Blog (A5E) Level Up Art Previews #2

[Rhuarc]

Sorry, for me only the Couatl and the Wraith are artworks that I would consider 'really good'. The rest range from so-so to outright bad. Just personal preference, of course.

 

[Reynard]

That grick is amazing!

I don't care for the ogre, though.

 

[The Old Crow]

I love the Couatl.

 

[dave2008]

Some good, some OK, and some eh, IMO. Unfortunately for me the dragons are is more on the Eh side. My ranking:

1. Couatl
2. Dread Knight
3. Grick
4. Wraith
5. Hydra
6. Ogre
7. Spirit Dragon
8. Silver Dragon
9. Bronze Dragon

 

[dave2008]

I just think it's a bit odd that couatls are often shown with hoods, even though hooded cobras are native to India and parts of Asia and Quetzalcoatl is a South American deity.

There is no South America in the Forgotten Realms

 

[Faolyn]

There is no South America in the Forgotten Realms

Maztica!

 

[Sacrosanct]

Art is always a tricky thing, because none of us small timers have the budget of WoTC or larger companies (although I think Morrus has a much bigger budget than most due to the success of previous projects, but that's speculation--I don't see his ledger or budget lol. Maybe he spends it all on blood sausage and tea).

It by far is the biggest line item for me, historically. A project like Level UP would probably need an art budget of close to $10,000-$20,000 or more in order to compete with the big boys. I don't know many Indie publishers who can do that up front.

Right now on my current project, Chromatic Dungeons, I've already spent about $5000 on art, and that's mostly black and white interior (not full color interior), and I've used stock art as well.

I only mention all of this so as to put the art samples into context. If you're judging or comparing it to WoTC, I don't know if that's fair because I doubt the budget is there for that.

 

[Morrus]

Art is always a tricky thing, because none of us small timers have the budget of WoTC or larger companies (although I think Morrus has a much bigger budget than most due to the success of previous projects, but that's speculation--I don't see his ledger or budget lol. Maybe he spends it all on blood sausage and tea).

It by far is the biggest line item for me, historically. A project like Level UP would probably need an art budget of close to $10,000-$20,000 or more in order to compete with the big boys. I don't know many Indie publishers who can do that up front.

Right now on my current project, Chromatic Dungeons, I've already spent about $5000 on art, and that's mostly black and white interior (not full color interior), and I've used stock art as well.

I only mention all of this so as to put the art samples into context. If you're judging or comparing it to WoTC, I don't know if that's fair because I doubt the budget is there for that.

I don’t know what that means. Our art is just as good as WotC’s. We chose a different style to differentiate us, is all. Tastes vary, but WotC and us share a lot of artists.

 

[Arilyn]

I really like this art. Can't wait to get the book. Thanks for sharing, Morrus!

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Art styles vary from product to product. Pathfinder notably has a different style than WotC. 4E had a very different style than 5E does. And funky products like Mork Borg have very different styles. But I will agree with others that the difference in the level of quality seems really wide. Some of the pieces are top notch, others feel like stuff that an amateur artist would do.

I do like the fact that the art style varies from piece to piece though.