When did Rifts start using that terrible CG art? And why did they think it was a good idea? :?
I guess it's cheap? There's a flood of crap CG stock art on DTRPG, so presumably it's easy to produce.
Though it seems genuinely odd considering he started in RPGs as an artist for Judges Guild.
For a while Chaosium used that for NPC portraits in CoC products. That was ages ago though
Quote from: Ratman_tf;1023374When did Rifts start using that terrible CG art? And why did they think it was a good idea? :?
Evidence? (I'm not sure what you're talking about. Sorry.)
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1023396Evidence? (I'm not sure what you're talking about. Sorry.)
It was used for some of the CCG cards. The work was expensive so they likely reused the assets for some interior colour plates. I cant think of any examples as I stopped picking up the books around 1999-2001. Think some covers for Rifter had CG art?
These most be obscure products that no one collected.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1023396Evidence? (I'm not sure what you're talking about. Sorry.)
No prob.
(https://imgv2-1-f.scribdassets.com/img/document/231001858/original/984387fb2e/1515897033?v=1)
Quote from: Omega;1023408It was used for some of the CCG cards. The work was expensive so they likely reused the assets for some interior colour plates. I cant think of any examples as I stopped picking up the books around 1999-2001. Think some covers for Rifter had CG art?
I bought the Rifts Primer (Gm guide thing) from rpg.now last night, and there's a good amount of that bland CG art in it. The Black Market cover has me wondering how much is in the later products.
ooooh yeah. The RPG now stuff? One of my players a year or two ago mentioned it and even showed me the Black Market cover. Didnt know theyd done more than just that as seemed like they got some flack for using poser art.
I wonder if 30 years from now people with get nostalgic for that "old school poser art":)
Gah! MY EYES!
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1023522Gah! MY EYES!
Seen worse. Much worse.
VtM artwork.
I would post examples but then I would have to label it all NSFW.
When really it isn't suitable for anything.
And the rest of it is worse than that.
Poser and DAZ3D art on RPG book covers are the worst offense. Clement Sector is big on using it.
Its the go-to for Drive-Thru RPGs on a budget.
Quote from: Omega;1023552Seen worse. Much worse.
That doesn't make this art any better! It's still offensive.
If only Syd Mead did cover art for sci-fi RPGs. He draws people in his scenes really well.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1023691That doesn't make this art any better! It's still offensive.
It's worse than offensive. It's a rip off.
This is so stupid. Tons of artists have existing folios of great art they'll give you a non-exclusive licence to use, at very low rates. Neromancer Games got Frazetta on two of their Wilderlands products!
I think the problem is when publishers want to own the copyright in commissioned work, but don't want to pay properly for what is a serious labour investment by the artist.
It's shit. It's in very few products. I think they are doing it to push us towards the Gold editions of these books which don't feature the shitty CG art.
It's more offensive from Palladium because usually their cover art is so fucking good. By and large, Palladium has some of the best covers and artists in the industry and it's offensive not to use their good art to use these shitty CG covers.
Quote from: Ulairi;1023774It's shit. It's in very few products. I think they are doing it to push us towards the Gold editions of these books which don't feature the shitty CG art.
It's more offensive from Palladium because usually their cover art is so fucking good. By and large, Palladium has some of the best covers and artists in the industry and it's offensive not to use their good art to use these shitty CG covers.
^^^^This.
Christ, that's a terrible idea. Palladium has always had awesome art going for it. It's a pity.
Quote from: S'mon;1023743This is so stupid. Tons of artists have existing folios of great art they'll give you a non-exclusive licence to use, at very low rates. Neromancer Games got Frazetta on two of their Wilderlands products!
I think the problem is when publishers want to own the copyright in commissioned work, but don't want to pay properly for what is a serious labour investment by the artist.
Another part of the problem is some artists are charging really fucked up prices or "by the hour" rates which is absurd when it comes to art. So it scares off some people looking for art and they resort to either clip art or Poser.
They've gone full #Poser. Never go full #Poser.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1023691That doesn't make this art any better! It's still offensive.
I use Poser quite a bit. And frankly, that art is old. And could have been made much better by applying some Photoshop filters to make it less noticeable that it originated from Poser.
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;1024201I use Poser quite a bit. And frankly, that art is old. And could have been made much better by applying some Photoshop filters to make it less noticeable that it originated from Poser.
I don't honestly care what tool you use, as long as it doesn't turn out into... That!
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1024209I don't honestly care what tool you use, as long as it doesn't turn out into... That!
That is the result of lazy unfinished work. And I do mean unfinished.
All of the effort there was put into the most minimal uses of Poser. It doesn't touch upon the other tools in the software. Or the finishing work one can do with Photoshop on it.
Even bad Poser art can be made better with the right filters and some actual effort.
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;1024218Even bad Poser art can be made better with the right filters and some actual effort.
Good Poser art is when you can't tell Poser figures were used. But then, it is no longer Poser art. Just art.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1024123Christ, that's a terrible idea. Palladium has always had awesome art going for it. It's a pity.
They seem to have left it behind. See the new Rifts book with awesome Chuck walton art
Quote from: Ulairi;1024270They seem to have left it behind. See the new Rifts book with awesome Chuck walton art
That's good to hear.
Oh yeah. Chuck Walton. His stuff is really neat. My one complaint is that his art has a lot of thin lines and details. Sometimes gets hard to tell exactly what I'm looking at.
(https://img00.deviantart.net/d3da/i/2014/266/5/8/rifts_demon_vs_heroes_by_chuckwalton-d80b4ge.jpg)
But that's a nitpick, and it beats the hell out of that CG stuff. :)
CG can be okay for things like space ships & buildings, but for people it's the opposite of Samuel Adams - "always a poor decision".
Quote from: Ratman_tf;1024317That's good to hear.
Oh yeah. Chuck Walton. His stuff is really neat. My one complaint is that his art has a lot of thin lines and details. Sometimes gets hard to tell exactly what I'm looking at.
(https://img00.deviantart.net/d3da/i/2014/266/5/8/rifts_demon_vs_heroes_by_chuckwalton-d80b4ge.jpg)
But that's a nitpick, and it beats the hell out of that CG stuff. :)
Technically, this IS a bad piece, your eye is left confused as to what to focus on. The individual pieces inside the entire plate are well done, don't get me wrong, but it's too cluttered.
I think it looks great! Reminds me of those early WH40k pics- man I loved those.
Chuck Walton needs to learn depth of field.
His art is great.
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Quote from: Anon Adderlan;1024199They've gone full #Poser. Never go full #Poser.
Or at least go poser well. Ive seen some art pieces done in poser that are surprisingly hard to tell from painted art even knowing the models they used. A little post production touchup can do wonders.
Quote from: Ulairi;1024621His art is great.
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Now this I like!
I don't mind good CG art, its like any other art. It can be of any quality. But I do like the starker almost technical line drawings in the older material. I think it really contributed to the feel of the game and communicated the setting's mood.
Quote from: CarlD.;1025061I don't mind good CG art, its like any other art. It can be of any quality. But I do like the starker almost technical line drawings in the older material. I think it really contributed to the feel of the game and communicated the setting's mood.
Kevin Long did a lot of that. I prefer his Coalition designs over the new ones. In my head cannon, the new stuff wasn't phased in instantly, and there's a mix of old and new designs on the battlefield. (Some of the art actually backs that up.)
Quote from: CarlD.;1025061I don't mind good CG art, its like any other art. It can be of any quality. But I do like the starker almost technical line drawings in the older material. I think it really contributed to the feel of the game and communicated the setting's mood.
yeah, but what was posted earlier here was NOT good CG art by any measure.
I usually like the Chuck Walton art. It's when their is more than once character like the above picture where it does not translate well imo. To me the biggest offenders of terrible art are the Drunken Studio artists. The art looks terrible imo. I could not a picture to show as a reference they are the ones who drew the different races living in Rifts Madhaven. The only other person and it's usually when he draws vehicles is I think Burles. His style does not translate well imo.
Which is everyone's favorite RIFTS book for art? Mine is probably RIFTS Atlantis. Spectacular.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1025707Which is everyone's favorite RIFTS book for art? Mine is probably RIFTS Atlantis. Spectacular.
Atlantis was the first RIFTS book I saw on the shelves. the cover was, and still is, excellent. It sold me on the game.
Black Market's cover is a low point. I haven't bought the book, likely part because of the cover art.
Wormwood's cover is epic. However, I prefer the interior art from Northern Gun. Even if it is just a catalogue for cool robots.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1025707Which is everyone's favorite RIFTS book for art? Mine is probably RIFTS Atlantis. Spectacular.
Atlantis and Rifts Mercenaries
RIFTs Mercenaries and the Naruni book, whose name I've forgotten.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1025707Which is everyone's favorite RIFTS book for art? Mine is probably RIFTS Atlantis. Spectacular.
Warlords of Russia.
I really like Perez's art, and WoR is full of his cyborg stuff.
Can we talk about Old Ones having the most Metal art in fantasy gaming?
Yeah, RIFTS Mercenaries was another great one. Fantastic cover.