Friday, May 17, 2013

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Gimpy Old Man

I bunged up my drawing hand pretty bad - apparently tendonitis - and have been laying off the drawing.  It's been maddening.

I . . . must . . . draw . . .

The swelling is down and the pain is only mildly annoying, so I should be back in form soon.  I need to learn not to squeeze the pencil so hard that the graphite fuses into diamond.  Oh - and maybe take a few breaks and not draw 8 hours straight.

In the meantime, I've been digging deep into the Beta for the new Star Wars game.  From what I've seen of the Beta and the already published beginning game, I think the final product in - what was it - July? - will be really cool.

The game has a lot of weird dice and unusual mechanics, to me, but it seems to all make sense when you put it together.  It is definitely a step away from anything with a d20 in it.  Or a d6.  Heck, the only dice it uses with numbers are percentiles - and that's just to roll on the occasional result list.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, I could jot down a review in a post or something.  :)

- Ark

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Pherosathoola, Goddess of Sexual Fear - Final . . . Maybe . . . Kinda . . . Sorta . . .


Here is Pherosathoola, finished.  More or less.  I think.

I've got a ton of things I want to add and fiddle with, but you have to stop sometime before the piece is a muddled mess.  I . . . ugh.  I don't know.  I'd like to detail the background more, but the foreground is important.  Far more.  And most of those old Monster Manual and Deities and Demigods images didn't have much of a background either.  And the desolation of it kind of fits with the whole snake motif.

So, it's time to just smack down all the voices in my head and spit this puppy out.

However, if anyone has some constructive criticism, I'd be happy to listen.  Like the whole freckle idea.  That was a stroke of brilliance.  On occasion, art by committee work.  Sometimes.  A bit.  On alternate February 29ths.  ;)

Hmm . . . maybe a fancy border.  Ack!  No!  Shut up, voices!

- Ark

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Goddess Interrupted


Okay - not interrupted - just in progress.  For those of you who are interested in the process, here is Pherosathoola midway through here first inking, with the original pencils faded.

Yes, I said first inkng.  After I scan the final pencils in and pull up the piece in Photoshop, I start inking.  In the first inking pass I am not so interested in varying the line weight - think and thin - I am just working on accurate line placement.  Line thickness at this stage is incidental - except in the face, where I do fiddle around.  I'll do maybe five more inking passes, making certain lines thicker in places.  This is to provide perspective through line weight, help sort out certain object (that tangle of snaked on her head mainly,) to help enhance important bits (face and boobs and the curve of her rear end,) and finally, but most importantly, to provide a flow of action for the eye to follow.

And you thought they were just lines!  Ha!

- Ark

Friday, April 26, 2013

Idea for Star Wars Game

Fixed point in time.
I'm sooooo sorry.
The players are a spaceship crew who has had their freighter impounded on the peace-loving planet of Alderaan, and their captain is in the clink on charges of gun-running.  While commiserating at the local cantina, the players hear news of a moon-sized space station entering the Alderaan system.  It's announced on Alderaan Holo-Net that the gigantic space craft must be some kind of thoughtful peace offering from Emperor Palpatine - maybe even with goodies inside.  Like a piñata.

The incarcerated and suspicious captain is the only one who knows the key-codes to get the freighter running.  The Alderaanic Port Authority has the ship securely bay-clamped.  The players know they are being watched by:
  1. the Alderaanic Bureau of Investigation, because they think the players know where the hidden weapons are, and
  2. Happy the Hutt, covert leader of the shadowy Alderaanic Underground, because he thinks the players know where his shipment of hidden weapons is.
The players, however, do not know where the hidden weapons are.  Heck, they aren't even allowed to HAVE weapons on Alderaan.

As the gigantic space station enters Alderaan orbit and eclipses the sun, the players get a collective bad feeling about the whole situation.

Whatever will they do?

:)

- Ark

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Who Are They?


I doodled these guys tonight while having a beer.  I don't know them.  If you are so inclined, let me know who they are, and feel free to stat them up in the system of your choice. :)

(I have no idea what Malta 5000 means, either.)

- Ark