Is there any chance that Paizo will release a high-resolution image of the assembled Runelords (like the one we had in the trailer for Return of the Runelords which exists on Youtube, with Mhar Massive as the backdrop), or maybe even a large poster to pin on my wall at home?
Honestly, with all the high-quality fantasy artwork Paizo has produced over the years, I'm shocked that they haven't commercialized it more. Publishing 18x24 or 24x18 posters would probably do quite well, financially. I'm sure there are a good number of people who'd love to decorate their homes with some of the best artwork Paizo has published over the years.
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They haven't commercialized them more because posters don't sell anymore. They sit together with globes, art books, mugs, non-black t-shirts, "no rules at all, just in-game lore" books and few other products in the "everyone says they'll buy them, but nobody does" category. Almost every Paizo poster ever made is now discounted 50% and the last one they made was the RotRL card game one.
Heck, WotC doesn't commercialize its substantial art catalog by making posters, likely for the same reasons.
Well, that's incredibly sad.
That being said, there are posters which are on sale? Why haven't I found them yet? :( Can you put up a link?
Alright, I found the posters. But, see, there's a difference between what I asked about in my OP and what the actual product is: The posters on sale are all (except the Inner Sea map) marketing posters, meaning they literally all are filled with big "ON SALE IN 20XX!" or "GET IT AT YOUR LOCAL GAMESTORE!" slogans and the like, which obscure much of the brilliant art.
What I meant were actual fantasy posters, where you maybe have "Pathfinder" printed small in one corner and then the rest is the glorious artwork of one of the many excellent artists Paizo has employed over the last decade. I really hope that this might one day be a reality, although I realize that licensing issues for the artwork may also be a factor.
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Alright, I found the posters. But, see, there's a difference between what I asked about in my OP and what the actual product is: The posters on sale are all (except the Inner Sea map) marketing posters, meaning they literally all are filled with big "ON SALE IN 20XX!" or "GET IT AT YOUR LOCAL GAMESTORE!" slogans and the like, which obscure much of the brilliant art.
What I meant were actual fantasy posters, where you maybe have "Pathfinder" printed small in one corner and then the rest is the glorious artwork of one of the many excellent artists Paizo has employed over the last decade. I really hope that this might one day be a reality, although I realize that licensing issues for the artwork may also be a factor.
WotC doesn't even have them, and I think you'd agree that to a person with no insight into the industry the idea of a "big poster with Drizzt and Elminister and Volo figiting a beholder" sounds even better and more cash-making that a big poster with Valeros and Harsk.
Still, they didn't happen. From my conversations with LGS owners and distributors, posters in general (not just pnp RPG, but also board game and CCG related) died some time ago. Video game posters are holding up, but that's likely because video game industry is so big that even a tiny slice of merchandising is still profitable.
You are very probably right, but a man can dream. It is vastly disappointing and depressing that so much brilliant artwork isn't available in a better format than rather small JPG's. I have a big 18 x 24 poster of the Babylon 5 crew and that image simply isn't available anymore commercially in any place I've looked. I've been looking for a certain image of the Deep Space Nine crew in big poster format and it also isn't available anywhere.
If Paizo isn't willing to further commercialize the many great artworks they have produced over the years, it would be really nice if they could publish some of their best artwork in high resolution, so that one could commission a poster by oneself. Yeah, that's a pipedream and also not really commercially viable. As I said, a man can dream.
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I guess that one of major factors that if high-res artwork was readily available, it will be all over Aliexpress and various "we make t-shirts/mugs/hoodies out of artwork you submit" stores in a flash, with the original authors/license holders seeing not a dime out of it. Heck, I often see on Redbubble and other similar stores artwork that's sure as hell isn't officially licensed - granted, such stores take stuff down once you request that, but Aliexpress won't. And good luck cease and desisting a Chinese vendor.
Globalisation and shortening distances via Internet has its downsides. Making earning honest buck on your art difficult is one of them.
And that's absolutely understandable, but then having the attitude of "well, posters are not going to be commercially viable" gets you the worst of both worlds, in that your artwork is simply left to rot in a dungeon after its first publication in a book. There is so much just superb artwork in Paizo products that it is a crying shame that fans cannot get large prints of it anywhere (outside of the marketing posters, which as noted obscure large parts of the art with marketing slogans).
Yeaaah, unless he came to Poland (or Germany) for that, that's difficult for me. I don't have the means to fly to a convention in the US.
Ah, nice. Just out of curiousity, which size were the prints?
Hm, found the answer to my last question on Wayne Reynolds website. The prints are only 10,5 x 7,5 inches, which is way below the size I would have loved to get them. Guess I'll have to live with my disappointment.