Curmudgeons & Dragons

Labyrinth Lord Referees Screen revealed!

2012-01-13T20:58:00.000-06:00

Just got done signing all the Labyrinth Lord Referees Screens that kindly folks purchased through the Kickstarter program, and I do have a bit of a kink in my hand and neck. Still, it was awfully cool to get to sign all those screens, and so I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you guys in on the big secret. So, here you go, the art for the LL Refs screen that will be heading your way soon!

Flogging a Dead Horse

2012-01-03T18:50:00.000-06:00

Or at least it seems so. Some of you might remember this image, which I did for James Malisweski's Cursed Chateau back in 2009. This image not only got used in that adventure, but was also featured in a gallery show at the Indianapolis Contemporary Gallery featuring the art of that book.

Well, this week this same image will make an appearance at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art in New York City in the show titled "Dungeons & Dragons: On and Ever Onward" , which runs from January 4th to the 11th. I'm proud to represent our hobby in such a space, and a little shocked to have it happen yet again with this piece. Nice way to start out the new year, eh?

1st Post of the New Year

2012-01-01T16:54:00.000-06:00

And for the first post of 2012, I present the first drawing of 2012. Working on a study of dwarves, and this one is maybe a little too happy looking for my tastes. Definitely will try to dial up the dour for future studies.

Deadly Dawn Cover!

2011-12-29T10:37:00.000-06:00

The cover for an upcoming adventure for X-Plorers. Yay!

Men are from Mars

2011-12-26T15:51:00.000-06:00

Bloodsucking tree frogs, however, come from Venus.

Angels We Have Heard

2011-12-24T16:36:00.000-06:00

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Merry Christmas from Curmudgeons & Dragons!

4 days left! Last sneak peek!

2011-12-06T10:26:00.000-06:00

Only 4 days left to get in on the Labyrinth Lord Referee Screen Kickstarter! Another sneak peek to get those of you still on the fence off it!

In the Belt

2011-11-30T15:15:00.002-06:00

Another treatment day today, and so, asteroids.

Labyrinth Lord Referee Screen Peek # 3

2011-11-29T10:22:00.000-06:00

Yet another peek at the Labyrinth Lord Referees Screen coming soon! Have you reserved yours yet? Do so today!

Starfreighter to Cesta

2011-11-25T14:15:00.001-06:00

A Thanksgiving Gobblin

2011-11-24T21:04:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Again I axe you...

2011-11-22T10:11:00.000-06:00

Another peek at the Labyrinth Lord Referee's Screen. Are you sure you have yours reserved? Better get it!

Peek A Boo

2011-11-17T15:47:00.000-06:00

Sneak peek number 1 of the art for the Labyrinth Lord Referee Screen. Got yours reserved yet? Go get one!

Rocketing right along...

2011-11-13T21:32:00.000-06:00

This weekend has been busy for me, on the drawing board side of things. I've been working on the Labyrinth Lord Referee Screen all weekend, and things are coming together nicely. But, heck, I've had a lot to draw on this project! Sadly, the piece is too large for my scanner, so you don't get a peek at it today. But, hopefully, very soon... Until then, enjoy this, my favorite piece from the X-Plorers book.

Lessons in Time and Space

2011-11-12T16:38:00.001-06:00

Not only have I had the distinct pleasure of working on the Brave Halfling production of Dave Bezio's X-Plorers RPG, but I also get to pipe in from time to time over at the official X-Plorers Blog. My first installment, one of the hazards of space travel: Warpjacking.

Labyrinth Lord Referee Screen Kickstarter is in motion!

2011-11-10T11:46:00.000-06:00

For a while now, I've been working in secret of a piece of awesome that everyone who plays Labyrinth Lord will enjoy, and now the secret is out! Get in on the action here!

Out for a walk

2011-10-12T15:32:00.000-05:00

Where the heck have I been! Well, it does take a while to make it all the way back from Mercury...

Xplorers Limited Edition Boxed Sets!

2011-06-09T12:54:00.000-05:00

Brave Halfling has made the new limited edition X-plorers box set available for purchase here! I've had a lot of fun doing science fiction stuff, which was my first love before discovering fantasy fiction. Not only did I get to illustrate for the inside of these booklets, I got to do the covers as well, which was awesome!

Only 200 of these box sets will be available, and comes with all you see here, plus dice! Order yours today!

Questor 656

2011-05-07T16:29:00.001-05:00

I'm going to be participating in an Encounter Critical Play by Post soon, and just whipped up my character today! Meet, Questor 656, the friendly Pioneer Robodroid! (With apologies to Walt Disney and VINCENT)

NAME: Questor 656

RACE AND CLASS: Normal Robodroid Pioneer

CLASS: Pioneer

Special Class Abilities

Pioneer class may distribute 12 points between Camping, Consume Alien Food, Ranged Attack, Clue, Sneak Attack, Experience Bonus, Monster Friend, and Machine Friend

HP: 10

GP: 300

STATISTICS

ADAPTATION 15

DEXTERITY 13

ESP 10

INTELLECT 14

LEADERSHIP 14

LUCK 13

MAGIC POWER 10

ROBOT NATURE 12

STRENGTH 12

Logic 83

ABILITIES Machine Friend 32

Alchemist 19 Magical Attack 23

Appease 60 Meld 4

Argue 77 Melee Attack 55

Blind 0 Melee Damage 0

Camping 70 Mistaken Identity 15

Clue 26 Monster Friend 28

Command 68 Murder 0

Command Energy 22 Provide 20

Command Matter 18 PSI Resist 34

Conjure 3 Psychic Implant 9

Consume Alien Food 13 Ranged Attack 63

Crowd Manipulate 49 Ranged Damage 2

Enrich 22 Read Minds 12

Ensorcel 74 Restore Courage 55

Experience Bonus 10 Saving Throw 51

Explore 50 Scholarship 73

Fake 0 Seduce 53

Favor 0 See the Future 8

Great Feat 6 Sneak 42

Guard 58 Sneak Attack 42

Happenstance 25

Illicit 0

Interaction 1

Invisibility 75

Labor 78

Lesser Feat 64

History: Questor 656 was once just one of thousands of VDW's (Vulkin Droid Works) state of the art Mapperbot 600 series Explorer droids. Hundreds of these units were sent to explore and help settle Vanth during the Great Days of Exploration in the Galaxy. Questor 656, with help of the planet-wide net of communications satellites the Vulkins had placed, had roamed Vanth, mapping terrain, taking soil and vegetation samples, and observing and cataloging the native wildlife.

During his initial mission, Questor made the logical error of examining the nesting habits of the Vanthian Minelayer Bird too closely and was badly damaged in the resulting explosion. His shattered chassis fell into a nearby ravine and lay, unknown and undisturbed, for over 1000 years

Then, one day, his logic sequencer and optics flared back to life. Questor found himself in a dark burrow, being rebuilt and modified by a clan of helpful Hoblings. Many of his memory cells were still damaged beyond repair, and he was unsure what his function or mission might be. He spent many months thereafter guarding the burrow and generally doing whatever mundane tasks the Hoblings set for him.

However, during that time, his logic processor slowly but surely began piecing the parts of his old data cells back together. Finally it became clear to him what his mission was! He quickly found a way to remove his restraining bolt and escaped the Hoblings and floated off into the wilds. Raising his antenna, he quickly found that none of the his fellow mapperbots were reporting in, nor was the satellite network responding. He was on his own.

Description: Questor is a small robodroid about ½ a meter in height, floating on a pair of antigrav pods at an altitude of about 4 feet. He has a rugged appearance from the “repairs” of his former Hobling masters, and has three ventral manipulator arms, one attached with a very wicked looking machete, and has been retrofitted with an internal 9mm slug thrower.

Personality: Questor is a friendly robodroid, though he finds organics illogical and confusing at times. He enjoys the company of Vulkins, however, and will often partner with one. He is very detail focused and diligent, to the point of still broadcasting his findings from his explorations, just in case the satellite grid comes back to life one day.

Shape of Things to Come!

2011-04-12T20:18:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted much lately, but what I have been doing I haven't been able to share. Until today, that is! I've been having a lot of fun doing some drawings for Dave Bezio's X-plorers, which John Adams at Brave Halfling is going to be bringing your way soon! Click on Robby above to see John's announcment and the full version of Robbie's roboty goodness!

Now in Color

2011-04-05T20:45:00.001-05:00

Faster Monkey Games has just released "Realm of the Technomancer", an adventure designed for both Labyrinth Lord and Mutant Future, with funky rules on how to mix your sorcery and sci-fi together into one big happy lump! I'm extremely proud of this one, as it features my first two full color covers, both on the same product! The physical book is of the "flip book" variety, where you flip the book over to read one product and then again to read the other. Very funky stuff! Get it now, either in print or in PDF!!

All Tied Up

2011-03-05T16:07:00.000-06:00

Lots of projects on the burners, which is pretty cool. Keeping them all straight is starting to make me feel like this poor sap. OK, back to the salt mine!

Domo Arigato, Mr Roboto

2011-02-27T16:27:00.000-06:00

Go, Robot Man, go! From a new piece for an upcoming project!

Rollin on the River

2011-02-20T21:50:00.000-06:00

Okay, so it's been awhile since I posted anything at all. So, I give you Morlocks on an underground aquatic adventure!

Stopsign Gorilla Commands You!

2011-01-03T13:54:00.000-06:00

Make sure to get the new revised edition of Mutant Future! After all, you don't want some shotgun toting gorilla getting all ugly on you, now do you??

One two, one two, this is just a test...

2010-12-11T20:16:00.001-06:00

I've been toying with color on my new iPad, as well as learning to draw with my finger. This is a version of a drawing I did for Faster Monkey's "Wrack & Rune" Someday they hopefully will update the app I'm using to do larger size paintings, so it kind of has limited utility so far for my illustration work right now. Still, it's fun to expand the old skill set! This was done in Sketchbook Pro, for those wanting to know.

Ye who smelt it....

2010-11-07T12:31:00.000-06:00

And the crowd goes wild!

2010-10-23T21:32:00.001-05:00

I finally post something on the blog! I'm getting geared up for my busy season here at Curmudgeons, and I will try to be more diligent on my postings. Here's a little something from my current project!

Gone Quazy

2010-09-12T13:51:00.000-05:00

Some time ago, I promised someone a duck. Cheval on the Goblinoid Games forums wrote up a great character class for Labyrinth Lord; Duckfolk. Sort of a Donald/Howard the Duck kind of medieval mashup. I promised him a duck illustration, and it got shoved to the bottom of the pile, sadly. No more! Presenting, Sir Quackivere! WAAAAGH!

Finally!

2010-09-06T12:16:00.000-05:00

Final of the summer long drawing that took waaaaaay too long! Now to get to the other two-thirds of this project!

In Search of Skull Mountain

2010-09-03T20:02:00.000-05:00

Faster Monkey Games has released "Skull Mountain , an adventure for Labyrinth Lord that looks pretty awesome. (even with some of my scribbles in it!) Get it here!

Work in Progress

2010-08-29T21:24:00.001-05:00

You might remember this image from a few months back. I finally started inking, for pete's sake. I've been going through my books, looking at images I've abandoned in the past and am going to be making an effort to finish them, for better or worse. This one might turn out after all, hmmm....

While I was out....

2010-08-24T22:02:00.002-05:00

Miss me? I've been having a nice summer; hope you have too. Lately, things all seem to be about dwarves on my end. Hence, this fellow.

While you wait....

2010-06-14T19:36:00.003-05:00

Personal projects are the ones that get stalled most of the time. My little tactic to intimidate myself to do work on the last drawing did not get much in the way of results, as many of you may have noticed. But I have been busy, but with nothing I can show at this point. Anyway, if you please, some adventurers and Morlocks in the dungeon....

Beginnings...

2010-05-02T16:53:00.002-05:00

This is part of a process of self-intimidation to get me to finish a rather large personal project that I've cooked up. By posting parts of it as I work on it, I will feel more pressure to finish it rather than get so far and then let something else take it's place on the que. Wish me luck!

Monkeying around

2010-04-25T16:48:00.002-05:00

I feel like this a lot of mornings...

You are getting sleepy...

2010-03-23T07:50:00.000-05:00

Very sleepy....Aww, man, I could use a nap. From the Advanced Edition Companion.

Yes. I'm still here...

2010-03-22T16:47:00.001-05:00

Just been distracted is all.

Take me away!

2010-02-28T19:07:00.002-06:00

Spent today surfing the web and watching UFO and abductee shows on both History Channel and Netflix. Plus I have this weird triangle shaped mark on my arm and a funny rash.....

Thinking about the future

2010-02-22T07:44:00.002-06:00

Mutant Future, that is. I got to play in Dan Proctor's game at Gamicon a week or so ago and had a blast. I had forgotten the fun of finding ancient artifacts in the ruins, convincing some ancient computer to go ahead and shut off all those things it's been running for a thousand years or trying to figure out how to play a character with a defective dual brain. Definitely need to play this more in the future...

Off to play....

2010-02-13T06:19:00.000-06:00

I'm really not this mean when I DM...really I'm not...

Okay, I think I have this out of my system...

2010-02-12T12:38:00.001-06:00

Last of the Cafe Lad posts for awhile...

While we're on the subject..

2010-02-10T17:33:00.004-06:00

More of the Cafe Lad series. Here we see appearances of CL's nemeses, PlanTor and the dreaded Nine-Volt. Sadly, we aren't done yet.

Blast from the past

2010-02-08T21:24:00.003-06:00

Above is Cafe Lad, pint sized superhero from the mid-90's. Or, at least, he appeared in my sketchbooks during a period of barrista-ing during that period. What does he have to do with old school gaming? Not much, but he is old and I've always had a soft spot for the little fella, so here he is. Take that, Dino!

Why is this monster smiling???

2010-02-06T08:52:00.003-06:00

Because the Advanced Edition Companion is out! Go get it here!

Ahoy!

2010-02-03T07:48:00.003-06:00

One of the images I'm most happy with out of "Labyrinth Lord Revised". The ship ended up being a cross between a coracle and a trireme, but as long as no naval enthusiasts are offended, it all worked out.

AEC is watching you...

2010-01-31T21:18:00.003-06:00

Just a reminder that Goblinoid Games' "Advanced Edition Companion" for Labyrinth Lord is coming soon! This is going to be an awesome book! Dan Proctor really has composed a product that I wanted back in the early 80's and now has finally come into being. It really allows you to give your players the "Advanced" experience while not making the gamemaster's job one iota more complex. Keep your eyeballs peeled like above for this one!

Elves and Dwarves and Hobbits (oh my!)

2010-01-17T19:45:00.002-06:00

Tolkien started it, and ever since Elves and Dwarves have never gotten along. Or at least, that was the deal in AD&D as well. Leave it to the poor Hobbit to have to fix things. (Of the three, he's the one that will need the counseling..)

More Encounter Critical

2010-01-16T14:54:00.001-06:00

The Radioactor, in a pool of it's own toxic goo. Enjoy!

Turn turn turn...

2010-01-09T21:51:00.003-06:00

One of the things that I enjoy about doing fantasy illustration is the costuming. As I've said before, I love to draw drapery. I remember thinking back in college that if I could do nothing but paint drapery, I'd be happy. Well, that doesn't exactly pay the bills, but it is a fine thing to do.

This is a cleric turning the undead, which is one of my favorite D&D bits. Doing it with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee would have been ideal, but I wanted to make sure there were more women in my drawings and I'm usually not one for portraiture anyway. Plus the costuming was fun. Again with the drapery.

A Happy Encounter for your New Year

2010-01-02T22:22:00.003-06:00

Jeff Rients has proclaimed 2010 "The International Encounter Critical Year"! In honor of him and it, I post my version of the Cave Robodroid. This is one bot that means business!

Don't know Encounter Critical? Oh my....you'd better go here and get wise!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T20:27:00.003-06:00

Well, another year is nearly gone here at Curmudgeons & Dragons. I want to thank everyone who visits here all those who have enjoyed my posts. I certainly have enjoyed posting my drawings for everyone and look forward to another big year.

I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!

Steve

Sneaking one in there...

2009-12-16T16:39:00.003-06:00

Some images are spawned by things you read, or something someone says or just the way someone holds their lunch in their hands. This one was inspired by needing an image of a thief that could only be an inch or so high on the page. I didn't want to make him tiny, and I didn't want to just do a head and shoulders type portrait. Thus, we get the thief crouched in front of a lock. I think it made him more "thiefy", especially having him hidden in heavy robes. Plus, I love to draw drapery.

Chemicals are our friends

2009-11-16T06:16:00.003-06:00

Spent yesterday drawing, which was a treat since I felt good enough to do it. Some of you might be aware, I am undergoing chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer. Treatments are going really well, though, so I get to take a week or two off for the holidays. Usually during treatments, I don't feel good enough to do anything but sleep. This week, I was awake and active and could actually get some things done. Don't know if it's the medicine or God's healing, but I'll take it!

Another excerpt from Labyrinth Lord Revised.

Tiger tiger..

2009-11-06T07:41:00.002-06:00

This is one of the images appearing in Labyrinth Lord Revised, (soon available in a game store near you). Dan asked for a weretiger, and I couldn't make a "tigerman" drawing look interesting enough. I thought this was a better approach, though the urge to make the noses of the two faces line up was fairly overpowering.

Now that's a big frog..

2009-11-04T07:46:00.002-06:00

Toad, actually. The last session of Labyrinth Lord I ran, my player ran into a giant toad. Her and her henchmen put up a valiant battle, but many of them were eaten. You wouldn't think a big amphibian would cause that much trouble, would you?

The rest of her henchmen were killed later by a giant leech. But, you'll excuse me if I don't draw one of those. They give me the creeps...Yick.

Maybe this will finally get it out of my system.....

2009-11-01T18:41:00.000-06:00

Still getting it out of my system...

2009-11-01T12:31:00.003-06:00

Some things get stuck in your head and you need to let them out. I've been doing a lot of thinking about Star Trek lately, mostly on the gaming side, and this is where I'm at today. Been tinkering with Federation Commander and rereading my old FASA Trek books, along with the TOS Last Unicorn version.

The thing that always annoyed me about the Enterprise was just the odd shapes the ship has. That saucer with it's odd curves and just tinkering with perspectives to get the nacelles to look right. I'm not saying I have, but this is the ship that showed up in my notebooks most often in grade school.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T13:03:00.000-05:00

Don't eat all your candy at once!

Getting it out of my system.

2009-10-27T19:48:00.003-05:00

I've got lots of things I need to get drawn. This was not one of them, but I've had this Barsoom thing floating around in my head lately, and sometimes the best way to get rid of something is just to draw it.

So, here we are. You'll notice the gunner has interesting proportions; it might be the gravity on the Red Planet, or an overexposure to the 8th ray or something...

Relics of the Past

2009-10-27T06:24:00.001-05:00

So I was reading Grognardia last night, and James is talking about maps and mapping. When I was a young pup (15 or 16 years old, which was awhile ago) I seemed to have endless patience for making dungeon maps; spending hours on them to the exclusion of homework or sleep.

This is, sadly, the only remaining artifact of my obsessive mapping days: a single level of a Martian Palace. This was put together using the tables from the Dragon magazine article " Deserted Cities of Mars" by Jim Ward, and you can spot some of the notes scrawled on the map confirming that this was supposed to have had four floors with 5 towers for egg incubation. I'm particularly fond of the ramp going to the next level in the center, with the secret passage to a ramp leading into the lower levels, obviously lit by eternal radium bulbs.

Obviously.

Bugbear with pants

2009-10-17T10:55:00.004-05:00

I've always liked the somewhat comical bugbears that Erol Otus would draw, and I saw no reason not to follow suit. There are plenty of terrifying, horrific monsters in gaming; I can do a funny one.

This was inspired by Otherworlds Miniatures Bugbears, which are so awesome, but could use some pants.

Anyone here read Portugese?

2009-10-13T20:24:00.002-05:00

I have a piece appearing in Old Dragon Fast Play Test, a free RPG in Portuguese by Antonio Sá Neto, Daniel Ramos and Fabiano Neme.

The book itself looks pretty cool, and I can figure out a few things here and there (things like "Paralisia ou petrificação" in the saving throw spots). I'm proud to be sort of in another language in another part of the world.

Some people will tell you the "Golden Age" of RPGs was in the late 70's and early 80's. I'm telling you, with the amazing variety of games and ideas from all over the world that surround us everyday, THIS is the Golden Age of the RPG. And it's really pretty cool.

I think I can post this now...

2009-10-05T19:11:00.003-05:00

This year I came in 3rd in the B&W illustration section of Fight On's Erol Otus Challenge and won some cool minis. This was my entry, which I owe thanks not only to S. John Ross' Encounter Critical for not minding me dropping Thrazar's name, but also to one of my readers here.

I forget who, but someone commented that my stuff reminded them of comic panels, and asked if I did that kind of work. (I usually don't) This got me thinking of some of the cheap b&w sci-fi comics I used to read when I was a kid. In particular, this issue of this magazine.

I remember some fairly tacky stories in here, but very gritty and well drawn. And it did cast me back to do something about Thrazar, whom I believe could have appeared in this magazine without problem. Hence, our post today. Thanks, readers!

Emerging into the light....

2009-09-07T17:16:00.005-05:00

Labyrinth Lord Revised is now available on Lulu, RPGNOW and will soon at YourGamesNow!
Go get yours!

Where I have been all this time.

2009-09-01T07:57:00.002-05:00

Finally, the secret project can be revealed! Get all the scoop from Dan Procter here

My favorite goblin

2009-07-09T08:00:00.003-05:00

This little guy is from the cover art for the upcoming Advanced Edition Characters for Labyrinth Lord. I don't know if it's the helmet, or the look on his face, but I think he's the best bit in there.

Lazy Saturday...Let's play in the sandbox...

2009-07-04T15:23:00.002-05:00

There's been a lot of talk on old school blogs about "sandbox play", which I think is pretty cool to discuss, even though old school players were doing this all along and just didn't know there was a name for it. I've never been very good at creating game worlds whole cloth, but I can fill in a hexagon or two here and there...

Anyway, enough chatter: time to get back to work!

Delving the depths of busy!

2009-06-04T07:13:00.004-05:00

If I haven't been posting in awhile, it's not for lack of doing anything! Things here have been thick between family and work and new projects (not to mention SECRET projects!) , but I will try to get a few more things posted in the near future.

Fight On! #5 is out!

2009-05-28T11:59:00.002-05:00

Issue # 5 of Fight On! has been released and it's a cool looking one for sure! I have two little bits in this issue, and the quantity and quality of the art you see in FO (by all artists involved, not just me! ) just keeps getting better and better! This keeps raising the bar to which I feel I need to perform to, which is good for everyone involved.

Anyway, I'm proud to be involved with Fight On!, and you need to go buy a copy right now!

By Thrazar, Erol Otus gave me a prize!

2009-05-19T18:00:00.003-05:00

Winners were announced for the Erol Otus Art Challenge, presented by Fight On!. There were a lot of really cool entries, and yours truly came in 3rd in the Black and White category! I have to admit, it was pretty cool to know that Erol Otus picked my drawing.

I can only show a smidgen of the image I submitted. To see this and all the winners in their full glory, you'll need to wait for Fight On #5 to be released! Congrats to all the winners and all those who submitted and made the contest a big success!

Back at it with Goblins..

2009-05-10T21:54:00.002-05:00

I had a bit of a hiatus for awhile, but now I'm going to try to get more things posted again. The last thing I completed was for the Erol Otus Art Challenge, which I can't post without getting disqualified as per the rules of the contest. But this one, I think I'm safe with.

This is part of a project I'm working on with the Unstoppable Sham. These little guys look like trouble to me.

The Martians have landed!

2009-04-05T14:10:00.004-05:00

I know I haven't been the best at posting lately, but life has been weird. These Martians, created out of bits of free figures by Patrick Crusiau, (except for the Grey "man" above, which I had to create whole-cloth) are what I've been doing for the past week. They were created to be used with Adamant Entertainment's Mars, which just has been released for use with Savage Worlds.

To use them, download them here, fold each figure along the center line, sandwich-fold and glue them, and trim them, leaving about a 1/8 of an inch of white space. Trim to the red line at the bottom of the figure. Then, go to One Monk's great figure site, download the "Mars" figure bases and use those to base them.

These aren't exactly "Old School", but they could find a use in a lot of old school games. (Warriors of Mars, anyone?) Anyway, feel free to use them!

Eat, drink and be Mary

2009-02-10T07:05:00.002-06:00

A sneak peek at upcoming art for Fight On #4. Note that the wizard and the hobbit finally found some friends!

A brush with the past...

2009-02-08T10:33:00.003-06:00

Back in college, it was the "thing" at the time to draw with a brush instead of a pen. It gives a nice flowing line and also helps when you can't get your damned tech pens unclogged. This was for an issue of Footprints from Dragonsfoot.

Failing my FART roll....

2009-02-07T09:35:00.002-06:00

Is it just me, or does this guy have his chainmail tucked into his pants? Looks painful. Hopefully whatever is at the bottom of that pit will take his mind off of it.

Phase 4: Oh Crap...

2009-02-05T07:58:00.003-06:00

In working on this drawing, I made one big error: not finding out more from the one who ordered it. When we last left off, I had thought this drawing was in the can and done. Then I find that I've made a big error: the chateau is supposed to be a ruin, not a nice looking building.

Parts of the second floor needed to be collapsed. Luckily, GIMP was there to rescue me and I didn't have to resort to anything drastic. Still, I thnk it turned out well.

Phase 3: Chateau!

2009-02-04T07:57:00.003-06:00

After finishing the inks on the horses, it was time to add the Chatueu itself. Working from maps that James had given me, I figured what angle the building would be from this vantage and there you go! I had a lot of fun doing the clay tile roof, though I got off on my rows here and there.

But we're still not done!

Next time: Fables of the Deconstruction!

Phase 2: Go to Black

2009-02-03T07:55:00.002-06:00

Next up: Inks! Using a #1 nib, I start inking in the sketch. You'll notice this is where the detail bits get thrown in. I never bother with those in the initial sketch. I like to block out angles and general shapes there and get down to the nitty gritty with the ink.

Two notes: These are hippocampuses, not hippogriffs as I posted last (At least I got hippo...) Also, I give hippocampuses hooves. I see a lot of drawings of them with these little, delicate flippers on the end of their giant, powerful legs. Looks like they wouldn't last long to me!

One more note: This was the first drawing I'd ever done with horses in it. Just never done it before. I had to do a lot of research on how horses are put together for this drawing. I'm happy with it, though!

Next time: We conquer the Chatuea!

Evolution of a drawing: Phase 1

2009-02-02T17:33:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I haven't posted in a loooong time! I got stuck on a drawing awhile back, and then got busy, and you know how the rest!

I've decided to do a three part post on the evolution of a drawing. Today we start with an image I did for James
Maliszewski's "Cursed Chateau".

He had asked for a drawing of a three tiered fountain in a courtyard. He wanted the fountain to have hippogriffs on it somehow. I got the idea of having the hippogriffs supporting the tiers of the fountain with their tails. The drawing above is the rough I sent to James for approval.

Tomorrow: Inks!

Wizard!!

2008-12-12T12:39:00.003-06:00

Another example of why it is hard to be a Lizardman.

Family time!

2008-12-06T07:53:00.003-06:00

I've got lots of holiday things going on today, so a family-themed post seems right. I did this family of Trolls for Fight On #3 for "County of Haghill and Environs" by James Mishler. He posits the idea that female trolls are not quite as hideous as their male counterparts, and also have tails that may or may not give them magical powers.

These were ideas that really have breathed life into the D&D troll for me. I have to admit being a little "Tolkien-centric" and disliking D&D trolls from the get-go. But, after 25 some odd years, they have finally begun to grow on me.

You will also note the homage to the original D&D troll by Dave Trampier. (edit: In my confusion, I have given credit for the D&D troll to the wrong artist. Sutherland, not Trampier, did the original troll illustration. Trampier did a version of it in the PHB, which is what I was looking at.) I may have not cared for the monster, but I have always loved that illustration.

Negotiations

2008-12-02T21:20:00.003-06:00

Sometimes it can be better to try to talk one's way out of trouble. Especially when trouble thinks you look tasty...

Original Edition Characters on Grognardia

2008-11-25T18:24:00.003-06:00

James Maliszewski of Grognardia fame gives a very good review of Original Edition Characters for Labyrinth Lord over on his blog. It's a product that I'm very proud to have been able to help out with.

These guys are definitely in trouble. I stuck in the guy with the spear and helmet as tribute to Erol Otus, who is the one of the few D&D artists to show his adventurers using spears rather than swords. You get him, fellas!

"Ogres! I've got an Ogre-Slaying knife! It's plus 6 against Ogres!"

2008-11-24T07:51:00.003-06:00

Sure you do, pal...sure you do.

Don't feel too bad for the turkey this Thursday...

2008-11-22T20:00:00.001-06:00

After all, some birds are just plain mean!

The Limed Over Skeleton of the Abbott

2008-11-22T14:43:00.002-06:00

If you played AD&D, then you remember this guy. This was back in the day when rulebooks had interesting examples of play in them, which are always fun to read. (At least for me!) Now, where's by 10' pole...

Fight On #3 is Out!

2008-11-20T10:10:00.006-06:00

This is Crazy Clonk, and he appears in the new issue of Fight On! in “Spawning Grounds of the Crab Men”, a dungeon adventure written by the unstoppable Sham! Go buy it right now!

As an aside, I have to admit that after drawing Clonk up there, I ended up at Red Lobster later in the week. I am, if nothing, very suggestible.

Another note: though I am very happy and with Clonk and all the images I've submitted to Fight On!, there is one that I submitted for #3 that I am exceptionally happy with. What is it? You'll have to buy it and see ! (Oh, I'll eventually post it, but I'd like to see it in print first :))

ZZZZAP!

2008-11-12T07:12:00.001-06:00

No Thoul like an old Thoul...

2008-11-07T22:13:00.002-06:00

Further color experimentation with our friend, the Thoul.

Back to Town, again...

2008-11-07T22:07:00.002-06:00

I've featured this image already, but I did a color version that I think works a lot better. The elements in the drawing separate out in a more engaging fashion, I think.

More Dungeoneering..

2008-11-07T05:36:00.004-06:00

I did "Hall of Doom" as an illustration for Basic Fantasy RPG, and have even seen it as a mildly animated banner ad on message boards, which was a little weird at first. ("Hey, that's me!") It's meant to be reminiscent of illustrations from the old Dungeonmasters Guide, and I think it succeeds on that front. Another drawing where I really got into drawing stone.

Breaking and Entering....

2008-11-06T07:24:00.003-06:00

My first big rookie DM mistake that I remember: Never put a lock that needs to be picked at the entrance to the dungeon! DM: "You fail to get the lock open" CALLER: "Okay, let's go somewhere else then. How about that forest on the edge of the map..."

Who's There?

2008-11-05T07:53:00.001-06:00

Evolution of the Bugbear

2008-11-04T02:02:00.004-06:00

"Large, hairy, overgrown goblins with a strange, shuffling gait" is how I've seen the Bugbear described, but you don't hear much about the "strange gait" anymore in later editions of D&D. Originally, the Bugbear is shown to look like this character, but that got changed when AD&D hit the market. While the original does strike my whimsy in a fond way, I still end up describing Bugbears in my games mostly as above. Except, maybe, with less armpit hair...

More Tolkien...

2008-11-03T07:17:00.003-06:00

It's November, and that is usually the time of year that I bust out "Lord of the Rings" and either re-read it or peruse my favorite sections. So, here is another Tolkien inspired piece: "Earendil".

More Halloween!

2008-10-31T16:53:00.002-05:00

Boo!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T08:03:00.002-05:00

Turambar

2008-10-30T21:32:00.003-05:00

I did this a loooong time ago. It is inspired by Tolkien's character, Turin Turambar, who slew Glaurung the Dragon in The Silmarillion. Here he is wearing the Dragon Helm of Dor-Lomin. Do I get any more geeky here?

Note: I rarely draw in this style anymore. I kept getting asked to design tattoos, which got tiring.

None more bold.....

2008-10-29T22:38:00.003-05:00

...than the Kobold. I always liked kobolds as little scaly dog-men; not the kin of dragons and lizards that they are pictured as today. Watch your ankles!