An Art Proposal

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

[Onix]

I really like what you've got going here CA. I agree.

I'm going to throw out some good idea, but optional guidelines.

Have a picture for every 4 pages of text. If you have more, that's ok especially if they're small/informative example pictures. You can stretch the number of pages between pictures a bit, but don't go too far.
Have a picture for chapter headings. Ideally, you want something that exemplifies the chapter. You don't have to do this, but it's a good idea.

[Abstract Machine]

Yup, as a 'five-card, put the art in the slot' approach, this really hits the spot.

On the thread from which this one sprung, several people drew comparisons between 'art' & 'art direction'. At the risk of coming over all semiologically pretentious (who? moi?), I presume to suggest that you can't (or shouldn't) have one without the other - which, of course, is pretty much what people have been saying.

In the examples Chainsaw Aardvark has used above, the strongest are those which are apparently disparate but which convey inter-linked messages about the game they illustrate.

In a further lecture which no-one has asked for, much of this comes down to the editing process.

In my opinion, this is the weakest element in most RPGs, whether self-published or not. You need to spend more time editing the game than you did writing it. (Yes, really.) Cut the text by as much as a third. People will engage more with your typesetting than your language, & will, for the most part, read only the first four paragraphs of any section. No-one much cares how inventive or beautiful your game is (Sob!).

In literary circles, this cliche is known as 'Kill Your Darlings'. One of the advantages of Chainsaw Aardvark's approach is that it tells you what you really need - i.e. what you can do without.