Here ya go, take a gander at this just-released cover image for Shadowrun Fifth Edition.

Is that a roach spirit?
does that mean we can expect more bug plots? pretty please, yes?
From an art aspect... Not quite as awesome as the cover for 3ed M&M, but beats the hell out of 4e BBB covers.

The icon in the lower right looks like the hacker is busting into an Ares facility, so a bug spirit is in line with some of their research.

Runners trying to get pass a door with an Ares logo, and corporate security summoning an insect spirit to stop them kinda fit. But the ork also destroy a samurai-style drone you would rather expect on a Japanese corporation site.

Looks great!

Clearly it's a joint task-force. Runners escaping from a Renraku facility trying to flee pursuit by crossing extra-territorial lines are met by security forces from both companies...they even have an inter-corporate liaison in a suit guiding things.

Pros:
- Action!
- Very good artwork from a great artist.
- I like the color palette
- Bug spirit? Hell yeah!
- A well drawn ork!
- A well drawn troll!

Cons:
- Lighting is too harsh, let's some of the characters look like modeled in Poser and too '3D'
- Too bright. Not enough Shadow in that Run ^^
- Too many corp logos on one site and they look ... glued on.
- Too busy, too much is happening, no clear focus
- Cyberarm of the mage, while cool, is too subtle. I would have liked to see obvious 'ware, smack in the middle.



Favorite: The Amerind mage. She rocks!


Edit: To reiterate the bullet point from my criticism and elaborate somewhat further:
I consider the picture too busy. Too much is happening all at once and I find that I don't have a clear focus for my eye. It is fun to find more details when looking at a picture for longer than a minute or so, but when the eye just glides away and doesn't find the center, there is a 'problem'.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying "ZOMG, too busy, picture sucks!". It's just that I don't enjoy the (maybe even only perceived by me) lack of focus.

I am not clear if the magic duel is the focus, because the Amerind mage is half hidden behind the orc, and the other mage is outshone by the bug spirit / illusion. Is it the orc with his glowy sword, killing that samurai drone? I am not sure about this either, thus, my eye starts slipping and trying to find focus. But so much is happening that I am unable to.
Then the clutter of megacorp logos. It seems like this is megacorp central station, where every corp has holdings 100m from the next. It makes me unsure as to where this is supposed to happen and it feels crammed in, in order to maximize the amount of shadowrunny memes on a minimum of space.
In my opinion, less would have been more, in this case.

None of that criticism means that I don't like the picture, though. You can criticize stuff and like it at the same time.
In fact, I think that it's great artwork and a great cover, and that these are minor points in a bigger picture.

Guys... that bug is manifest...

True-form merge?

Oh jeez I hope so!!


Awesome.

I think this is definitely a worthy image to serve as the cover of an SR core book. Nothings perfect, but this does a fair job of trying to get there, IMO.

I posted on facebook where I saw it first.

It's very iconic. I looked at it a few minutes and picked out the Iconic things in there. The Orc Street Sam. Dwarf Rigger, Elf Indian Mage, the Decker, the corp forces with the big burly troll. The Drones, both the team's Rigger's drones and the Samuri Defensive drone that's been smashed. The bug spirit, the Wadge Mage on the other side. The Corps looming over it all, including the pyramid, Very iconic image. Great visual splash there.

Thing is, like I said on Facebook, I got all that Iconic imagry by just looking at it. Reading the article where it said, basically "Lets go for THIS", made me kinda laugh. Because they hit it right on the head.


Some one above had mentioned that the corps logos seemed a bit tacked on. I wouldn't worry too much about it. That's clearly where the big ol "SHADOWRUN 5TH EDITION" is going to go.

I really like it and can't wait for the promised wallpaper. I grabbed the image and enlarged it for my screen but a high rez version made from the base art would be greatly appreciated.

Great cover art. That's going to draw the eyes.

Aye, as it should be.

The important thing for the cover is that it should clearly state "THIS is Shadowrun". Which I think this coverart executed VERY well on depicting all of the classical elements of Shadowrun.

Anyways, guess what fine bit of art is going as my desktop background!

(only minor nitpick I would say is that the choices of megacorp logos would have been different. I personally would have gone for Saeder-Krupp, NeoNET, and MCT. still, nitpick at best for a cool bit of art)

I might have missed it, but did anyone else notice the hacker is physically wired to the door?

Overall, immensely evocative cover.

..good looking cover, no doubt.. but i think orc is Adept, not street samurai, thinking of his sword as Weapon Focus. (slightlly glowing)

Eehhh he's got two cyber arms and "Street Samuri" is very Iconic to Shadowrun.

"Adept" While not new isn't really "Jump off the page Iconic" type image.

A StreetSam is also Iconic with a gun and a sword, which the orc in the pic has.

If there was another Street Sam sort, it could be argued that it was an adept with some sort of cyber gauntlets on, but as there's not, I'm betting that's supposed to be.

*Shrugs* Just how I read it. They don't have nametags.

Either way it's a wicked image.

..hand holding a sword have a Forearm Guard, hand holding pistol have a some sort of gauntlet/Commlink (?)..cyber-arms??

Where is Mungo?

Is it my imagination, or does the mage have cyberarms?

nope, just looking it, nano-tattoo starting visible from shoulder,feathers hanging from wrist-guard..

Hm.

The Good:
An Amerindian! Shadowrun wouldn't be Shadowrun without them featuring at leasts emi-prominently. Also, the action is sufficient, it features all major archetypes (fighter, mage, hacker, rigger), all major races (including a very well executed ork and troll), a magical threat, a corpsec mage, corpsec, and sneaking through a back door, which is pretty much the setting's default way of getting stuff done. The Background looks CGm, but that's actually okay, even if a bit more Noir rain to soften the edges would have been fine. The Corp logos' execution is goood in case of Shiawase, which now looks like an actual logo and not something thrown togeter with painter 10 years ago. The others are okay, though the fitting into the high-rises facade seems a bit tacked on. The Ork's and Elf's Cyberarms look interesting, going with the setting's trend away from klunky WH40K implants with lots of unnecessary wires poking out of the character at random, which is nice. The bug itself looks menacing, powerful and scary, and the characters are well balanced, their posing seems natural and their gear believable. The color palette is good too, so long as the book's interior proceeds to go with a blue-tinged layout.

The Bad:
It's just too excited. Lots of stuff going on but no clear story is told. Do the runners try to break into Ares' back door, and Ms. Corp Mage and her goons and troll dude just happen by and then summon a bug spirit? Did Ms Cop Mage follow the bug, and the bug just run into some runners? Are Bug and Ms Corp Mage on the same side, fighting off the runners? Trajectories of fire are unclear save for Ms Amerind Elf. Is leftmost corpsec goon's hitting the drone friendly fire or does he try to prevent the drones from randomly attacking the floor and the dystopian Brazil memorial pipe? Also, what's up with the Ork's sword, and why are the weapons unrecognisable, when the drones are apparently based on a 3E design of the Rotodrone? I'm confused. Also, where's the rain? Cyberpunk is a setting derived fom Noir, and as such, demands perpetual rain.

The Ugly:
The artist went overboard with contrast here. Nothing against a high-contrast image, but this would profit from having saturation reduced a bit. As mentioned, this creates an uncanny valley effect on the characters' skin that takes from the otherwise extremely well done characters.

This definitly is one of the better covers of the setting, closer to the original Sally, Dodger, Ghost one than the previous two (The characters looked weird in 4E's, and let's just not alk about 3E's). I like it, but maybe contact the artist about the high contrasts. With luck, they still have the work version with lots of layers and that can be reasonably easily fixed. As is, it looks a bit like 3D images done by people who have yet to lear how to use ambient lighting. All in all a good cover with relatively minor flaws.

"I'z inn da Ices Creamy Trukk onn da streetz fer da Gettawayz!"

"Watchin da Bubba porn..."

Now that is a nice ork! But I have to agree with the others on the shading/lighting...the problem with going for a photo-realistic look is that it usually looks great in 99% of the image, but since everybody knows how the real world looks like the remaining 1% stand out.

..hmmm...mission idea brewing...getting stolen private "recordings " of Bubba and Naughty Night Elf Nurses, your ms. Johnson just happens to have
identical look of one of nurses,being with a child and rising politician..

Nice pic. Not what I'd like to see in a cover. The 4a mural speaks more to the nature of SR for me, thematically, at least.

Don't get me wrong, I love bug spirits, and magic in general... But the invasion of bug spirits doesn't feel like the core plot and theme of SR, and hasn't ever for me. It makes me think that the guys from RIFTS finally got some real artists for their books.

I like it. I'd like to see it as a color panel in the book somewhere. As the "This is what Shadowrun is ALL about, buy our book!" cover... it doesn't do it for me. (I'll still buy the book, of course.)

Hello nurse!

On topic: Damn, the cover is starting to grow on me...

I like it. Lots going on, as noted, very much Iconic. Seems to be indicating a return to the 'punk' of Cyberpunk (I can only hope!).

Favorite parts: BUG SPIRIT

Also, no mirror shades or trenchcoats anywhere. Not enough Pink Mohawks, but I like the style.

Hm, needs more Rocker.

Or mage with centering wailing away on his synth-guitar.

The '80s are over, Rock and Roll failed to save the world.

Yes, yes I did.

Best cover since Elmore.

But I agree that it could be raining slightly and have less contrast.

Apart from the cover art being a little too bright (you could probably see this fight a mile away) I'm really diggin' this

See it a mile away?

Probably not .... not with all the neon lights, AROs, and so forth in between the viewer and this one fight.

I had reasons to study the bejeebus outta this cover in recent weeks. I still dig it, after turning it into "work" instead of "play." I think the thing's gonna be gorgeous on a book, and I, for one, am hoping they come out with prints/posters at some point.

I'll repost what I said on Tumblr:

So let me be straight and honest here - I’m not in love with this cover. And not just for the reasons that Jackal posted. Hell, I didn’t notice them until she pointed them out.

This cover is too busy. It has too much stuff going on it, in the name of trying to get as much SHADOWRUN involved in there. I think that what we’re presented with here just goes against the grain of what Shadowrun is - these guys should be getting the fudge outta there, not standing around, looking to go toe to toe with these people. And where’s their cover?

But look what we have: corporate hit squad, Roach spirit, drones, magic, and two obvious mega-corporations in the background. It’s just too much ACTION for me.

(Also I’m a little disappointed that the troll gets stuck in the back, like always, to let the pretty folk be front and center. Where’s the fun in that?).

For my money, the Anniversary cover is my favorite illustration to give you The Sixth World. It gives you a relevant montage of Shadowrun action, without it looking busy like this.

The cover surely has a lot of elements, but why not? This is a book cover, not an encyclopedia illustration or a technical drawing, which should show the essential details without bells and whistles.

As far as favorite covers go, I admit I still like the original 4th Ed one. High-rises with bright advertisement screens and flying cars between them, but below them a filthy back alley full of graffiti, rats, toxic waste dumpsters, and shadowrunners in this their natural habitat. Yeah, the dwarf looks like a caricature of down syndrome, the elf has an oxygen mask connected to his armband, and the human in his hammerpants and metal things on his legs and weird posture looks completely out of place. But the background still captures all that is cyberpunk -- and the troll's proportions match the fluff descriptions, which sadly cannot be taken for granted.

Beg your pardon? O.o

What? The character who gets most spotlight is an orc. Hardly 'pretty folk'.

A troll in the ork's place would block the elf, human, and parts of the dwarf from view. I cannot see where this would have been a better choice, though the Troll could well have been with the team, firing on the bug with a BFG, someplace to the left of the elf, for instance).

Or the troll could have been the Mage.

I'm not sure about the alleged "four-fingered hands". I believe that they all have five fingers, just that not all fingers are visible in that perspective.

Although I also find the cover a bit busy.

And how big is that bug spirit supposed to be? That was a serious WTF to me. And I agree with DNDer about the bugs. I like them as a background element, but not as a front-and-center plot. That's already been done.


Well, compared to some other ork pictures in SR he is "pretty folk". That's okay with me, since I prefer illustrations that show SR orks as metahumans, not Warhammer rejects or warty mutants.

I don't love it, but it will do.

I agree that it's overly busy, but my biggest problem with it is that it doesn't feel like a real place. You can just so happen to see four megacorp logos from this vantage. Nor do I get any sense of why this fight broke out. No sense of story, just action. Lots of action. Personally, I'm burned out on action covers these days.

But, as I said, it'll do.

My favorite covers from Shadowrun tend to be more focused on setting. Seattle 2072, Sprawl Sites, and Corporate Guide, etc. Oh, and I do still love the original 1st Edition cover.

People keep talking about it being busy. Every time I read it I kinda tilt my head and go "Did they want a group of fat orcs and trolls and some bloated elf sitting on a couch watching a trid eating cheetos while a dragon flew by the window?? A Dwarf Delivery guy, and an Indian trying to steal cable from next door?"

Yes, because the opposite of busy is any of those things?

Yeah, the opposite of busy is Lazy. Like sitting on the couch, watching TV and ordering pizza.

Wrong kind of busy. Perhaps English is not your first language?

"Busy" can also mean just that there's too many things happening at once. e.g., "a busy street".

Now I have an idea for a group contact. The Cheetos Guys Apartment.

It's an apartment of roommates who have no special qualifications whatsoever, they just happen to be keyed-in to whatever big is happening in Seattle, because their apartments keep getting fried and they keep moving and consequently the big thing keeps happening outside their windows. Meanwhile, they shrug, blog about it, then go back to watching the Trid.


That said, they really better not be killing the wireless matrix. I will fucking vomit the opposite of friendship and magic if that happens.

It's my first language. My first post was some what sardonic. The second one a little joking when someone got snippy. lol.

There is a bit if seriousness there though. The opposite of a "Busy street" would be a dead or quiet street with nothing happening.

If the cover is too busy, the converse would be nothing happening and it'd be boring. I suspect that those saying it's too busy want a bit less happening. That route rapidly leads to stagnation and boring. They have to walk that tightrope.

For myself I'd rather have a busy cover over a boring one. I'm sure the company would too. When you're going for iconic visual impact. That image that says "PICK ME UP! I'm COOL!! I'M ---SHADOWRUN---" Sedate or boring is exactly the opposite of what you want. You want something eye catching and energetic. Something yes... with a bit of color to catch the eye. With kickass art that's appealing visually, and in this case something that -screams- Shadowrun. Not says it sedately to those listening closely.

This is the Core book. It needs to stand up and shout in no uncertain terms "THIS-IS-SHADOWRUN!" Like king Leonidas kickin' that dude into the well. Something that will hopefully draw in new people. Or draw back players that may have left the game. You don't get that with calm, sedate, muted covers. You want something with some flash, something that is iconic to the game.

In those aspects this cover succeeds. It's not boring or sedate. It's energetic and Iconic. Is it a touch flashy or 'busy'? Yeah, but on purpose. Because that's what you're going for. Not bland beige colors with guys sitting on the couch, munching snacks and smearing their dorito fingers on their stained white tank tops. People urge us "Don't judge a book by the cover" but the truth is many many many many times they are. And if a book has absolutely ugly covers, they often don't get picked up at all. Boring cover on a Shadowrun book would do it no favors. You want something entergetic and fun. Some action to 'sell' the game at a glance. Orcs with swords, elves flinging lightning bolts, dwarf riggers, corpsec guards, giant bug spirits. That's action and eye catching. Which is what sells.

You will note people said the problem was it is "too busy" not that it was "busy".

Same difference. It's a complaint, a negative quality attributed to the cover. "Too busy" "Busy" which ever, said in a negative way means the same thing. A quality, in this case the level of 'busyness' that is qualified as a negative quality. If it was a positive one or a neutral one it wouldn't have been used in that fashion.

If you go. "I don't like the weather today, it's hot" it's the same thing as saying "I don't like the weather today, it's too hot" Both are describing something (The weather) in a negative way. You don't go "I don't like the weather today it's hot.... but I like it hot" because you'd contradict yourself. If you go "I don't like the cover it's overly busy" or "I don't like the cover it's -too busy" or "I don't like the cover it's -busy-" your saying the same thing.

It's not that big a deal. I -get- what they're saying as to why they don't like it. My post about it was meant partially in jest. Partially serious as noted above. You don't want to err on the side of stagnant and boring. It's easy to do too little or not enough. Going the other side "Too busy" is a possibility, but one preferable to the alternative. In a perfect world you'd hit the sweet spot. But not everyone agrees where that spot is. For example, I think they hit it 100%. Some here think they went a bit too far. (( Or maybe even alot too far)). So the aim is for the majority of the people to like it. Which this thread and facebook and all seem to indicate. Most people seem to think it's a great cover. There will always be people that disagree.