I think part of the problem comparing OG card art and current is that much of the original and early art was drawn from already existing art for the other Warcraft card game and the Warcraft games in general, mostly WoW.
Hearthstone is not WoW, in terms of art style and game flavour. It's much more whimsical and joking. That reflects in the art.
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Considering you have immortal as your avatar image it’s not surprising you want bleaker/darker art. Lol. I have, however, always been a fan of the ridiculous campy aesthetic of hearthstone. Magic does a great job of being more dark/realistic, I’m glad hearthstone has its own silly identity.
There are art styles for everyone in Hearthstone and in every expansion we get some "mature" and some "childish" art.
Look at Olgra, Mankrik's Wife it's pretty mature and realistic, i'm not talking about the scene (It helps I guess), only the art style.
I understand that art is subjective, but even if the majority of people think Vol'jin looks a lot better than Shadow Hunter Vol'jin for example, and I do, it's never going to be the truth, only an opinion. Art in and of itself is an opinion.
Hearthstone trying to appeal to a larger audience with different art styles is a good thing, as long as they don't neglect one art style for the others. I haven't noticed it. I mean I know the childish art styles are more common than the others, but I haven't noticed it getting worse.
And the problem with the new dragon aspects is definitely not the art style, that's how Warcraft dragons look they're fine and only a talented person could draw this, it's the dragon poses, they look like dogs trying to catch a ball in mid air.
The new Ysera is majestic and looks better than the original "man hand, weird face and half body" Ysera. The new Alex is fine, less aggressive maybe, but still majestic. But Malygos, Deathwing, and Nozdormu look like tiny dogs, not huge dragons.
Most of the old classic cards are made with art just taken from other WoW products (in the case of the dragon aspects, they are all ripped from the old Warcraft magazine) or the old TCG game. They started to produce their own since and it's been pretty dang good.
Frightened Flunky and Swindle are bad artwork, you're right that far (OP). But Lab Partner is OK imo, and I actually prefer the new Dragon Aspects to the old ones art-wise.
As implied earlier, the art style has (as I see it) gone from a MTG like drawing style to a more "cartoonish" style. Maybe this has been done slightly on purpose, given that the "quality improvement" of WC3 reforged was a fiasco and by some called "Chinese phone game style". In other words, Team 5 might want the game to stand out as a Warcraft game. Or they just try to save money IDK.
The themes are another thing IMO. TGT was arguably the most childish and jesting expansion of them all, but the drawing style was still more MTG/fantasy book-like. That DMF and Scholomance both have a very warm/jesting theme is more coincidental I think. AoO seemed darker and more WOW oriented than the whole past years expansions. With a touch of Mad Max of course ;)
I always love when people use M:tG as an example of "non-cartoony card art," conveniently ignoring cards like this gem:
As implied earlier, the art style has (as I see it) gone from a MTG like drawing style to a more "cartoonish" style. Maybe this has been done slightly on purpose, given that the "quality improvement" of WC3 reforged was a fiasco and by some called "Chinese phone game style". In other words, Team 5 might want the game to stand out as a Warcraft game. Or they just try to save money IDK.
The themes are another thing IMO. TGT was arguably the most childish and jesting expansion of them all, but the drawing style was still more MTG/fantasy book-like. That DMF and Scholomance both have a very warm/jesting theme is more coincidental I think. AoO seemed darker and more WOW oriented than the whole past years expansions. With a touch of Mad Max of course ;)
I always love when people use M:tG as an example of "non-cartoony card art," conveniently ignoring cards like this gem:
I honestly don't like the new Deathwing art because Deathwing always came off as this big terrifying dragon that's going to fuck you up. The new Deathwing just looks like a mini mechanical toy of Deathwing. It's not terrifying, it doesn't make me feel scared for my life. It's cute. It looks funny. In some ways I agree with you, and in others I really like the art of the cards. I think for the most part the card art is fine, but there are definitely some instances where the card art doesn't convey what the card name is trying to portray.
The older art looked the way it did simply because they were recycling WoW:TCG art or was just art (concept or promotional) from WoW directly. Taking the power metal soft-frazetta aesthetic of warcraft and making it goofy looking is a good direction to go to differentiate it aesthetically from its source.
I personally would love some more creepy cards, I wish demon hunter had more cards that reflected the style of Naxx, Old Gods, or Frozen throne. I love that there is variety between the styles and think it makes the game look great! I just wish there was even more variety lately. I think it’s funny that
exists in the same game as
I wish there were more examples of this in standard art. I feel like the only artwork that really stood out from the bright and poppy ones in the Year of the Phoenix were cards from AoO like:
and
please don’t feel like I’m saying the other stuff is bad! For example: I love Alex Horley’s old and new stuff. I just I wish there was a bit more diversity.
I honestly don't like the new Deathwing art because Deathwing always came off as this big terrifying dragon that's going to fuck you up. The new Deathwing just looks like a mini mechanical toy of Deathwing. It's not terrifying, it doesn't make me feel scared for my life. It's cute. It looks funny. In some ways I agree with you, and in others I really like the art of the cards. I think for the most part the card art is fine, but there are definitely some instances where the card art doesn't convey what the card name is trying to portray.
This is it for me.
I suppose it comes down to how epic the card should feel.
I’m perfectly fine for Prize Plunderer to be carrying a pink teddy bear with a big smile on his face, it’s silly, but well drawn and fits the theme of Hearthstone going to the fair. For Azeroth’s elite however, they deserve card art that compliments how menacing or heroic the character is meant to be. The new Voljin looks comical in comparison to the original.
Fun takes on these characters is perfectly fine for me too, such as Headmaster Kel’thuzad. If they want goofy Deathwing art, then they could make a goofy take in the card.
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I think part of the problem comparing OG card art and current is that much of the original and early art was drawn from already existing art for the other Warcraft card game and the Warcraft games in general, mostly WoW.
Hearthstone is not WoW, in terms of art style and game flavour. It's much more whimsical and joking. That reflects in the art.
If you see a bad post on the forum use the report function under it, so I or someone else of the moderation team can take care of it!
Considering you have immortal as your avatar image it’s not surprising you want bleaker/darker art. Lol. I have, however, always been a fan of the ridiculous campy aesthetic of hearthstone. Magic does a great job of being more dark/realistic, I’m glad hearthstone has its own silly identity.
There are art styles for everyone in Hearthstone and in every expansion we get some "mature" and some "childish" art.
Look at Olgra, Mankrik's Wife it's pretty mature and realistic, i'm not talking about the scene (It helps I guess), only the art style.
I understand that art is subjective, but even if the majority of people think Vol'jin looks a lot better than Shadow Hunter Vol'jin for example, and I do, it's never going to be the truth, only an opinion. Art in and of itself is an opinion.
Hearthstone trying to appeal to a larger audience with different art styles is a good thing, as long as they don't neglect one art style for the others. I haven't noticed it. I mean I know the childish art styles are more common than the others, but I haven't noticed it getting worse.
And the problem with the new dragon aspects is definitely not the art style, that's how Warcraft dragons look they're fine and only a talented person could draw this, it's the dragon poses, they look like dogs trying to catch a ball in mid air.
The new Ysera is majestic and looks better than the original "man hand, weird face and half body" Ysera. The new Alex is fine, less aggressive maybe, but still majestic. But Malygos, Deathwing, and Nozdormu look like tiny dogs, not huge dragons.
Most of the old classic cards are made with art just taken from other WoW products (in the case of the dragon aspects, they are all ripped from the old Warcraft magazine) or the old TCG game. They started to produce their own since and it's been pretty dang good.
Art Style =/= Art Quality
Frightened Flunky and Swindle are bad artwork, you're right that far (OP). But Lab Partner is OK imo, and I actually prefer the new Dragon Aspects to the old ones art-wise.
I always love when people use M:tG as an example of "non-cartoony card art," conveniently ignoring cards like this gem:
I didn't say EVERY MTG card ;)
I honestly don't like the new Deathwing art because Deathwing always came off as this big terrifying dragon that's going to fuck you up. The new Deathwing just looks like a mini mechanical toy of Deathwing. It's not terrifying, it doesn't make me feel scared for my life. It's cute. It looks funny. In some ways I agree with you, and in others I really like the art of the cards. I think for the most part the card art is fine, but there are definitely some instances where the card art doesn't convey what the card name is trying to portray.
The older art looked the way it did simply because they were recycling WoW:TCG art or was just art (concept or promotional) from WoW directly. Taking the power metal soft-frazetta aesthetic of warcraft and making it goofy looking is a good direction to go to differentiate it aesthetically from its source.
I personally would love some more creepy cards, I wish demon hunter had more cards that reflected the style of Naxx, Old Gods, or Frozen throne.
I love that there is variety between the styles and think it makes the game look great! I just wish there was even more variety lately. I think it’s funny that
exists in the same game as
I wish there were more examples of this in standard art. I feel like the only artwork that really stood out from the bright and poppy ones in the Year of the Phoenix were cards from AoO like:
and
please don’t feel like I’m saying the other stuff is bad! For example: I love Alex Horley’s old and new stuff. I just I wish there was a bit more diversity.
This is it for me.
I suppose it comes down to how epic the card should feel.
I’m perfectly fine for Prize Plunderer to be carrying a pink teddy bear with a big smile on his face, it’s silly, but well drawn and fits the theme of Hearthstone going to the fair. For Azeroth’s elite however, they deserve card art that compliments how menacing or heroic the character is meant to be. The new Voljin looks comical in comparison to the original.
Fun takes on these characters is perfectly fine for me too, such as Headmaster Kel’thuzad. If they want goofy Deathwing art, then they could make a goofy take in the card.