Box art: Yay or nay.

[Wildeybeast]

Bit of random one here, but I want to lament the decline of box art. Personally, I prefer the older style unit boxes that had nice pieces of artwork on them as I really like the excellent art the GW team produce and I think it deserves more exposure than just in the books. The 'posed' photos of the models on the front of the box don't do anything for me and since the ones on the back of the box show you exactly what's in the box, I would prefer a return to the pretty pictures. So what does the community think should be on the front of the boxes art or photos?

[eldargal]

I liked it, I was told that hte change was due to some legal requirement to show the contents of the box in an accurate fashion or some such thing. Not sure if that is true or not. Having said that I really love the background of the new Dark Eldar boxes (Commoragh city scapes) so it isn't all bad.

[Wildeybeast]

I'm sure there is a sensible business reason behind it, I just think it's a shame to lose the artwork.

[Mr.Pickelz]

I always liked the artwork more than the pictures, the codex shows you what your getting, till recently that is.
The Artwork helps to infuse a bit of cinema behind each unit, and gives me something to daydream about.:D

[Mr Mystery]

No strong feelings one way or the other, but for staff, having the models is a big help, as it's easier to find what random Parent/Grandparent/Sibling is after!

[Wildeybeast]

I always liked the artwork more than the pictures, the codex shows you what your getting, till recently that is.
The Artwork helps to infuse a bit of cinema behind each unit, and gives me something to daydream about.:D

Well put, my thoughts exactly.


No strong feelings one way or the other, but for staff, having the models is a big help, as it's easier to find what random Parent/Grandparent/Sibling is after!

Sounds reasonable enough I suppose.

[Chris*ta]

Yeah, I think Mr. Pickelz pretty much sums up my feelings too.

And I understand why they have the models on -- it's far more "useful".

[lobster-overlord]

If it's about showing the contents of th box, then I say take a look again at the Scourges box. The back shows 5x scourges with feathered wings, yet the set only includes 3 sets...

I like it with the models on the front. The only non-battle force box I can think of that shows art these days is the Black Templars upgrade since it would look horrible just showing painted bits.

[fuzzbuket]

decisions decisions! i like the art as its really nice but on the other hand i really like SOME of the eavy metal paintjobs and photoshopped backgrounds

[CouchViking]

Yeah I would like to see art work, maybe inspire some ideas for painting the model it self. Oh and bring back the short stories in the codex, I miss those something fierce.

[Wildeybeast]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who misses them. And I agree with couchviking, the short stories in the codexes/army books were great!

[The Madman]

If it's about showing the contents of th box, then I say take a look again at the Scourges box. The back shows 5x scourges with feathered wings, yet the set only includes 3 sets...

I like it with the models on the front. The only non-battle force box I can think of that shows art these days is the Black Templars upgrade since it would look horrible just showing painted bits.

here is a worse one, on the back of the new pink horrors set is an old metal horror.

I do like the artwork more though thats because i rarely ever assemble what the box was intended for.

[Chris*ta]

I was reading an old-ish WD and saw the previous cover of the Chimera box. It showed the actual model, but showed it from a different angle than all the modern boxes do, and looked more "cinematic", I guess.

I want this type of box cover back, which is somewhere between the modern photos, and the old art-type.

[Kyban]

I just want the back to show exactly what's in the box, like all of the special weapons it comes with...

[Chris*ta]

I just want the back to show exactly what's in the box, like all of the special weapons it comes with...

Isn't this (sort of) on the GW website? Well, they have photos of the sprues for things released in the last few years at least.

But yeah, a good image of all the bits, like the ones they have for some kits in WD when they're released, would be really nice. I tend to refer to various bits sites to see what's in certain kits half the time.

[SotonShades]

I just want the back to show exactly what's in the box, like all of the special weapons it comes with...

I like seeing those bits on the back of the box really. On the front I want something that grabs my attention but is at least descriptive of what's inside. I think I have a bit of a nostalgic soft spot for the old artworks. Some of them were truely epic and I have a feeling more than one may have been the deciding factor on buying that particular box. On the otherhand, there were mor than a few where the unit in the box wasn't necessarilly the main focus of the artwork (like it had been taken from around the edge of a bigger piece) or were doing things you'd never expect them to do in the game (and barely in the fluff!) Those I certainly do not miss.

Don't get me wrong, I love the cinamatic, photoshopped box covers we currently have. They are inifinitely better than the really old boxes we had when I started. Essentially a photo of the model/s on a green mat with some scenery scattered behind. Nothing inspiring at all. Didn't even show off the models that well in some cases.

So my vote had to go to art. When it was done well, it was truely inspiring, both in terms of creating the images I see in my head when I play the game and setting people up for many of the great conversions I have seen over the years.

[imperialpower]

Art work goes on the front what's in the box goes on the back, one of the things that started me collecting back in the day was the superb artwork GW did. Also hate it when the recycle art from old codex's if you buy a new book it should be brand new.

[Kyban]

I like the artwork but they could probably make the representation of the models more prominent, which would make everyone happy...except the artists.

[Wildeybeast]

All good thoughts there guys. Playing devils advocate to my own point, the photos of the models can be quite inspiring (EG posted a great on of some Eldar thingy in another thread) in terms of what you can do with the actual models. However you can do this on the back/sides of the box, whilst still have room for some art that fires the imagination, links you into the background of the world and makes you want to tell a story with the models you are gaming with, and that's what GW keep banging on about.