Originally Posted by Ragitsu
GM4Him, in this very thread, you've agreed with the topic creator (and myself, but, hey, that's a matter of vanity) on multiple occasions. Why the reversal? Why the need to play contrarian?

Here's an idea: the art changed because it is effectively impossible to differentiate between a Human and an Elf in some of these (arguably low-effort) pieces. As for your displayed example of Laurana from Dragonlance, I've proven that the same artist (Larry Elmore) can render her looking like an Elf ->

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Does she look the same?

Additionally, if an Elf looks just like a Human but with slightly elongated ears, then how do you distinguish a similarly bland/low-effort Half-Elf from the pair?

Originally Posted by GM4Him
Even in Tolkien's work, it actually never says elves have pointed ears and almond-shaped eyes and elongated faces.

Tolkien's Elves =/= D&D Elves. However, you are correct: there is no description (at least, from what I've scanned thus far) in any of the D&D PHBs which describe Elves as possessing pointy ears. Should artists simply draw normal humans with a tag saying "Hi, I'm an elf." and save themselves the trouble of truly distinguishing those creations?

P.S. As for your "But some examples..." argument, then how do you reconcile that with art of the Drow which essentially makes them look African-American? Picking outliers (e.g., the aforementioned low-effort pieces) and running with those seems like a poor strategy.

I did agree with you and the OP, and I still do in regards to having more faces that are "traditional elves". I posted this recent post because, after the RoP debate, I went hunting for descriptions and art that would prove the point that elves are traditionally elongated faces, almond shaped eyes etc. I was surprised to discover that this is simply not true. There is no description of elves stating such things, and the point of the pics is to show legit FR art that depicts elves as not the traditional elves we would think of.

In short, it's changed my perception of the topic. Just because we have come to think of elves as angular features and elongated faces with almond shaped eyes, it doesn't mean that's the actual traditional concept. The actual descriptions are vague and the art varies too much for us to have any real authority on the subject. Unless you can find something more on it, which is part of why I presented it. I'm stunned I can't actually find anything solid besides some art that shows what we're talking about. But again, just because some art shows elves looking that way, it doesn't actually mean that's how all elves are.