Tuesday 10 April 2012

I is for Illustrations: Hitting the Trail with the Wilderness Survival Guide

With the pending publication of the Dungeon Masters Guide, I have started wondering about what constitutes fair usage, with respect to posting images from the D&D tomes.

I know there is a lot already available on the internet, and last year when I AtoZ'd the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide, the images were already easily accessible from Google Images.

This hasn't been the case for the Wilderness Survival Guide, perhaps because it was less popular. In fact, I have yet to find one internal illustration on the internet.

This is a surprise as artists are: Jeff Easley cover art always a winner. Also features illustrations from Mark Nelson,Jim Holloway, more Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore and Valerie Valusek.


So, I'm not going to give you any images. I know, boo hoo.


I will say that I found the interior art in the WSG satisfying for two reasons.


Firstly, the illustrations closely follow the text. This is not always usual in D&D, but for example in the WSG, when discussing rules for jumping, there is an image of someone jumping. I like that.


Secondly, there is a lot of humour.
My favourite is the campfire illustration. Where the party are all sitting around an unlit campfire, while the magic user is preparing to cast a spell to light the fire. Some are looking hopeful, some clearly think the magic user has no chance, and the magic user himself looks less than sure he can.


A close second is the fighter trying to pull his stubborn mule forward.


Anyone got a copy of the WSG, and have a favourite illustration, or knows why so few images from the WSG are on the internet?

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