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Made in se
Regular Dakkanaut




I just looked through my old Ogre Kingdoms 6th edition army book today and was, as I am every time I open the book, astounded by the quality of the art.

I think 6th edition was when GW reached its peak when it comes to good art. 98% of the art in the 6th edition ogre kingdoms book is absolutely astounding, combining strictly mechanical superiority with incredible depth of understanding for the material at hand, creating an unparalleled amalgamation of pure skill and intuition. The artist present to us a complete mastery over the subjects you would be tutored in in a 18th century art school.

Composition, movement, depth, light and shadow and texture. Also mastery of the understanding of both the behavior and representation of that behavior of the subjects being portrayed.

I owned many 6th edition books and observed the same pattern, but I think the peak was reached in 6th Ogre kingdoms. Such passion for his work, such respect for the audience. What happened to that artist? I can tell its the same person who made all those immersive gems of perfection.

And then you look at the art we see today. Look through any recent book and you will see art lacking in all the major categories of the profession. I wonder why?

Is it because GW think that art isn't important to the majority of players and so hires from the bottom of the barrel?

Or is it because art really isn't important to most people?

And no its not nostalgia, I started long before 6th edition and I'm not very fond of most art from that era.
   
Made in ca
Longtime Dakkanaut






I would tend to agree that 6th ed is probably my favourite era for artwork. There some astounding pieces of art from that time period. There are some good ones now as well, just not as many I think.

I think the range of talent is more widespread now than it used to be at GW because they've pushed their production schedule to overdrive in the last few years, requiring them to outsource talent from other places. This has led to some incredible work and some very sub par work as well. Not only in just the artwork, but the rules, writing and models also. IMO Forge World has taken a huge nosedive in quality designs in the last few years.

But again, art is pretty subjective. I'm a huge fan of art that is technically sound, both visual and music. I do howeverlike the odd artist that could be considered amateur when it comes to technical skill. I really like Blanche's work, I know it's rough but it has a tremendous amount of feel to it, and to me encapsulates the aesthetic of Warhammer. I also like pre-renaissance artwork. The lack of perspective makes it incredibly interesting and bizarre.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2017/12/09 23:24:30


Square Bases for Life!
AoS is pure garbage
Kill Primaris, Kill the Primarchs. They don't belong in 40K
40K is fantasy in space, not sci-fi 
   
Made in us
Keeper of the Flame





Monticello, IN

Yeah, I have to agree. Just look at the Vampire Counts book in 7th to see how quickly the mighty had fallen. Proof positive that Blanche should be a designer, not an artist.

And also agree that 6th was the epitome of WFB period.

www.classichammer.com

For 4-6th WFB, 2-5th 40k, and similar timeframe gaming

Looking for dice from the new AOS boxed set and Dark Imperium on the cheap. Let me know if you can help.
 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Its AoS, it doesn't have to make sense.
 
   
Made in se
Regular Dakkanaut




 Brutus_Apex wrote:
I would tend to agree that 6th ed is probably my favourite era for artwork. There some astounding pieces of art from that time period. There are some good ones now as well, just not as many I think.

I think the range of talent is more widespread now than it used to be at GW because they've pushed their production schedule to overdrive in the last few years, requiring them to outsource talent from other places. This has led to some incredible work and some very sub par work as well. Not only in just the artwork, but the rules, writing and models also. IMO Forge World has taken a huge nosedive in quality designs in the last few years.

But again, art is pretty subjective. I'm a huge fan of art that is technically sound, both visual and music. I do howeverlike the odd artist that could be considered amateur when it comes to technical skill. I really like Blanche's work, I know it's rough but it has a tremendous amount of feel to it, and to me encapsulates the aesthetic of Warhammer. I also like pre-renaissance artwork. The lack of perspective makes it incredibly interesting and bizarre.


Yes Blanch has really carved out a niche for himself and that is respectable in its own right. And I also agree that flaws can make some art great, but only if its a conscious decision by the artist or made with great confidence. The miserable art we have seen lately have neither. I recognize the flaws in recent art with the flaws of my young self. Due to this I can only conclude that the new artists are very young and inexperienced.

A horrible concoction of digital art, noviceness and disrespect for the material. Why cant GW realize that a small black and white image who barely depict its subject could spark the imagination so much more powerfully then something created with preset brushes and cheated geometry?
   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

FudgeDumper wrote:
And then you look at the art we see today. Look through any recent book and you will see art lacking in all the major categories of the profession. I wonder why?
I agree that the vast majority of AOS art falls flat for me, and I think alot of that is rushed production that relies very heavily upon digital art, especially digital coloring. Talented artists can absolutely turn around great stuff in a purely digital medium ... but not everyone can, and digital color is especially grievous for me, and part of what gives AOS the tone that it has (overly bright + lacking in detail).

Another part of this is that my favorite illustrators and artists (in general but specifically comic book and fantastical art) are those doing a high level of detail and/or focusing on more foreboding, atmospheric work. To whit, Adrian Smith is one of my very top, and you will absolutely recognize the influence he had on GW's Chaos lines from around the time you're talking about: https://www.artstation.com/adrian-smith He's done plenty of work on other lines before and after Hordes of Chaos - one of the only good things about Chronopia was Smith's art design - but he set a pace and gravitas for Warriors of Chaos (and IMO CSM as well) that is really difficult to escape.



So yea, I think there's a definite shift in talent working on modern GW art, in addition to too much reliance upon computer assisted art. And there have been changes in the subject matter as well - not necessarily AOS over WHFB, I mean a clear mandate to only represent purchasable miniatures. But even then there's something often missing in current GW fantasy art that stumbles in telling the story in quite the way the older crew did.

A horrible concoction of digital art, noviceness and disrespect for the material. Why cant GW realize that a small black and white image who barely depict its subject could spark the imagination so much more powerfully then something created with preset brushes and cheated geometry?

EDIT: Yea, bingo on all fronts. My imagination is just very, very rarely engaged with the new AOS art, which reads more like a poorly colored ad.

- Salvage

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/12/11 16:39:52


KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka






When I go back and look at some middle-period 1st-edition artworks, they quite often portray the existing miniatures range - even down to the exact poses of the miniatures, which is more than can be said nowadays.
   
Made in se
Longtime Dakkanaut




 AndrewGPaul wrote:
When I go back and look at some middle-period 1st-edition artworks, they quite often portray the existing miniatures range - even down to the exact poses of the miniatures, which is more than can be said nowadays.


I don't know if that's because they made the miniatures after the illustrations or if they told the artists to just copy the miniatures. It's actually pretty charming, though, because you can open a book up and go "oh hey there's that guy".
   
Made in us
Keeper of the Flame





Monticello, IN

There was an Inferno comic story called "Obvious Tactics" or something along those lines, which had some shots where the artist basically drew some 2nd Ed. Space Marine mnis verbatim. While some were passable in context, having the Vet Sergeant holding his powerfist in the air in idle conversation was a bit... much.


I'm not sure whether having art that copies a mini was a good thing back then, but now with the technology we have, we can easily turn a piece of art into a fantastic mini. Now if only they'd do Swordmaster Eltharion in plastic...

www.classichammer.com

For 4-6th WFB, 2-5th 40k, and similar timeframe gaming

Looking for dice from the new AOS boxed set and Dark Imperium on the cheap. Let me know if you can help.
 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Its AoS, it doesn't have to make sense.
 
   
 
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