hobbygamers ~ View topic

Okay, juaberman and me are currently looking for artists. Currently, I'm going to look for someone who can do dark and gritty sword and sorcery (ala Conan?), as I think that style fits our setting best.

But, before we do that, I want to know the specific art pieces you want made. In this regard, the more descriptive we are to the artist, the better:

Ah. I think I may have found an artist-for-hire. I'll meet him at the OGM, so best prepare a list of what you want drawn, guys!

We'll figure out how to pay him later. Razz

I feel like I'm talking to no one sometimes. Saturday is fast approaching, and I need those descriptions soon.

Yegods, where does all the time go?

I knew I should have been talking with AAS about something this afternoon.

All right, tentatively, stuff we'll want done:

-Cover page: something damned awesome (Ideas needed)

-Illustration for the Godfall War History article: Grimdark human standing over the corpse of a fallen god/angel. I'm still not quite sure whether this should be front view of the warrior or back view. I'm thinking classic sword and sorcery :consored: ala Vallejo etc. Conan-esque.

-Sinaghari article: Am open to ideas here. One option is a Sinaghari temple-pyramid thing with a Lightbringer/Firebrand at the summit, with a pillar of flame rushing up to the corpse-star. Another option is a more up-close version of a Sinaghari cleric, blood from his clenched fist seeping down onto a smoldering godstone, a mad glint in his eye. I'm thinking of the cleric as bald and heavily tattooed with a flaming motif.

-Godstone Colossus: Big, badass warforged towering over his foes with a glowing godshard embedded in its chest. I'm thinking of a mechanical "Hulk-smash" moment, with a grimdark aesthetic.

-Kobold Article: I dunno about a capstone illustration here. An alternative would be little illustrations of kobolds all over the margins of the piece, fooling around, setting traps, and bowing before the image of K'mat.

-No ideas for Ilawith and the monsters article.

EDIT: Hmm. I'm trying to find a way to incorporate Kyris into one of these illustrations...possibly the cover? Razz

Any other ideas for other illustrations guys? We probably don't need that many, but a cover illustration per article at the very least would be damned cool.

Very Old Dragon Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 693

For Ilawith, I assume we'll have to go with the basics. The dome proper w/ the godstone. The blasted wasteland outside and maybe some concept art to do with the clergy.

If you don't mind, I have ideas as well.

-Cover:A (Nagthar?) cleric (Fhrayle) calling divine energy from a godstone, radiance shining over a nagthari battle arena.

-Illustration for the Godfall War History article: I agree at Revan's idea here.

-Sinaghari article: I was thinking a group of clerics/devouts performing their "holy" ritual in the face of a master godstone, emphasis on the energy flowing from the dead to the stone

-Godstone Colossus: Revan's idea

-Kobold Article: Since we're trying to make a new feel for kobolds, I was thinking a group of kobold engineers, headed by one master kobold engineer (see white robe, or anything that symbolizes authority) working over a dead body, trying to make a warforged. Think of surgery, except tools in the tray are wrenches and hammers, and other raw materials handed out to the "surgeon".

-Ilawith: an Illawith soldier/paladin standing guard over the city, with the dome's lighted art above in the background.

Also, I suggest we incorporate characters in the art, just like DnD books have Mialee, Regdar, etc in theirs. Kyris would be one, and possibly Fhrayle.

Very Old Dragon Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 693

Right now, it doesn't really quite fit with the flavor. Nor is it practical to include an epic destiny in an introductory issue. I'm saying no unless I can be convinced otherwise.

I'd like it to be more of an issue 3 or 4, which will most likely discuss epic BT and the Shadowed Mount.

All right, so the tentative list of articles and illustrations:

-Cover: Undetermined
-Bonethrall Player's Guide: Undetermined
-The Godfall War: A paladin-esque human in battered armor clutches a bastard sword while standing above a trio of slain angels, the last guttering embers of their astral fire slowly burning out.
-Sinaghari: A Sinaghari priest clutching a blood-red godstone shard. A pillar of divine fire races up from the stone to the flickering sun above him.
-Ilawith: Interior of the city, dome rising up into the heavens where painted angels watch over. In the foreground, a city guardsman stands watch, in a way mirroring the angels above.

Articles that may yet see use in this issue:
-The Mandrakori :
-The Rise and Fall of Tarkonis/The Wyrm's Vengeance : The red dragon Malathras curled around the tallest spire of Tarkonis, roaring into the heavens. In one hand, he clutches the Tarkonis Godstone, Healer's Fist, and arcane energies surge around his other hand while the city burns all around him...

I think there's enough written already on the flavor end for these two articles, but right now, I have no tech material to go with them.

All right, Saturday was very fruitful.

BJ, princessa, and I got to meet and talk with two of the artists that BJ had contacted about the project, and it was a real meeting of minds when it came to developing ideas about the look and feel of various factions and locations.

We've commissioned something like 7 illustrations, for 1k, or roughly 140 per illustration, which was bargained down by a fair amount already. Cover idea still hasn't really been hashed out yet though, so that's still a separate commission.

Now, I know that's a big hit for the org budget. I'm planning to contribute around 300 for this, as BT was one of my original campaign seeds, and I want to see this through. We're still canvassing funds for the rest of this amount, so if anyone else wants to contribute, come on forward...

Just the quick concept drawings they did for kobolds and the Sinaghari were damned fascinating already (and the little skylord kobold with the strap-on wings was fantastic), and I'm damned confident that this will be a shot in the arm for the BT Gazetter project.

As I have stumbled upon salary-money recently, I'm willing to shoulder some. I'd say, leave the cover art pricing to me.

We forgot to suggest the kobolds bowing down to K'maht thing. Would probably be hilarious, as this little art on the border. Laughing

Anyway, them's the specs. We'll have art, now all we need are the articles that go with it.

I can donate some money too ^__^

This is just to certify that I witnessed Xtian give the moneyz to juaberman. Razz

The first drafts of the kobolds are up!

(No sharing outside the COPALs, of course)

kobold_on_clockwork_wyrmling

Kobold_Winged

Critique so I can pass it over to the artist for revision.

Right now, i think the wings look too "operational". It needs to look like a ragtag wing and all that. Razz

EDIT: Changed from img to url. Photobucket apparently resized the thing like crazy.

Woah, pics are awesome. It actually help me gave a better visualization of Skylord kobolds Cool

Like the pics. The Clockwork Knight is cute as all heck, and still somehow manages to look nasty. We'll need stats for that clockwork beast, methinks.

I like the Skylord wingnut. The wings are right on that balance between looking functional and outlandishly stupid, imo. The hood and goggles look really works, I'd say. Prefer the top drawing. Head looks a bit big on the bottom, but not to the point of stupid. Top one has a nice steampunk-gritty look to it.

Come up with stats for flying skylord kobolds then.

One word to all of them:

AWESOME!

Kobold cavalry is both cute and scary. I do not see him carrying a weapon. Was the artist undecided? I suggest lance and sword or mace for sidearm. Btw, what kind of 'wyrmling' is it? Are all 4ed wyrmling dragons the same size?

Winged kobold. I like them both. The upper kobold's teeth is too fine and pointy for my taste but I don't know how an omnivore kobold's teeth should look like.

Here's some more!

ILAWITH ARTICLE COVER ART

REQUESTS TO ARTIST:
*Make the dome look bigger; Ilawith has a city inside.
*Add a shield for the paladin, even if it's just strapped onto his back. Illawans are into this protection-thing.
*There are exactly 7 angels supposedly.

SINAGTHARI COVER ART

COMMENTS BY THE ARTIST:
*Only part of the whole piece. The finished product will have more people in the crowd, with the sun in full view.

Draft2
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg245/bj_silver/Bonethrall/sinaghari2.jpg

Oh effing hell yeah. It's one thing to write these up, and another to start seeing some visuals to go along with it.

Damned cool so far. Btw, if you think it might help, bj, you might want to pass along some of the fluff material to the art guys, that way they have some fluff text to work with.

Here's some of the pre-final pics. Ideally, the artist should make little adjustments at this stage. Do post comments soon.

Printing all that black is going to be heavy. Laughing

I don't wuite like how the city turned out, but everything else is golden.

In this one, the paladin's face, IMO, looks too comely.

More detailed, basically.

Agree with BJ on the godfall paladin page. She needs more badassery. This is a warrior who has just knocked down a choir of angels. And she's ready for more. I like how the fallen angels look though. The page just needs to juice up the badass factor, imo. Female badassery would be even cooler.

I think I'd like it if the sun were more... intense. Right now it just looks like, well, the sun, and not some malevolent orb of fire, which is what we're going for, iirc.

Update:

*We have paid the artist PhP700 last OGM. We still have an outstanding balance of PhP300 +PhP100/revision. That's an estimated PhP500 more.

Now, I believe that, as an org project, we are entitled to grab some funds from there, but I also know that our cache is low. So, at this point, to those in EXECOM: Will we expect some funding? As we already know the reasons one way or another, a simple yes or no would suffice.

If it's a no, however, expect to spend some cash, COPALs. PhP500, split amongst those yet to contribute, is not too much.

As I previously declared, I will be the one paying for the color cover.

PS. For future reference, be advised that talking to the artist is a time to talk about art, not new ideas. I understand that inspiration comes at odd times, pero ilugar niyo naman. You risk alienating the artist.

I'll be chipping in P100, least I could contribute.
Who am I suppose to give it to?

Someone who's going to be at the OGM. Razz

Edited paladin:

Cover pic:

Linkied because PB resized again

First time I saw the updated pix. For some reason new pix won't show up.

For the updated pix, I don't exactly get what you guys have in mind so I cannot comment much.

On kobolds constructing a roboeer.... golem... I only have one thing in mine... why are they wearing lab coats? @_@