Elements of a Great Cover

[rafael]

I'm new to this forum, so please bear with me.

What about medium?  Many of the artists that I am working with are interested in photography, and my cover artist is going over various ideas.  But would an RPG manual with a photographic cover really sell?  I can't think of one, actually, that I've ever seen.  Most are painted, aren't they?

What do you think, is it a viable idea, or would it turn you guys off?  What would your initial reactions be?

Thanks --

Deadguy

[Clinton R. Nixon]

Personally, I'd jump on this idea.

I spent last weekend hanging out with a bunch of hippie artists, so I may not have been thinking clearly, but I wondered: why do RPGs limit themselves to one type of art? All RPG art I see is rather realistic (in terms of highly defined shapes), painted or line drawings, and visceral.

Why isn't more RPG artwork photographs, or abstract pieces, or impressionistic? If you can find it, get a copy of Forgotten Futures - it's my favorite RPG cover ever. It's a highly abstract painting of a Martian war-machine.

[rafael]

It's ironic that you phrase it that way -- I've been photoshopping old images (friends and family) into incoherent phantasmagoria, and while it's fun, I really wasn't sure if it was suitable art, even for a horror RPG.  Perhaps I was too hasty -- I need to reconsider, maybe.  But thanks for the food for thought.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there, and welcome to the Forge.

A number of RPGs have used photographic art for their covers. Zero, Immortal, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, and Asylum all come to mind. One of these was very well received, and the others had certain other problems that contributed to their lack of success, so I wouldn't say the covers detracted in any way. There are probably more examples that I'm just not flashing on right away.

I suggest that attractive, effective design/art for a cover is the priority, and that a wide variety of media would suit the purpose, including photographic techniques. A lot of artists use combined photos and paintwork, notably Christopher Shy; his best RPG cover, in my opinion, was done for the game Obsidian.

The real problem with photographic art is that it's not easy - or rather, it's not easy to be good at it, and a lot of people turn out schlocky/blurry stuff that's supposed to be "art." My favorite artist in this medium is Raven, who uses the name "greyorm" here at the Forge; his stuff is really well-designed first and foremost, and the computer/photo effects have a lot of punch due to that. Gary Simpson (hive) is also really good.

This next paragraph is strictly a matter of personal taste and I don't want to give the impression that I'm a worthy critic. I visited your website and at least a couple of the images there would make great RPG cover art, in my opinion.  

Best,
Ron

[James V. West]

hey

Didn't the game Legacy have a lot of photographs in it? I never saw the book, but the ads usually featured b&w photos of guys with swords. Considering how most pics like that look really cheap and unattactive, the ones I saw were not bad.

Dave Mckean is really great at using photographic images and just working the hell out of them digitally until he's got something bizzare and beatutiful.

The reason most frpgs feature painting on their covers is because they are typically based on a genre such as fantasy which is rife with book covers of the same sort. The line art comes from the fact that b&w line art reproduces very well and is cheaper to work with (same reason comics are usually done this way). Plus I suppose representational "realistic" art is more suited for showing what something is supposed to look like, which is important for a lot of games--though not essential for all. The digital age is altering the playing field in art, so who knows what difference it will make in rpg cover design.

From my own experience, I've found two pieces of advice to be worthy of remembering when you're deciding what to do next:

1) If it doesn't scare you it isn't worth doing.

2) If you're doing it because it's scary, it isn't worth doing.

[Jared A. Sorensen]

Um, like...hello? Deadguy? Those pics are dead-on perfect for Whispering Vault...

Cool stuff.

[Valamir]

Didn't the game Legacy have a lot of photographs in it? I never saw the book, but the ads usually featured b&w photos of guys with swords. Considering how most pics like that look really cheap and unattactive, the ones I saw were not bad.

Hmmm...if your referring to that piss poor Highlander rip-off game whose Warlocks sequel never got released I think you're right.  I have it here in one of my as yet unpacked game boxes...I'll check it out.

What a huge, sad disappointment that game was.

[rafael]

ron, thanks for the kind words, and for the good advice.  i'll be sure to check out raven and gary simpson.

james, i see what you mean -- i think.  my question is, when is it worth doing?

jared, thanks.  i checked out whispering vault.  it looks sublime.  i need to dig up a copy, i think.

so, all, what's more important to you on the back cover of a new title: more good art, or a summary of content, or both, or...?

[James V. West]

james, i see what you mean -- i think.  my question is, when is it worth doing?

If I knew that I'd be sitting on a mountain and people would be climbing up to ask me stuff about the opposite sex and why the number 42 is so damn important.

so, all, what's more important to you on the back cover of a new title: more good art, or a summary of content, or both, or...?

Regardless of what else is there I really need a summary of some kind. The more it gets my juices pumping to play the game, the more likely I am to buy it. I like to see some specifics about how the game works, what its about, the overall feel of it. You know, everything in 50 words or less. I don't like books that only feature the best comments of reviewers on the back cover. A cool illustration can also go a long way to selling me.