Reving up my DIY Mojo

Whew, it was a crazy busy weekend of accompanying our guests from Seattle to several cool local attractions to give them a good taste (often literally) of the Veneto here in Italy. It has been lots of fun, but I haven't had much time for other projects. I DID get to work on a commission piece for Trey Causey's Wierd Adventures. I've pretty much completed the pencils so I'll send those off tonight so Trey can see what I've been up to before I start the inking work. I've got a few of my own projects that I'd like to work on before I head out to GENCON. I'm seriously thinking about begining a rather daunting DIY challenge as well. I'm a techie as well as an artist but I feel like my tech-fu is getting a bit rusty (I'm more on the IT Security management side of things than the hands on tech stuff these days). In order to facilitate getting my tech chops back up to par AND benefit my artistic skills, I'm thinking of building a Linux from Scratch system. I have a work station just sitting around and I'm thinking of starting from the ground up building my Linux box and then optimizing it to run GIMP and other open source tools as my desktop publishing/graphics workstation. I've attempted to do this in the past, but I just could not devote the time to it that I needed to (not that I have much time now). However, how cool would it be to be able to process my projects on a system that I've literally built from the ground up? Now that it my DIY challenge for myself, we'll see where it goes.

Back from Bavaria

I just got back from Garmisch, Germany today. I gotta tell you, I've been in love with the Bavarian Alps since I lived in Nuremburg as a teen. The area has a very dramatic and romantic feel that one can cetainly see where Wagner got his inspiration from. However, it is of course great to be back home in Bella Italia. I had hoped to be able to accomplish some artwork while I was gone, but alas, I accomplished no such feat. Instead, I spent my days listening to some very enlightening Information Security seminars and spent the evenings enjoying the German cuisine. I did recieve my copies of Vornheim and LotFP Grind House before leaving so I read those as well as my copy of a very decidedly non-old school Eclipse Phase (which is a fantastic Sci-Fi transhuman horror setting even if I find myself a bit befudled by the rules - perhaps adapting the setting to Stars Without Number would be more to my taste). I also got a chance to enjoy my Robin of Sherwood DVDs. My wife doesn't care much for Robin of Sherwood but I have a soft spot for the show which I first encountered when I was 14 living in Nuremburg. It figured into my gaming and was quite the inspiration for me. At the time, I don't recall much in the way of live action fantasy TV shows. Ah, at any rate, I'm going to enjoy my guests in town from Seattle and have some Pronto Pizza and enjoy the family before I head back to the drawing board this weekend.

Older Map/Birthday Project: Diceless Roleplay/pseudo LARP

Whew, I just finished off a set of commision pieces and am about to move on to another project. After I finish doing a project, I like to go back and look through my projects to see how I've evolved over time. Looking back through my project pictures, I came across some pictures for Bear's Fifth birthday (wow, was that really two year's ago?!?!). He wanted a knight themed birthday complete with a quest. I desinged the quest and the map. At the end of the quest, I knighted the kids. It was a lot of fun and gets me itching to do some more fun maps. I actually cut the large map up into various sections, rolled them up like scrolls and they found each new piece as they fulfilled the various quest segments. Several Years ago, Daisey made me a really cool Green Man costume that I wore as the "Green Knight" to guide the kids on the quest. Here's some photos of that "project".

I've got one more commission piece to finish up and then I'm going to work on some T-Shirt Designs, Dice Bag Designs and Business Cards for GENCON! More soon.

Light Posting for the next week and a half or so

A lot going on with Team Bingham as we have friends in town from Seattle and I've got to go to a conference in Germany next week so my posting will be sparse. I'm almost done with my latest batch of commissions and am thinking about some of my side projects. I'm getting pretty psyched about recieving my copies of Vornheim and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Grindhouse Edition in the mail. I did one illustration for the grind house for the malefic eye which you can see below:

Been Illin'

As in sick. Bear, Rosa and I all are sick and feeling a bit rough around the edges. Poor Daisey is harried trying to take care of all of the sickos whilst we have company coming in from Seattle tomorrow and she is trying to finish her online finals tonight for her master's program! Fortunaqtely, Rosa and I are feeling a bit better and Daisey's mom is staying with us for a bit so that relieaves some of the pressure. I've got some catching up to do on artwork but I'm pretty much on track. Once this set of commissions is over, I'm trying to think of what the next project will be. I've got a few things in mind. Probably I'll get back to work on Polstrus Lev and Basalt Keep with some other ideas floating around as well.

Sticking my thumb in the eye of the Beholder.

Stefan Poag posted today about a WotC contest (I'm not really sure if it was a contest, maybe a sort of WotC artists jam?) in which several artists do their own take a a Wayne Reynold's beholder painting. Stefan had the incredibly interesting idea that some of the artists in the OSR should maybe do their own take. You know what, I'm so down with that. I'm hoping more folks will also join in. What better way to show the playfulness and creativity of the OSR than by joining in (oh I know - there will be a few naysayers out there with their Eeyore like glumness and negativity but screw em). I've got a couple of commissions to finish up but I'm going to do this. Here's a copy of the picture in question:

I'm going to even try to get my son Bear in on the act (it's been to long since I've posted his art here). Maybe if Daisey isn't too overwhelmed with school, she'll even color it. It' be a fun family project. At any rate, I encourage anyone that can hold a pencil to take a crack at it. We'll show them what the old school beholders are all about ;).

Best of Breed

Dan Proctor of Goblinoid Games (Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, etc)announced that he has secured the rights to Time Master RPG. I'm only periphrially aware of Time Master and don't know much about it. I think that this is a cool development from what I can tell and from what little I know of the system, but it does leave me wondering, what systems should be brought back? I'm sure there are some exellent older games that suffered from lack of promotion/distribution back in the day and many not so worthy systems that got a fair bit of attion due to advertisement. I like the fact that Dan has done quite a bit to bring support back for older games (and I think he has done a great job of it). But do we have enough DIY toolkits out there already to model most of the settings/genre out there? What's missing? Old West shootouts like Boot Hill? Maybe, but I seem to recall someone working on that. I'm a big fan of TSR's Marver Superheroes FASERIP system. For me, it modeled the type of superhero slug fests that were the staple of Marvel Comics back in the 1980's. I'm kind of disappointed to find that 4C, the system developed by Phil Reed at Ronin Arts not take off. I think that it's a great fast paced, easy to play system that you could do quite a bit with. But then again, maybe I'm just a bit off. I was thinking about how we have some great fantasy systems that model just about every concievable fantasy angle and the Sci-Fi arena seems to be well represented as well. I was thinking I'd like to see something like a modern Delta Green/Conspiracy X/Fringe/X-Files type game using an OSR rule set. I suppose OpenQuest could be used but I'm thinking something a bit lighter like 4C. Although I'm not sure that 4C wouldn't lend itself better at moedling something like say Ghostbusters/Men in Black/Evolution. So, what else is there out there that has been under represented and what was out there that didn't get enough representation the first time around?

On RPG Art: Keep on Drawing (or painting, or digitizing, or printmaking) in the Free world

The topic of the moment in the blogosphere seems to be on the role of art in gamebooks. This topic tends to come up from time to time on the forums and on the blogs. This latest wave originated with James M. over at Grognardia and you can read it here. Stefan Poag offers further commentary on his blog here, Matt Finch also further expounds upon this topic in his blog here, along with N. Wright at Lawful Indiferent and most recently James Raggi.

As an artist that pretty much solely works for small press gamebook companies, I felt that it was only fitting that I chimed in. I think some very interesting points have been made on the topic, especially by Stefan Poag and Matt Finch. It is funny to me how many folks claim that they like low art/no art game books or prefer B&W over color as it help them fill in the details themselves. Frankly, as we should all know, it is really a matter of taste. The role of an RPG book is to convey rules or a setting. Art should complement that and not intrude on the function of the book. By that, I mean that the art shouldn't overwhelm the text on a page from a layout perspective. One should be able to read the text easily without having to strain due to the text being placed over a highly detailed artistic background. Pretty common sense I think. Some people even hold up the 3e era WotC rule books as being the biggest offenders. I don't find that in most cases that I have problems trying to read the text in the 3x game books (except that I find in the PHB and DMG the first page of a new chapter seems to be too graphic heavy and I can see those instances for a support of that argument). For me, the problem with the new stuff being put out by the larger companies isn't so much poor layout or too much color work, but more of a problem or aesthetics. I'm not quite sure where or when it became fashionable for artists to depict characters with impossibly sized weapons and armor. I'm not a big fan of the style, but unfortunately, it seems that it has permeated not just RPG books as the "in" thing, but comics, movies, video games, and indeed the very public consciousness as the way that fantasy art should be done.

I like Matt's inquest as to whether the OSR artists are evolving more along the lines of underground comic artists did and Stefan Poag's comment that 1) he can't draw like Lockwood 2) he probably wouldn't even if he could. I feel much the same. I don't disdain art heavy game books – I LOVE them. However, that being said, I have a particular taste and if there is a lack of verisimilitude, I tend to get turned off. I don't want to see guys with tiny heads and huge bodies wielding 10' swords – I'm just not willing to suspend my disbelief that much. It is funny considering that we are talking about fantasy here, but I think a touch of realism makes fantasy seem to be all the more – well, fantastic. Seeing a person outfitted in armor that resembles something from our historical past and accoutrements of a more human scale, transports me more into the scene. Well, that's why I suppose I find the OSR more my speed.

Now having said all of that, I have to say that I'm really applauding the efforts of guys like James Raggi pushing the envelope on what can be done with game books and even putting lots of art in his books. I'd like to see more color work in OSR game books. I mean, who wouldn't want to see a book that had work by say the likes of the Brothers Hildebrandt?

Or Frank Frazetta?

Or P. Craig Russel?

Even Wayne A. Reynolds, whom seems to be the bane of many art enthusiasts in the OSR has some pretty sweet work out there when he isn't being told to fit the corporate style of WotC or Paizo's art directors.

Do I think that the other guys like Stefan, ATOM, Glad, McDevitt, Scadgrad, Peter Mullen, Felt, AOS, or myself should not still continue to do art? Hell no I don't think that. I don't think that Frazetta's work invalidates my work – we have different styles, different techniques, different back grounds, different things to offer. Did I just dare to compare myself to Frazetta? Yeah, I did. We're both artists. Art is about exploring a vision. Everyone approaches it differently and the end results vary greatly. That is what is so awesome about it.

Finally, to get back on topic, I heartily encourage art in RPG books. I'd like to see more. I'd like to see B&W and color. I'd like to see wildly different and divergent stuff. I'd like to see more verisimilitude. I'd like to see stuff by guys I've never heard of. That's what's cool about this crazy quilt DIY kit-bash that we've involved in. Show me your rough strokes and finely polished finished results (after all Robert Crumb and Norman Rockwell are worlds apart but still respected masters of their own form of illustration – neither invalidates the other). Show me your crazy visions and I'll keep showing you mine ;).

A man ( and a mother) gotta eat!

Since we've been invited to hang out with our Italian landlords for mother's day, I decided to do my own mother's day feast today. My mother-in-law is staying with us for the next six months while Daisey works on her graduate degree. It's actually working out quite well. At any rate, this is where the pork products part of my blog byline comes in. I love to grill. Really. It's probably one of my favorite activities. So, I'm putting on some pork ribs, Italian sausage, pollenta and pork cutlets tonight. My grill accompaniment is a prosecco/aperol spritz and Delta Green Countdown with a mix of The Misfits/The Cramps/The Young Werewolves on the iPod. Here's some pictures done with my retro camera app on my phone to set the mood ;).

Oh, the HORROR!!

I've been on a bit of a horror themed rock kick lately. Bands like The Young Werewolves and The Drakest of the Hillside Thickets really have been getting a lot of airtime on my iPod lately. Rue Morgue, the horror magazine has recently released a free compilation of horror themed rock bands in thier second anthology Hymns from the House of Horror Volume II. I find that while not every band is to my taste, their is definitely a wide selection to choose from. I've even found a few new favorites like Kreeps and the Von Drats. I highly encourage everyone to go check it out. For free, you sure as heck can't beat the cost. And who knows, you may find some new favorites while your at it!

Up to no good

So, the countdown to GENCON is on! I am registered for the Hotel an rental car. Now, I just need to finish up the last of the B&W artwork for Expeditious Retreat Press' tournament module. I'm looking forward to meeting some folks and playing some games. I've got some more artwork lined up that I'm really looking forward to doing. It's been a very productive year for me artistically. So much so that I've put all of my own personal RPG projects aside for the time being. I'll get back to them when I have some downtime, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying working on other people's projects. Not to mention I feel a bit more motivated to actually follow through on projects for other folks than I tend to on my own. I think that is mostly because I tend to revise stuff a million times and then just end up never getting it out there because I'm not satisfied. The typical artist mentality - there is no such thing as finished art, only abandoned art.

Oh yeah, I also got a great hardcover edition of the Art of P. Craig Russell yesterday. It's a great book. I'm fairly certain that even if you don't know the name, you've probably seen some of his art. It is fantastic stuff for sure. Being a huge Elric fan, he really brought Moorcock's work alive for me.

Time to stop kidding myself

OK, I think I've mentioned it before, but I'm currently without a gaming group. I've often attributed this to a lack of gamers, but I'm realizing there is a pool of gamers out here. The real problem is lack of a hugely precious resource on my part - TIME. I've never hidden the fact that I'm a gamer and lately, I've even advertised it to several suitably geeky soldiers and civilians on post. Most of them (actually I think all of them) seem to really dig the idea of playing an old school D&D game. I think that's awesome.

However, as with so many things, I just don't know how to squeeze in the time to my schedule. Being a full time IT professional and devoted father and husband (not to mention aspiring artist!) leaves me with very little time. But, I feel that I have a great opportunity here to bring old school gaming to the masses (military types have always been a fertile ground for gamers) and should not squander it. So, I have this question: how the #$3@ do you guys find the time to do it ;)? I feel that I should at least strike while the iron is hot and get a bi-weekly game going. Hm, I'll just have to think on how to get this going (heh, of all the problems to have right?).

Registering for GENCON Events

So, I've made my hotel and rental car reservations. Now I am registering for events. I am actually a bit overwhelmed since this is my first time going, I'm not sure what to expect. I am wanting to get some gaming in as well as hit a few seminars. Actually, I mostly just want to meet people, toss around some dice and have a few beers and lotsa laughs. I'm pretty excited but also a bit nervous that I'll just end up loitering around a few booths and then going back to the hotel to watch some TV and do some art.

Another look at the Obsidian Sands of Syncrates cover

Yesterday I posted the color finished front cover for the Obsidian Sands of Syncrates cover. I figured I'd post the B&W original so that you can see some of the process involved and just how much of a team Daisey and I are when it comes to doing the color works.

It all starts from the art direction. Everyone tends to approach this a little different, but usually it takes the shape of a verbal sketch of the cene to be depicted and a size of the overall drawing. For this particular piece, Joe Browning uses cover images that are sized 5" x 7.5". You can visit the descriptive text on Joe's blog here. Some folks are very veribose and meticulous in their verbal depictions, others are very sparse. I think Joe's strikes a nice balance in that he frames a scene but gives me a lot of leverage in using my artistic vision to visually depict the scene.

Next, I'll usually pull out my sketchbook and do a rough thumbnail sketch. For this image, I roughed it out very lightly on the bristol board itself. Normally this is only something I do if I have a strong impression of what I want the final scene to look like. Otherwise I run the risk of "polluting" the surface of the final image by making marks that are difficult to erase of cover up in the final image.

For the 5"x7.5" pieces, I like to use 9"x12" bristol board. I then procees to "frame" my work by drawing a 1" border inside the work. This is mostly for psychological reasons as it helps me break the stark white of the page and gives me a frame of reference to work from.

I then proceed to pencil the image in with my trusty mechanical pencil. I also have some cool pencils that are made from recycled newspapers. I usually will use those to do the "finished" pencils. When I get the main line drawing portion done, I'll go back and start "spotting" my blacks - the areas that will later be filled in with solid black. Some artists just annotate in the drawing itself where the solid black areas are by placing x's or other marks. Others will actually shade in the entire area with pencils. I tend to do a mixture of the two. For smaller areas, I pencil them in. For large areas of solid black, I'll simply place some marks so I'll know that it is black later on when I begin inking. I find that if I use pencil on the large areas, later when I'm erasing the pencil marks, it tends to weaken the strength of the black ink. Anyway, that's the method that works for me.

Here's the end result of this stage in the process:

The finished inked image is now ready to be scanned into the computer. I'll import it to Photoshop and the rest of the process will begin. But first, I want to back up a step and mention Daisey's contributions up to this stage. Normally, Daisey doesn't usually read the art direction - she pretty much relies on my interpretation. While I'm penciling the work, she may offer some contributions in the form of suggestions to composition. Her greatest contributions come in the inking stage where she helps quite a bit with determining just how much black I should use. She has been great at encouraging me away from the crutch of using too much fussy detail to define an image and relying on form and context. So her eye helps play a critical role in helping determine the composition.

At this stage, Daisey takes over, and we reverse roles. She defines much of the color with me only imputing critical items that need to be depicted a certain way (i.e. the obsidian sands in this case). I offer my input on design decisions but the choices at this stage are largely hers. Daisey will often use reference photos to help define texture, pattern, lighting, etc. Here's two reference pictures she used on this work. The first she used to help work on the sand for the arena floor:

The next is what she used to help define the marble of the statues:

Once we finish, we save the work in a folder on the computer with the other color works and do a slide show. This helps us determine the strengths of the piece by visually comparing it to other works we've finished. Here's what it looks like at this stage:

I then go back in and crop it and size the image to the proper dimension. Here's the end result that gets sent in to the publisher:

Now the publisher applies their layout magic and we end up with the final result:

And thus you have the end result that is born of a symbiotic relationship. Having two creative types in the house is great as we are able to feed off eachother's energy to drive our projects, be able to openly and constructively provide feedback to help strengthen our endeavors, and its just plain cool to be part of a great team. And we do so hope that you enjoy the fruits of our labors. It is a joy to be able to bring these fatastic scenes to life!