If you’re looking to get into self-publishing RPG material in 2019, here’s my advice – your art is the most important part of your product. A lot of designers have a writer’s skill set, and see art as the last thing they consider. Don’t fall into that trap.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
Art is the entry point into your work. In the best case, work with an artist as co-creator. Talk about the emotion, impact, and resonance you’re aiming for. Work as equals. Draft off of each other’s strengths and ideas.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
If you can’t co-create, then keep track of that emotional level and hold on to it when comissioning art. Let the artist paint the picture, rather than dictate it to them. Find artists with new takes on things. Find someone with a distinct style that complements your own.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
If you don’t have a vision for the look of your work, you don’t have a vision for it period. Even a short adventure needs tone and atmosphere.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
FINALLY! My biggest pet peeve in game art is bad interaction. If a piece has two things that should interact, make sure the action is framed correctly and the relationship actually functional. Easy test. Let’s say you have a warrior jumping off a cliff to plunge down on a dragon.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
Cover up the dragon. Looking only at the warrior, where does it look like they’ll land? What’s their state of mind? Where is the target of their attack? Picture that and then uncover the dragon. Do they match? Now do the reverse.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
You’ll be surprised at how many very expensive cover art pieces fail this basic test. You’ll find warriors belly-flopping 2 meters in front of their foe. Two enemies locked in mortal combat… with opponents seemingly out of the image’s frame.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
My favorite is the arrow/bolt of arcane energy/random projectile that is firing from our hero at a 45 degree angle to barrel its way from the foreground, where our hero shown in profile, to the background that is literally behind them.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
Seriously, this drives me nuts. Please stop doing it. Use my test or invent a better one. Once I noticed this issue, it’s now a reflex and a lot of cover art just drives me batty.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
It typically comes up because you want to show a character’s face, but also want a scene where logic and physics dictate you should show our hero’s back. IME it’s a good sign that a writer isn’t giving the artist enough creative space to make the image work.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
As an aspiring but hesitant artist/writer, does this pass the test? pic.twitter.com/qcDROEduAq
— Charlie Rat Bastard (@CharlieFergaves) December 27, 2018
Nice work 🙂
— Richard Whitters (@WhittersRichard) December 28, 2018
Another piece of art advice because for whatever reason it’s on my mind – the purpose of game art is to communicate a game’s emotion and tone, rather than factual presentations of the game’s world. That’s what words are for.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
And since RPGs are a spoken medium, if you can’t easily describe something in words neither can the DM. Don’t do that to them.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
This is gold. I can’t believe you’re giving this away for free! I want better games! Not that there’s not a lot of good stuff out there, I just want to see the art keep moving forward.
Pun intended. I stand by my puns.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
I believe this, truly, but it is also an expensive part. I can write it myself, but I am not a great artist so I can’t do the art on my own. Paying an artist what they are worth (which people should) means a lot of art is out of reach for a self-publisher on a budget. Definitely a trick I am still trying to figure out.
— Jeremiah McCoy is probably not Ben Franklin (@Technoir) December 27, 2018
This is a little disheartening as someone with the writer’s skill set but very few resources to tap into for art. Oh well.. The upside – if you know what you want, you’ll have a much easier time finding it. It’s not easy, I’ll admit!
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 27, 2018
And how do you measure recouping costs? How d you know how much to spend? I wrestle with this constantly. From my POV, if your budget is tight better to go with fewer pieces that have a better chance of setting the tone you want. For DMs Guild, though, I wouldn’t make art a priority since you’re using D&D. My advice is aimed at working on IP/games you own.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) December 28, 2018
