> With artists capable of work like this to hand (and Roger Raupp could be
> included, as well as John T Snyder) I found it difficult to believe we have
> taken a step back again.
This is rather similar to asking "How come Ken Rolston or Sandy Peterson or [insert favorite RQ author] didn't write the scenarios in HW?"
This misses some critical experiences with producing any limited budget RPG. The plain fact is that there are more people willing to write for crappy money than there are people willing to draw for crappy money. Combine that with the fact that most people have stronger opinions about what constitutes good art than they do about what constitutes good writing. After all, each of us can see a badly drawn hand, but many of us can't point out a sentence constructed in passive voice.
At the risk of going way away from topics Gloranthan, keep in mind that role playing is by its nature a medium for storytellers, not artists. It is, perhaps, the least visual of pastimes. Then look at how likely anyone is to HAVE to learn how to write, versus the number of people who HAVE to learn how to draw.
Back when Codex was in production, my number 1 production problem was art. And I was lucky to live in a town with a major art college. That's the only reason there are pictures of Toadface and his gang.
Getting good art is HARD.
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #711
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