 Art in european Shadowrun line, Actually better than its american counterpart? |
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 May 31 2009, 06:19 PM
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#1
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Moving Target  Group: Members Posts: 289 Joined: 15-March 09 Member No.: 16,968  |
Met recently the european editions of these games and... wow.. the art, at least the cover's , are really cool, definitely more cool than the original amercian counterpart. And I think they (europeans) got a more serious tone in their art, that I like. While original americans got a more catoony tone, thats present most of the time, even if only in spirit. See for yourself... Shadowrun: http://www.pegasus.de/1467.html#c1434 By the way, the Unknown Armies line is the same case: http://www.7emecercle.com/7cv2fr/jdr/ua/ua.html What you guys think? |
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May 31 2009, 07:07 PM
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#2
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,263 Joined: 4-March 08 From: Blighty Member No.: 15,736 |
Actually, I prefer the US covers. Mostly.
Augmentation? I hate vats with a passion. They're dumb and inefficient in almost every case where a human is involved. The artist could at least have stolen the rigs that get used in Ghost in the Shell SAC instead. Vats, especially the kind in this cover, are everything that is wrong with SciFi. Unwired? Okay, so this might be an exception. I mean, I don't know why the Hacker's got his shirt off, or why he's got that kind of physique when his job is essentially sedantary, but the art is good and the high contrast environment is nice. The AR is as cool as the stuff on the cover of the US version, but it's far enough away that you don't get any wallbanger effect off the UI. So, yeah. Good going. One of four. Arsenal? OH GOD WHO THE HELL DREW THAT TRAVESTY ON THE COVER OF THE GERMAN EDITION? Seriously, is this what German people imagine when they try to describe a Street Sam? So we've got an 80's military guy with his hair spiked up in a static pose (with his guns pointing at the ceiling!) standing in front of two bits of geometric art, or something. Those things aren't Drones. Shut up. The man is massively overloaded, too. Imagine how much weight that all is. Street Magic? The new German cover makes the mage look mildly constipated and retarded. It looks like an amateur 3D render and doesn't show us what the guy is looking at (and he doesn't look scared, so there's really no need to not show it). Expressing head syndrome I can actually deal with (I watch anime, after all), but this just looks bad. If the cover tries to present itself as an in-universe scene then I prefer it depict events that might actually occur in game (ie people look to be in motion, and aren't posing in an apparent combat situation). SotA '63 has a great cover. Shockwaves (the English PDF I've got) has a cover that just makes me look at it over and over. All of the Shadows of line are good. Survival of the Fittest and Threats 1 are good. Threats 2 manages to put together a multiple scenes all of which have sufficient action that it all works. Many people these days have watched the higher budget anime series or read well-drawn comics and know what good, fluid drawn action scenes look like. Poseritis is not enough any more. |
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May 31 2009, 07:21 PM
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#3
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 619 Joined: 24-July 08 From: Resonance Realms, behind the 2nd Star Member No.: 16,162 |
QUOTE (Heath Robinson @ May 31 2009, 09:07 PM)  Actually, I prefer the US covers. Mostly. Seconded. But i actually do like the Street Magic Cover and hate the US Arsenal, but the german one just... while i could imagine the US Cover happen in Shadowrun (maybe a top level fixer showing her goods) the whole vat stuff is just Boobie-Bonus |
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May 31 2009, 07:33 PM
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#4
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 165 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,002 |
Links? I am lazy.
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May 31 2009, 07:42 PM
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#5
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Prime Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,803 Joined: 3-February 08 From: Finland Member No.: 15,628 |
QUOTE (Casper @ May 31 2009, 10:33 PM) Links? I am lazy. Can be found in the OP. |
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May 31 2009, 11:36 PM
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#6
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,009 Joined: 25-September 06 From: Paris, France Member No.: 9,466 |
The French line has the exact same art as the English one.
When the French BBB came out, they just weren't allowed to change it (they wanted to change the cover art). |
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Jun 1 2009, 12:53 AM
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#7
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 422 Joined: 14-August 08 Member No.: 16,237 |
i actually prefer the european covers myself.
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Jun 1 2009, 01:02 AM
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#8
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,458 Joined: 22-March 03 From: I am a figment of my own imagination. Member No.: 4,302 |
Honestly, none of the covers in either line seem especially inspiring of late. The European covers seem flat, while the North American ones are often cluttered. I haven't had a cover really grab me since Shadows of Europe.
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Jun 1 2009, 02:30 AM
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#9
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 640 Joined: 8-October 07 Member No.: 13,611 |
Their Emergence cover is much better than ours.
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Jun 1 2009, 05:32 AM
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#10
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Target Group: Members Posts: 50 Joined: 30-November 08 Member No.: 16,642 |
the euro art is much better IMO. i'm not a fan of the cartoony look in my rpgs.
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Jun 1 2009, 05:52 AM
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#11
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
Yup. I've seen oodles of worse 3d artwork than the augmentation cover back when I helped run a poser forum. But not by people who got paid for it.
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Jun 1 2009, 11:14 AM
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#12
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 292 Joined: 20-April 09 From: Sydney 'plex Member No.: 17,094 |
I agree with DH that none of the art covers have been fantastic in recent years. I prefer to SR2 and SR3 artwork from the old days, especially the Bergting stuff. That guy rocks (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)
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Jun 1 2009, 11:39 AM
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#13
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 992 Joined: 2-August 06 Member No.: 9,006 |
Why do the European books have different cover art, anyway?
I do admit, the link for the the Emergence cover..I wish that was the cover we got. But, seriously, why the difference in the looks? Or, put another way: is it that Europeans can't take teh American art...or is is that they think that Americans could not handle the European art? Why not use the best of both in future reprints of the american?(Yes, I like the Arsenal cover, but I do not like the U.S. Augmentation cover, because I look at it and find myself inventorying what models, textures, and such I have from that..I mean..they even used the base colours for her "suit"...) |
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Jun 1 2009, 12:35 PM
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#14
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 858 Joined: 25-August 03 From: Braunschweig, North German League, Allied German States Member No.: 5,537 |
QUOTE (Cardul @ Jun 1 2009, 01:39 PM) Why do the European books have different cover art, anyway? [...] But, seriously, why the difference in the looks? Or, put another way: is it that Europeans can't take teh American art...or is is that they think that Americans could not handle the European art?
* Pegasus' layout has a border running around the cover with a big SR logo on top. This, combined with our different paper size, means a picture designed to cover a full cover with different measurements might not fit. |
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 Jun 2 2009, 01:41 AM
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#15
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,173 Joined: 27-July 05 From: some backwater node Member No.: 7,520 |
QUOTE (martindv @ Jun 1 2009, 04:30 AM) Their Emergence cover is much better than ours. Bleh, I prefer my Shadowrun free from Goth-crap. It's quite a popular fad over here, though.The guy on Street Magic looks plain retarded. Somehow all of his angles are off, amateur level art. I would have liked the Arsenal cover back when I was 14. Now... I think I'm getting too old to see that as anything than stupid posing. But.. what do I care. I avoid translated versions of nearly everything like the plague. |
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Jun 2 2009, 10:01 AM
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#16
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,748 Joined: 25-January 05 From: Good ol' Germany Member No.: 7,015 |
I Think The Guys from Pegasus tried a streamlined Cover Art so it can be easily distuinguished
Arsenal : Ork with Blue Background Unwired : Troll with Green Background Augmentation: Elfin with Greyish Background Streetmagic :Dwarf (Jupp, the Mage is supposed to be a Dwarf) with a Red Background with a streamlined Background Dance Medicineman |
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Sep 21 2010, 09:50 AM
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#17
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 151 Joined: 28-August 08 From: Berlin, Germany Member No.: 16,285 |
Yep, that is how I read and understand it, too: the German covers are designed along a certain line, with one central figure (often in the middle of the pic and standing/posing rather nonchalantly) being the core of the art. The German Almanac cover follows the same line.
As for my personal taste: sometimes I like the US versions better, sometimes I prefer the German/European versions. *shrug*: Arsenal: German (but I would vote for this cover for Arsenal anytime!) Augmentation: US ("like" may be a strong word here) Emergence: German! Street Magic: US!!!!!!!!! Unwired: US (I like AR! I just lack the soft to do it any better) Feral Cities: German! (I like the US coversketch, but I absolutely hate the color) Almanac: German (duh) If I could make a wish on who should do ALL covers of SR, it would be this guy: The perfect cover tells a whole story Presenting: Seattle Sourcebook Presenting: Runner's Companion Presenting: Arsenal Presenting: Attitude Presenting: Feral Cities Presenting: Re-Wired (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Presenting: War! And for all those who are totally destroyed by the quality of that art and who think that they can never ever get that good, here's the first pic that same artist put on Deviantart Whenever I am ashamed by my poor skills, I look at that pic and say: If he could move from this to this in 6 years, then so can I (I hope). |
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Sep 21 2010, 10:36 AM
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#18
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jacked in Group: Admin Posts: 9,047 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 463 |
That guy is really good, indeed. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
I have seen that "re-wired" pic somewhere else already... just cannot remember where. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) The pictures you posted on there are very nice, too. The Traveller cover looks awesome! We'll see what you can do in six years! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Bye Thanee |
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Sep 21 2010, 10:47 AM
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#19
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The ShadowComedian Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 14,538 Joined: 3-October 07 From: Hamburg, AGS Member No.: 13,525 |
re-wired looks very much like one of the covers of the original GITS Manga.
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Sep 21 2010, 11:00 AM
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#20
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 151 Joined: 28-August 08 From: Berlin, Germany Member No.: 16,285 |
It possibly is.
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Sep 21 2010, 11:21 AM
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#21
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 956 Joined: 16-June 07 From: Like a coyote, always on the move Member No.: 11,931 |
QUOTE (Heath Robinson @ May 31 2009, 02:07 PM) I mean, I don't know why the Hacker's got his shirt off, or why he's got that kind of physique when his job is essentially sedantary... He's a troll, that's fat and lazy for trolls (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) |
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Sep 21 2010, 11:25 AM
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#22
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Target Group: Members Posts: 44 Joined: 13-August 10 From: England. Member No.: 18,928 |
QUOTE (Cardul @ Jun 1 2009, 12:39 PM) But, seriously, why the difference in the looks? Different box/cover art for different marketing regions (US/EU/JP) is a totally normal practice in publishing. |
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Sep 21 2010, 12:32 PM
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#23
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,272 Joined: 22-June 10 From: Omaha. NE Member No.: 18,746 |
QUOTE (Heath Robinson @ May 31 2009, 01:07 PM) Arsenal? OH GOD WHO THE HELL DREW THAT TRAVESTY ON THE COVER OF THE GERMAN EDITION? While I agree with you, I still prefer it over the gecko car and walls of U.S. Arsenal. I keep thinking the driver is going to say "Help, I'm stuck to this stupid car!". |
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Sep 21 2010, 12:38 PM
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#24
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jacked in Group: Admin Posts: 9,047 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 463 |
QUOTE (Stahlseele @ Sep 21 2010, 12:47 PM) re-wired looks very much like one of the covers of the original GITS Manga. Well, that can't be it... I do not read Manga/watch Anime. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Most likely someone linked to it in a different topic here or somewhere else. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Bye Thanee |
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Sep 21 2010, 12:43 PM
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#25
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 881 Joined: 31-July 06 From: Denmark Member No.: 8,995 |
QUOTE (Heath Robinson @ May 31 2009, 09:07 PM) Unwired? Okay, so this might be an exception. I mean, I don't know why the Hacker's got his shirt off, or why he's got that kind of physique when his job is essentially sedantary I have a sedentary job, and I lift weights, and I could be shirtless if it was hot. Not all buff guys are combat monsters or lumberjacks. |
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