Traveller Art
- Thread starter LeperColony
- Start date
Art has several roles...
CT LBB's - both editions, are almost entirely information or tools.
D&D art in the LBB/LWBs was largely inspirational, with some for information, and some to fill space. There are more pieces of art in V1 than in Traveller LBBs 1-3 combined. (And oh, how low the quality. Arneson's sticks out as decent.)
CT expands immensely in TTB, where a lot of inspirational art is added, and a lot of small informational art is added (ships, weapons). D&D was more art.
Traveller was written like a textbook. D&D was written like a fanzine.
D&D needed the art heavy design - it was dealing with stuff people didn't often have strong cohesive shared visuals for.
Traveller was blessed by having several very popular shared visualizations to draw from - Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG.... The core had no non-humans, so no informational art needed for them. Most of the weapons were easily looked up straight away. Leaving the ships out of the LBB core appears to have been a space saver... but also, I'm not sure that concrete ideas for their look existed when CT-77 was released...
Later editions fell into a trap - art for the sake of art, because everyone else has lots of art. But everyone else NEEDED art, for their worlds were not readily visualized.
Now, the current Star Wars - the art sets off chapters (big, 1-2 page spreads), illustrates nearby text, and inspires by visualizing the setting material. Almost all of it has functional roles. TTB, some of it is just there to be "pretty". (EG: "In case of fire, break glass" - TTB 51 - seems to be just humorous padding...)
- To Inspire
- To Inform on the content - examples, maps, and flowcharts
- To mark units of the book (Both graphics layout and chapter header and chapter art)
- To fill space
- To provide tools - counters, templates, forms
CT LBB's - both editions, are almost entirely information or tools.
D&D art in the LBB/LWBs was largely inspirational, with some for information, and some to fill space. There are more pieces of art in V1 than in Traveller LBBs 1-3 combined. (And oh, how low the quality. Arneson's sticks out as decent.)
CT expands immensely in TTB, where a lot of inspirational art is added, and a lot of small informational art is added (ships, weapons). D&D was more art.
Traveller was written like a textbook. D&D was written like a fanzine.
D&D needed the art heavy design - it was dealing with stuff people didn't often have strong cohesive shared visuals for.
Traveller was blessed by having several very popular shared visualizations to draw from - Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG.... The core had no non-humans, so no informational art needed for them. Most of the weapons were easily looked up straight away. Leaving the ships out of the LBB core appears to have been a space saver... but also, I'm not sure that concrete ideas for their look existed when CT-77 was released...
Later editions fell into a trap - art for the sake of art, because everyone else has lots of art. But everyone else NEEDED art, for their worlds were not readily visualized.
Now, the current Star Wars - the art sets off chapters (big, 1-2 page spreads), illustrates nearby text, and inspires by visualizing the setting material. Almost all of it has functional roles. TTB, some of it is just there to be "pretty". (EG: "In case of fire, break glass" - TTB 51 - seems to be just humorous padding...)
I think this is why D&D felt more accessible to me as an 11-year-old (even though I believe Traveller would have suited me just fine).
I hear that the situation is reversed now. Peter Jackson, perhaps, or perhaps just the long dominance of D&D.
I bet you're right.
It looks breathtaking. I was actually tempted to buy one of those ex$pen$ive hardback books just because of the art. But I didn't. I just gazed at it, sighed, and put it back on the shelf.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
ADD tended to have little cartoon jokes in the page corners; it never took itself nor it's readership too seriously.
You have that to a certain extent with Forty Kay.
You have that to a certain extent with Forty Kay.
It actually plays pretty well, too... if one can get past the custom dice. And the mapless combat.
Note also, if everyone shares, 2 sets of dice are plenty; if not, 2 per person.
And I'm told the shades work well for the colorblind, too; better than WFRP 3's did. 3 colors of d12's (Red, yellow, white), 2 of d8's (Green and Purple), 2 of d6's (Black and sky-blue).
FFG's game have given me GDW-level fun for the money.... Even tho' I still use the same players * hours = dollars worth of time.
Aramis (or anybody); but why did Bill Keith "borrow" so much other known sci-fi art? Dietrick and the other guy didn't. What was his thinking?
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Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
The cartoons in AD&D were Gary's idea, I suspect. He did not want people taking the game too seriously, as a lot did, and also did not want people to take it as a fixed set of rules.
Liz did very good work in The Traveller Adventure, but then she also did a lot of work for Iron Crown with the MERP game series. I loved her displays of art at GenCon when it was in Milwaukee. I would say that her approach for characters would be my choice.
Probably the artwork that I think could use the most work is some of the vehicles. I look at them and instantly asked, where is room for the power plant, especially for the grav vehicles.
Ask him. I've only talked with him via the TML... and Dietrick did, just not for Traveller. Some of his Battletech art is inspired by other media.
I enjoyed Deitrick and Vilardi especially. Though I found them through Star Wars d6 initially.
I'd have enjoyed Gibson's work than I did had he not used the same face for all his women. That and his RPG play style from the old PBPs on this board showed a different play style than mine.
I'd have enjoyed Gibson's work than I did had he not used the same face for all his women. That and his RPG play style from the old PBPs on this board showed a different play style than mine.
I didn't notice any homages by Dietrick. Keith has taken down his email address from his website. I haven't spoken with him in over ten years ... probably longer. What is TML?
