The Adjudicator – Viktor Fetsch
This illustration (which I adore) came very close to being the class illustration for the rogue.
As you know, the rogue was instead illustrated by Bonnie Tang. This piece is now likely to find its home on page 10, where it will hopefully encourage people to occasionally think outside of the traditional fantasy box as they read about “Step 8: Character Description”.
This is somewhat ironic, because the reason I ultimately chose not to use this image for the rogue was because I wanted the class illustration to inside the box — to remain essentially true to the “core conception” most people have for the classes. (On the other hand, the class illustrations are a little rebellious in other ways: Staying within the box, but also trying to find ways to reinvent the box and keep it fresh.)
Just a quick question: What picture will you put inside the ampersand?
These are nice, unique characters. I’m enjoying these art posts!
Any more news about the final look-n-feel of the finished product? Will pages be crisp and clean b&w like old school rule-books, or have an ancient, distressed look? (I’m a big fan of the 3.5 forgotten realms scroll-like page backgrounds).
@Marthinwurer: I was wondering if someone would notice that! The cover will be sliding in there. It’s in final approvals now and — whoa boy! — it’s awesome.
@Örpherischt: Expect a crisp, white background. Full-color art. Text will be mostly black, with red text for the Sidebar Reference System (SRS).
Looks more like a druid to me.