Legions of Steel Forum
Legions of Steel => General Discussion => Topic started by: grendeljd on March 28, 2011, 10:39:36 AM
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This thread can be used to announce any artwork members add to the media gallery, I'll start it off with this;
[smg id=49]
Its a quick sketch I doodled up of a Fantasian while at work last night - I was primarily interested in figuring out how to draw the face, with the goal of doing a nicely rendered image of the beloved 'Iron Leader' himself later, in full regalia. I was trying out something for that strange 'patch' of skin on the top of the head as drawn by Dave McKay [the Fantasian in boxer shorts pic] but I think maybe it looks too much like a weird brush cut hair-do instead of a chunk of skin...
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I think if you make the texture a little more similar to the skin on his face it would look good.
I don't have my books anymore so I can't reference other art. But if it is supposed to be
more of a "flap" all you would need to do is make it look a little less attached at the edges.
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Hopefully Clark (or if we are lucky, Tom!) can shed some light...
for the life of me, i can't remember what the 'head piece' is all about!
btw- nice artwork!
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That is the tympanum dome, a vestigial organ suspected of being a sonar receptor in their evolutionary precursors. The size, shape and texture vary among races and individuals. The blue-skinned Ukri are described as having "an over large forehead tympanum dome" on page 96 of Planetstorm. There are not very many pics that detail the face and skull. Each artist made their own variations on the theme. We don't, as yet, have a visual guide to go along with "The world according to Draegor and the genetic scientists of the Party" found in the margin of page 92.
Perhaps chronic steroid use causes distortions in the dome's proportions. Calvin Klein there is seriously cut for a Fantasian with their natural, subdermal insulating layer.
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With the Fantasians... when in doubt, the underwear model is an abberation, the Tom Frank version is the "real" template.
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I knew basically what I wanted the Fantasians to look like so I drew a crappy little sketch of a face and then a helmet and facemask. Tom worked off of those. For most other figs he just worked off of a one line description like "skeletal robot with machine gun" or "10 foot tall demonic robot with flamethrower".
The Sniperbot was a camel: designed by committee. We couldn't agree on what it sohould look like and we ended up with a head that nobody really liked.
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Personally - I blame you for that outcome. I have proof!
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Ok, lay it on me.
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because....I have your doodles and handwriting in my sketchbook beside all the misbegotten concept attempts.
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But it wasn't just me and you; Derrick and Marco had their own views that we couldn't reconcile nor agree on. . . so we got a camel.
If I recall, I wanted a basically featureless face.
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The Sniperbot was a camel: designed by committee. We couldn't agree on what it sohould look like and we ended up with a head that nobody really liked.
That guy is one of my favourite figure designs, and I LIKE the head! lol
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Calvin Klein there is seriously cut for a Fantasian with their natural, subdermal insulating layer.
Sounds like you like the cut of his jib, Clark - LOL!
I was definitely using Dave McKay's drawing as a primary reference point, there aren't many other pics of them out of armor. I'll add some flubber to his body if I do up a nice version of this. I think I made his head rounded and flabby enough?
By the way, Clark, I sent you a PM via this forum a couple weeks ago with a revised rough drawing of the LoS graveyard pic. Let me know what you think, if you got the image ok.
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not that i ever drew them out of armour, but i always saw them as kinda like those big-ass tongan and somoan guys. not fat or soft, just...y'know?
and the sniper? overall i like the figure... it just the damn thing is basically 80% the same as the original marco saw. we wasted like six hours to go with the first try. :(
never EVER let rules guys watch the concept art while you work on it.
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LOL,
Actually, the Samoan wrestler comparison strikes me as apt.
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With the Fantasians... when in doubt, the underwear model is an abberation, the Tom Frank version is the "real" template.
sounds like a slam! lol
sometimes we get things right, other times... underwear models.
If i remember correctly, that was Marco's fault so... apologies Tom, wherever you are! :P
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not that i ever drew them out of armour, but i always saw them as kinda like those big-ass tongan and somoan guys. not fat or soft, just...y'know?
Dave's inspiration, :P
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e9/Peter_Maivia.jpg/220px-Peter_Maivia.jpg)
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heh - that did come across a bit harsher than it was supposed to...
all things considered - looking at the substantial differences in all three of our styles, it's actually impressive we managed to keep things as close as we did.
i mean - the infranite scouts - i may have done thier concepts, but it was all based on Dave's work. plus, i got to work on them when Marco wasn't standing at my shoulder offering advice.
:)
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You were VERY lucky, Tom! Marco was almost always over my shoulder, but i seem to work better that way... sometimes!
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bites Dave on the ankle.
is Wes, not Tom.
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Actually, if that picture was close to what the inspiration was, then the drawing is actually pretty close to correct, IMO.
It's actually pretty close to what I imagined Fantasians to look like...
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Seriously, I just Googled "samoan wrestler images" and this came up. I would have no cause to do so but for the Wes comment.
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hahahahahhaah.
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I'm right here, just not with much Internet access. Apology accepted, Captain Needa...No worries Dave. Like Clark says, there are many reasons old Calvin might be so buff, not least to show superiority to the monkey boys from Earth in a manner that would resonate with human aesthetics... AS for design philosophy, once we really got going, Clark and Marco pretty much let me go with the Fantasians...Commie Nazi hypoglycemic bipedal elephant seals with Russki kit seemed almost autobiographical. As a point of interest, the VI 3 heavy tank was designed with the admission that there probably would never be a kit for it so one could easily be built by kitbashing a KV-1 with applique armour and a T 72 or T 80, plus a blister of Fantasian accessories that Global would produce later. It would be up to the gamer whether you used Bandai/Zhengedifu 1/48th armour or Tamyia 1/35th. 1/48th would be closer to figure scale, but oversize vehicles seems more "science fictiony" somehow.
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I recall the UNE FAV being my idea but Tom came up with the quad cycle and hex runner without any input from me. Same with the Warbear.
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I have a lot of the LOS art in digital form. As yet, I don't see a commercial downside to making digital copies available here. So for Tom, Wes, Dave and others if you give me the go-ahead I will post what I have here.
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As long as you also include the appropiate copyright disclaimer so that others do not assume it is free use artwork.
Dave Chase
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Seriously, I just Googled "samoan wrestler images" and this came up.
That image feels pretty 'bang on' for Fantasian anatomy - bulky, with no overly defined musculature, & slightly flabby but in a way that generally enhances natural strength.
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feel free to post any of my work, Clark.
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Global owned the art Clark, you don't need my permission to post it, but thanks for asking anyhow. Happy to see it used again....
More art trivia...Every blaster carrying UNE Commando (Square or round based) has the buzz number 118 sculpted onto his left breast because in the original concept piece, that was the trooper's number. Thank Grud Marco had blanked out the rest of the trooper's ID marks because that particular design which became the Paladin suit was originally my design for a Waffen SS battlesuit. (I'd just seen "Kishin Corps...").
The Ironsides Assault armour was based on the Allied suit...
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Global owned the art Clark, you don't need my permission to post it, but thanks for asking anyhow. Happy to see it used again....
Usually, i sign a contract that says something along the lines of: 'Artist agrees to sell 1st print rights to company... company has the rights to use images as advertisement as well, on the understanding that no revenue is to be collected directly from the ads, ie: prints for sale,etc'.
I cannot for life of me remember if we did that, Clark but, i think that you can treat my artwork as 'owned' by you!
I would like to add that if/when you plan to 're-release' a new LoS, that Tom,Wes and myself do brand new artwork for it!
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feel free to post any of my work, Clark.
So pretty much anything with 5 or 6 movement points? ;D
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Copyright law in 100 words of less: if you were on the payroll at the time then it is a "work for hire" that goes to the employer. The miniature conceptions would be outright assignments because it makes no commercial sense to do otherwise. My understanding was that the other illustrations were second or third print rights as that was industry standard.
But I was asking to be polite, not due to any legal mumbo jumbo. If no one sees a downside, then why not?
If there is new art to be done I will look to the old crew and some new crew we have here as a starting point.
I've read some online comments that suggested LOS needed a new look. Some were on the order of not bad for 15 years ago.
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If there is new art to be done I will look to the old crew and some new crew we have here as a starting point.
I've read some online comments that suggested LOS needed a new look. Some were on the order of not bad for 15 years ago.
I'd be happy to jump into your "Art Department" if needed ;)
You do have a wealth of great stuff to just plunk into the 3e, but some new work by the old crew would be great to see. Is Yan Rozentsvieg lurking around here yet as well, by any chance?
On the subject of getting a new look... I hate to say it because it implies criticism, but I feel some things may need a 'fresh coat of paint' so to speak. I think greyscale art is the order of the day in most modern books, if you can get enough of it going to complement existing art, it wouldn't hurt. You guys were definitely on the right path with the blue box edition rulebook, using greyscale versions of older pics & the painted figurine art looked really good.
There is never a graphic designer credited in any of the rulebooks [tsk,tsk!], may I ask who generally did that chore? [I read the post about Planetstorm coming together over a weekend, that sounds like it was a nightmare]
I don't mean to toot my own horn too much, but I was playing with a few graphic ideas in the scenarios I've posted in the media gallery. Namely I was trying to establish a sci-fi feel with the look of the capsule boxes for each block of text. I think you need a more cohesive look like that to really sell the visual side of the rules. I also [>ahem< *sorry!* :-[ ] was working out a new-ish LoS logo too...
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AFAIK Josh did the graphic design and layout (and much of the art) for a very large (small press) gaming book of my acquaintance. Thorough, consistent, good readability. I'd love to see it with higher print quality, the on-demand stuff I have here is OK but nothing more than OK, I think it messed up the greys.
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Pulling a comment from another thread;
A fair bit of the spot art for JP and Planetstorm was cannibalized from an LOS comic that never saw release.
That would have been awesome to see. I think adding a short comic into LoS3e would be a spectacular idea...
Planetstorm, or Typostorm, as Wes and I like to refer to it, was finalized and coallated in one epic Easter long weekend plagued with software malfunctions, lack of open copy centers...remember, this was in the infancy of desktop publishing. The photos were taken on a "cutting edge" digital camera called a "Snappy" that was less than a megapixel...etc.,etc..
As I mentioned in a post above, sounds like a nightmare experience! Thank god there is much better software out there these days. Personally I use the Adobe CS5 Suite [InDesign/Photoshop/Illustrator].
And yeah, SW, you got me - I did that which you speak of. I wondered what happened to the greys in it too, but never mentioned that to anyone. It could very well have been the on-demand print quality but I can't be sure - if you look at the art by James Forbes and even your own art pic I put in there, they all retain pretty good contrast compared to most everything else. Overall it did seem to have poor resolution though.
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I have no idea what became of Yan but we all loved his crisp style which is why we kept inviting him back to do more.
Early on it was Derrick that typeset everything. Later, my understanding is that it was Wes and in some cases Marco.
I know what I like, but the posse are the trained professionals who can comment on stylistic details.
I like the graphic design used in the Blue Box Rules of Engagement but there are a bunch of things in Planetstorm that I liked as well. The earlier stuff is very readable but doesn't stand out (both of which might be good things).
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Technology is a funny thing. The graphics on the Black Box cost us something like $20,000. The Blue Box was put together by Marco (and others?) on a PC that cost less than $5k.
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The earlier stuff is very readable but doesn't stand out (both of which might be good things).
I have to say that I particularly liked the fonts used in the older books - most notably in the Advanced Rules & The Alien Sourcebook. My inner graphic design geek is telling me that Bank Gothic was the font used on both covers & the Adv. Rules interoir headers, though I can't confirm that...
Those two books have a nice consistency of style, and I think they look cleaner than some of the other supplements.
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I recall hearing somewhere that serif fonts are more readable because the eye tracks the lines. However, we went with sans serif fonts with some daylight between the lines of text. If I had to guess I'd say it was simple Ariel. I don't think I voiced an opinion one way or the other.
When we released a boxed set of Fantasian Stormtroopers I typeset the cover pic and used a wacky font that looked pseudo-cyrillic.