My brief review for the M2E book

[Jonas Albrecht]

So art is subjective, but only someone with the same subjectivity as you should be heard?

"Art is subjective" just seems to be a codephrase for "Your opinion is wrong".

[PierceSternum]

For the most part, all of the art is very well executed.

100% of the time, 50% of the art is ok.

... the amount of illustrations ... in such a short time - WELL DONE!

You seem willing to grade on a curve because of self-imposed time constraints. That's your choice.

For those people who are saying the new art direction has a "suckerpunch" feel to it, I have to disagree.

lol. ok.

So, if a Samurai with a machine-gun ever appears will you concede this point?

[mythicFOX]

Ok we're getting close to the line now people.

Let's all be respectful to each other.

</mod voice>

Edited September 3, 2013 by mythicFOX

[Dracomax]

Honestly, I find that most of the art is ...okay. I despise everything about lady J's crew, have no problems with Perdita(she fits the fluff. so she seems a bit mannish and very rough. she had to be a manlier, better fighter than an entire family of brothers and the rest of the compound to reach that point. she probably chews and spits tobacco too), and love Ophelia.

I've heard complaints about Rasputina being too mannish and don't get that either. she looks vaguely russian, but I can only assume the issue is with the mouth. she looks like she has never smiled. again, fits the fluff.

I recognize that there are people out there with very different opinions than me. If they enjoy what I do not, more power to them. If they don't like the things I do, I hope they can find a crew they like better.

That being said, more of the lady masters need to be wearing something closer to a sports bra. I counted at least a couple of pieces of artwork(and this spreads to the model on the Viks) that would, with the fighting style described, be bare-chested for at least part of the fight--and given the approximate size of the parts in question, that would make it difficult to fight, both because of weight moving around in less than controllable ways and pain from the movement. in short, I don't mind the sexy. I kind of mind the impractical.

So, final art verdict: It's a mixed bag. Some good, Some bad, mostly average to meh.

[Sybaris]

We've had a discussion about this (wife and I), and she is really sad to see the former style go. The viktorias and rasputina (those she plays the most) went from "awesome" to "eech" in her expressions, so much that she doesn't have any interest in reading the new book when we get it. She finds the viks far too "trashy" (not sure if that's the correct translation), and there's an overly decrepit look in most of the model. Probably fits the view of the designers, but she says there is nothing attractive to her in those pieces. We agreed that Lady J was better though but not the flaming marshalls which felt out of theme (i don't know how this can pass for anything close to human within guild territory...and what about the ban on "undead magics").

To be sure, the "technical quality" of the art pieces has increased, but the style has moved to something else. My wife says it is probably more attractive to men(boys) than before, but in her view it's less interesting for her. I can say i don't really like the new ones...but as long as the game is fun, and i still have the old models so all is not completely lost.

However there are some art pieces i would not want changed: Nekima being the main one...of course

Edited September 3, 2013 by Sybaris

[luckyjoemc]

We've had a discussion about this (wife and I), and she is really sad to see the former style go. The viktorias and rasputina (those she plays the most) went from "awesome" to "eech" in her expressions, so much that she doesn't have any interest in reading the new book when we get it. She finds the viks far too "trashy" (not sure if that's the correct translation), and there's an overly decrepit look in most of the model. Probably fits the view of the designers, but she says there is nothing attractive to her in those pieces. We agreed that Lady J was better though but not the flaming marshalls which felt out of theme (i don't know how this can pass for anything close to human within guild territory...and what about the ban on "undead magics").

To be sure, the "technical quality" of the art pieces has increased, but the style has moved to something else. My wife says it is probably more attractive to men(boys) than before, but in her view it's less interesting for her. I can say i don't really like the new ones...but as long as the game is fun, and i still have the old models so all is not completely lost.

However there are some art pieces i would not want changed: Nekima being the main one...of course

See My Fiance and I had different impressions (she mostly plays Rasputina and Collette) We love the New Raspy design, She says the model has the air of " Meh I dont care about you, go suck an iceberg" So yeah. Personally I love the flaming headed death marshals, I think it adds a neat little reminder about what they actually carry inside those coffins.

The Ronin....I am not crazy about, I dunno something about samurai armor nighty just throws me off. Love the new Taelor though.

Arts a mixed bag , and anytime you are trying to hit an aesthetic you are going to miss with some people.

[Cornelious1424]

The best thing about the new art is that all of concept art is drawn with a similar style. The original art was such a clusterf*ck of random, cartoony ideas I always felt it was hard for newer players to grasp a dedicated theme for the game.

[PierceSternum]

The best thing about the new art is that all of concept art is drawn with a similar style. The original art was such a clusterf*ck of random, cartoony ideas I always felt it was hard for newer players to grasp a dedicated theme for the game.

Well, getting down to personal preferences rather than my judgement of the quality of execution for the current art, I rather liked the disparate nature of the original Malifaux. In fact, I thought that Malifaux embraced is diversity of styles quite well by saying how it was a victorian/steampunk/western/horror/magic game...

Each crew felt distinct and cohesive within itself.

In the new wave, I get that some people view the more universal "cohesiveness" across factions as a positive, whereas for me, I see the "homogeneous" sameness as a negative.

In this regard, I completely agree that its a subjective preference and that the very thing they like is what I dislike.

(But its also not what I was complaining about.)

[Dracomax]

I see both sides. I like certain things being uniform--I am hoping that the new wave of plastics are all the on same scale, and having the same style means that level of detail should be more consistant. On the other hand, I do see a decrease in diversity(a sameness) across the available and currently released crews, and at least one of the crews that have been released is just...bland and I really feel that it was caused, at least in part, by the style they are using.

I also think that having a more consistent style is something that can backfire, in that if that style is not a style you like, then it means that you are going to tend to dislike everything produced. Painting can tend to unify models with different styles; it can't differentiate from the style as effectively.

and then there is the fact that the unified style seems to have lost some of the themes that were core in previous editions.

[rikowal]

RE:the new art, I think most of it is great. With that being said, I CAN'T WAIT FOR TUCO. I love that illustration in the rulebook, and if they get the plastic to match the illustration its going to be glorious. He looks less like Michael Jackson and more like a dirty ass demon gunslinger. On the other hand, I kind of dislike the Perdita one, and I miss the crazy Francisco. I understand a lot of people didn't like the sombrero action, but I was one of the minority on that one.