I like the old art (mostly, there are a few stinkers) and I like the new art.
I just don’t think they mix well together.
[quote=Kaijyuu]I want the old Revolutionaries art (the one with the bomb) back. It was updated like 2 years ago and doesn’t look nearly as good.
On the other hand, some of the old art, like the old male devil, were pretty awful.
Personally I detest the search for "realism" in game art, since it loses a lot through lacking stylization.[/quote]
I personally found the old devil art pretty cute, I mean, he looks like an excited puppy about to get your soul! :p
But, I agree with you on the last part 100%
Beautiful as the new icons are, they are not good for thumbnails.
I would prefer it if instead of an art makeover, we had some of the duplicate art replaced. An aunt that is not Gerbrandt for example. New art, no style clash.
Still, the change is not gamebreaking for me. Sometimes it is even helpful, i.e. the tiger ministers.
Gosh, the tiger ministers are some of my favorite artworks in the whole FL/SSea/SSkies. They’re not just pretty art, but they also tell you what kind of characters the tigers are, very well done. I think His Amused Lordship’s new portrait captures this well too. I realize this is easier said than done, but I wish more of the new portraits were like them.
As an artist myself, I actually enjoy observing the art evolution, it gives me a sense of history. But I have to echo the sentiment that the new style doesn’t suit icon purpose very well. For example, I’m fine with the new Firebrand portrait and still can recognize him (unlike the Missionary (yes, I realize her old portrait isn’t something especially drawn for her, but still we’ve associated it with her and the new portrait should’ve reflected it better)), but it’s too dark and it’s harder to make out the details compared to the old style, and so it’s harder to see in the inventory/profile. The Enthusiastic Visitor suffers the same problem. And this one is more of my personal taste, but I also could do without the strong, “greasy” highlights like in the Dowager’s portrait, but something like this is fine with me.
And honestly, as a newer player, my brain just connects the more polished artworks with “new, likely important content” lol
Count me in for Team Tiger Ministers! The bright colors and the not-so-realistic style, I think, is a nice middle ground between the old cartoony style and the new, darker one.
Still, while the old style will always hold some nostalgia for me (And I wasn’t even around for the very first ones. Looking at you, Weaseller icon), I’d welcome a new style if it was actually streamlined/done in one go.
Count me in as someone, who finds the art direction Sunless Sea the most charming.
Some of the (really) old character art could use some cleanup or sometimes just looks "too funny" for a certain mood in some stories.
My biggest gripe with the new painting style is the size. A big opportunity card portrait with the new "Secular Missionary" art looks impressive, but most of Fallen London consists of tiny buttons. There the distinct outlines of the comic portraits work a lot better.
Could be interesting to find some middle ground there.
I quite like the new art, especially the Exceptional Story announcement images. Although I do miss the old art for the Malevolent Monkey. The updated simian art looks more cuddly than deadly.
[quote=Jolanda Swan]Beautiful as the new icons are, they are not good for thumbnails.
I would prefer it if instead of an art makeover, we had some of the duplicate art replaced. An aunt that is not Gerbrandt for example. New art, no style clash.
Still, the change is not gamebreaking for me. Sometimes it is even helpful, i.e. the tiger ministers.[/quote]
Agree on all counts here–would have made more sense to start with duplicates. The Tigers are gorgeous, though. I hope they count as new, and nobody will mess with them!
On a previous thread I mentioned that one definition of great art is that it rewards you for attention; the more you pay, the better you find it. Fallen London’s writing has always been great, and fairly uniformly so as well. Its visual representation, on the other hand, has always been a mixed bag.
There are some wonderfully evocative pieces; I am a particular fan of Lilac and Sinning Jenny. On the other hand, the longer you stare at the stock cleric the more you realize that the poor fellow has something badly wrong with his neck. The more I see the architectural icons (both the stock house from, e.g., Unfinished Business in Veilgarden and the Shuttered Palace icon), the less I want to. And so forth.
The newer art, by and large, does not have this problem. There have been many complaints about changes to particularly beloved characters, but few about the quality of the pieces on their own. (I do not say none; I am in the camp that thinks the shadows are off on the newest Secular Missionary–and that she seems to have emerged from a particularly seedy and uninviting brothel.) Whatever else you think of it, the new art for His Amused Lordship certainly captures his great baritone belly-laugh. The new character art from the Season of Ruins sits among my favorite pieces of game art, period. Most importantly, when I have had surface quibbles with a portrait (that wasn’t of the Secular Missionary), I found my objections disappearing as I gave it more attention. That, I think, is a very good sign.
Regarding the charge that the newer art looks odd next to the more cartoon-like art of earlier days, this would be true–if that were the whole picture. However, Fallen London is and has long been a mixed bag of styles. There are flat cartoons, there are silhouettes, there are more rounded pieces. Even in a broad style, there is plenty of variation: the standard urchin is much less cartoon-like than the standard priest, and Sinning Jenny, though equally flat, is much better drawn. Case Notes have a much simpler silhouette than the Muffled Intriguer, and both are very different from the Zee-Znail Retreat. Even the newer art is scarcely monolithic in style terms: compare the new Dowager to the smiling gent from The Clay Man’s Arm, or either to the Tigers, and you will see noticeable differences in technique and result. In short, Fallen London has accommodated considerable variety in its art and will continue to do so. In that context, the newer portraiture fits in well.
Regarding the decisions on when to release new art, I think it’s been logical enough. Characters get new art when they come back into the spotlight. New portraits celebrated the last election. New portraits celebrated the next stage in the Dilmun Club. New portraits celebrated the chance to marry the Firebrand and Missionary. As much as I would love to see F. F. Gebrandt finally get her own art (or see the disappointing icon of the Rubbery Bellringer replaced with an actual Rubbery bellringer), I suspect they will continue to use new portraits to highlight and celebrate important events in Fallen London. It’s sensible enough, and doesn’t put too much pressure on Paul Arendt’s work schedule. Hmmm… perhaps I should put together a case for F. F. Gebrandt as Mayor.
edited by Siankan on 2/14/2018
I don’t know about you, but I think some of the artstyle updates could be explained with LORE!
Like how the Devils originally had bug eyes and protruding teeth (mean they don’t now, but that’s probably just them realizing they looked weird.)
I rather like that the game includes a variety of divergent art styles, even more so than it did before. I was a huge fan of the guest art that used to be used in exceptional stories like Discernment, since a different thematically relevant style for each story felt really fun, and helped get me in the mood for what was going on. Obviously that’s financially untenable, but having lots of different kinds of art, some painterly, some cartoonish, some broadly expressionistic, is in my opinion unquestionably for the best.[li]
That’s my aunt! I would, however, heartily approve of a Gerbrandt that is not my aunt.
Nothing they ever do will beat the Salt Weasel. This has been proven by NASA. Whoever drew the Salt Weasel needs to do all the art forever, which I think is a reasonable stance to take.
