably followed by the black and green dragons.