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Edited my original post with the extra info you requested, hope it helps!
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HoTS: Schmutz#1686
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If you're still open to submission, Riishi Antera is a razor-claw shifter (humanoid with subtle feline characteristics). She's 20 years old, but very petite. Her longspear is nearly twice her height. She is at home in wooded foothills, and her gear reflects function over form, though her simple, hand-tooled leather armor is adorned with natural patterns and green leaves. She has a bubbly energy and good humour, though she's given to introspective pauses. "Rustic" would be a fitting descriptor. (She also travels with a spirit companion in the shape of a large, smokey cat.)
Just ask if I can flesh her out more for you. (Character sheet is linked below, game thread is Residuum Revolution--Above Ground.)
Anselm Barcary is a newly-minted cleric of Pelor (god of light in D&D pantheon), but he's a little older than your average fresh out. He had been a successful businessman, negotiating contracts for his father's farming operation and other freelance affairs. As part of the wining and dining skills inherent to his trade, he developed a reputation as a phenomenal drinker, especially of the Dwarven ales his father would trade for, and was considered the life of every party he attended.
Long story short, after one particular bender he encountered a demon posing as a trader of exotics. The demon was about to kill a slave girl and Anselm attempted, through his drunkenness, to protect the girl. An angelic force intervened as the demon attempted to kill them both, and Anselm gave up the bon vivant life, though not the drinking completely, and left for the seminary of Pelor.
Anselm is human, a little taller and burlier than most. He's still young and fit enough to not have a beer gut, but he's not exceptionally skilled at fighting. He has a proper beard to cover up what would otherwise be a deceptively youthful face. He is a serious student of the demonic and celestial languages, but his true skills are in evangelism. He is very charismatic and spends most of his time back in the pubs, "shining the light of Pelor" over pints with travelers and castoffs. In the field, he wears scale armor, but prefers clerical robes and even takes delight in wearing them in the pubs. In addition to being an orator and a negotiator, he is a very skilled healer. He always seems to.have a smile on his face, as though he's constantly amused with the world Pelor chooses to bless.
I can't draw at all, so take whatever liberty you want. I will certainly be happy with any result. Thank you for doing this!
(Of course, I love just reading new rpg books that I'll never use, so
Edit: Wow, I just noticed that last drawing. It looks fantastic! I am now super excited to see how mine turns out!
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Setting is Star Wars. Zithra is a human slicer (computer hacker). She is athletically thin, short, and has shoulder-length wavy brown hair and clear green eyes. She's 17 but looks younger. She carries a small (4 lb) portable computer and wears a leather jacket, pants, and calf-high boots. She also has a shoulder holster concealed under her jacket with a holdout blaster pistol. She's got a hip belt with a few small pockets on it.
When Zithra was a kid she was involved in an accident that killed her brother. She was sold by her parents to the Hutts and she worked in the sex trade until she was trained in slicing by a Hutt. She's seen a lot in her young life, so she can be cocky, but she also has a lot of inner nervousness about escaping the Hutts and trying to blend in. She doesn't want anyone to know that she used to be a prostitute. She really loves finding information, snooping around on Imperial networks without getting caught, etc. She's a little twitchy and young and cute but trying to be tough and smooth. When she's on her computer all that fades away and she gets really engrossed and analytical.
Zithra Melitch in Star Wars: An Empire's End
Jellica in In the Shadow of Zeus
This was just shy of two hours. I think that this will work if you guys like this style I might roll with it. Really happy with the time frame. What do you think.
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HoTS: Schmutz#1686
I love the muted lines and grayscale shading. As a style, that looks better then the earlier art, in my opinion.
But there's still the sense of movement. Like it's not a pose, but a moment in time, a prelude to an ass-kicking.
Hell, it even has the same feel as a painting.
(I keep making edits to avoid double-triple-quadriple post from occurring.)
so it's a nine instead of a ten =p
you rock beastro
Jack is a Shadowrun troll, beefy even for one of them—7'10", 660 pounds, with bone-ridged skin. He's quite muscular, having trained in both wrestling and weightlifting in college, and wears a loose-fitting jumpsuit (mostly brown and tan) that allows him to move while providing some protection from blunt impacts, blades, and bullets. He's an expert fighter, and while his brain isn't terribly big he does have a good handle on reading his opponent, both in and out of combat. Jack's not a total meathead, but he does have a lot of meat on his bones. Oh, and no weapons—he uses reinforced gloves, but that's more for style and comfort than anything else, as his bare fists are just as effective. Overall, his attire is a lot like a biker's.
CapFalcon's Frankie O'Dell
She's going to flip when she see's it , I bet.
In the constructive criticism department, something looks kind of off with her front leg. It looks longer than the other, even taking the perspective into account.
But, otherwise, it's great. Thanks a lot!
Twitch Stream
Couldn't resist the bad joke opportunity. No offense intended.
It's a weird visual illusion, but the open cloak makes the torso look like it's way smaller then the pelvis area, to me. Something about the transition between black robe and white shirt messes with my perception. I really like the piece though. Nice detail on the tea cup, almost symbolic (of what, I wouldn't know).
I was thinking the torso area was looking rather pear-ish as well...
On a happy note...holy crap Beastro these are so awesome! This is the kind of stuff I always wished I knew someone for when I was playing pen and paper back in the day. I had a couple friends at the FLGS when I was in high school that could do some really good stuff, but I never did ask for a character portrait...
Keep up the awesome!
Edit: Aw, I just saw his little knee and elbow pads. For all the rolling around he did. So amazing.
Zithra Melitch in Star Wars: An Empire's End
Jellica in In the Shadow of Zeus
Your last two have been OUTSTANDING...
CapFalcon, for your trouble here's a nice hi rez file.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pl-O4cDXQKY/T2I54bjPZNI/AAAAAAAAB28/UICkewIu0z0/s1600/15redo.jpg
Also, it's really telling when you look at the two of the images together. It shows a real improvement! Good job, Beastro! I'd love to get another one done, but I think I'll wait a little to let people who haven't jumped on have a shot.
Twitch Stream
Setting: Savage Worlds- Slipstream
Character Name: Kelog
Brief synopsis of setting from company site:
Strap on your rocket pack, charge your ray gun, and prepare to blast off into the the most wild and exotic Savage Setting yet—the Slipstream!
Slipstream is a pulp science fiction Plot Point™ setting for the award-winning Savage Worlds Roleplaying Game™ in the style of Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and the rocketeering heroes of space opera.
Kelog is a hosbecite in the slip stream. Hosbecitess are small, furry humanoids that we generally think of as resembling cousin Itt from the Adams Family, except with a rocket belt and a ray gun. The running joke is that no one can tell a female hosbecite from a male due to all the hair, so my character wears a little bow tie that is black on one side and pink on the other. Depending on the situation, he will wear it as a black tie on his neck to appear as a male, or flip it to the pink side and put it on her head to act as a female (the character is actually a female). This came about since certain alien races are more receptive to certain genders and it makes negotiating trade contracts easier.
Kelog's role in the group is definitely face-man(creature). He is pretty useless in direct combat and generally spends most of it running and/or hiding, unless there is a chance at negotiating (she talks a lot). Kelog will attempt to negotiate with anyone that can speak and will generally try to turn a profit in the process, even if that is not the wisest thing to do. She is also very fond of contracts, and at any time has dozens of different contract templates in case a deal needs to be struck in the field.
Most Hosbecites are greedy and are famed as merchants throughout the slipstream. In fact, the story revolves around the party group fermenting rebellion against the primary antagonist, Queen Anathraxia, and to facilitate this rebellion Kelog has incorporated the group and all the allies they meet along the way, arguing that a corporation is a stronger entity than a rag tag rebellion. This was met with resistance at first, but over the course of the game Kelog Incorporated has grown on the party and everyone has a specific title within the company. We especially pride ourselves on our intern (red shirt) program for any NPCs we happen to recruit along the way.
While Kelog does a lot of fair trades, she is prone to steal if someone lets their guard down, leading to some pretty epic acquisitions throughout the course of the game. At one point, we came across a light sword, the most powerful hand held weapon in the slipstream (think light saber), which the party thought was lost after a crash. Actually, Kelog stole it and the GM played along. In one unfortunate incident, Kelog was mind controlled and turned on the party, drawing the light sword in the process, though the party was saved by Kelog's ineptitude at fighting. Kelog has also stolen the last remaining poodle in the universe from a notorious crime lord, a Lazarus Injector that can bring the dead back to life, and a small space glider (like a scooter). At any given point, Kelog has several pouches and containers concealed in her fur, and the things she produces from there often surprise the party.
Kelog also got cloned in a previous adventure, if you want to play with that. They came out of the tank talking about profit margins and investment opportunities and, for some reason, the party was not keen on rescuing them all when the explosions started. Only one got saved, but Kelog has been adamantly teaching her clone the in and outs of kelog incorporated.
I don't even have a picture of a hosbecite to go off of, so feel free to interpret it as you will!
I don't. 8->
The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1
stever , you should submit a character : Lord Pornogobalis
Denada's Cyrus Black
Okay. Denada you were a guinea pig. I've been struggling with streamlining this process and since your character did not have an extravagant description after two failed attempts I put my focus on process. I first want to apologize that he looks like a hunter, ranger, archer thing. And not a summoner of spirits/monsters from other worlds. I want you to request another character later so I can do either him again, better, or do another one.
The balance lies between abstract fun mark making, form, and design of the character's body shape/size, and mood and overall armor shapes. I f*cked up two drawings to get to this one because I realized my problem was in my process, not the design part. Plus I think I was just tired or something and need to learn when to step away, and start over.
So here in the third drawing the failure here is design, although form and process were on point for a character sketch I feel. I was able to do this one under two hours, and I think I could have done it faster if I wasn't learning and forcing myself to remember what stage of the process I was in. In retrospect the design itself suffered. So thanks Denada for taking a hit on this one. Here's Cyrus
I will update the queue at this time as well.
Here's an example of how I went with a shape and design that I liked, but spent over two hours on it because I got lost in the process and couldn't spend more time fixing it. Its just not fun anymore that way. Thanks to you Denada, This will hopefully never happen again. Thanks for taking one for the team.
i think what amazes me the most is your work ethic and desire to keep doing this, it's something else man
:^:
You seriously need to be doing submissions to game companies. Your "quick sketches" are about 20 times better than some of the junk I've seen in ten years worth of PHBs and splatbooks.
(Technically makes her my PC, I suppose.)
Erika Roland, roughly 19-20, approx. shoulder length black hair.
(If you're familiar with M:TA, she's a Mysterium/scholar Moros/Death Mage.)
Sorta gothic-esque in mannerisms. Not a fan of makeup, though. Very withdrawn and reclusive.
I could see her in a hooded cloak on Mage business, long skirts and/or plain, modest clothing when trying to blend in with society.
M:TA is a modern day setting, by the by.
Here's a bio if you want some background.:
Then she met a high school student who showed her a new form of study granting her knowledge of abilities beyond her dreams. Before long, she Awakened, and began extending her studies to magical lore as well as her proper education.
It wasn't long before she fell in with the Mysterium and their unending quest for information.
However, her companion also sought power. And through this, he used Erika's natural talent as a means to acquire it.
Before long, she was aiding him in discovering a more potent gateway to higher learning: human souls.
No harm would be done. The victims would be chosen among those who wouldn't be missed, and surely they would recover.
Still, as time went on and the harvesting furthered, doubt about the sanctity of her quest naturally followed. Will she realize the error of her ways, or succumb to the temptation of darker magics?
Thanks!
*I am bad at looking at things, ignore that.
I would love to put it back in the queue, he is quite an interesting character and species to explore and I would love to pull it away from the manga photos that I saw and pull in towards more skyrim style of species with realism, history and those creepy fox eyes. The D&D wiki made them sound interesting. I had the inspiration to design an actual kitsune face, combining fox and human or something without having it look so anime, and a bit more animal so I'm going to try a few sketches of that and try to incorporate it in the next run of this guy.
On that note:
I have a couple of questions for you 'art directors' because you are coming from the customer end that this brand/style of games caters too. I know the art directors end up and down...www.theartorder.com has tons of articles on what directors expect of their artists.
But as people who are building your own stories and characters in your minds:
Do you prefer to see your characters in action?
Do you prefer to see them standing with all of their equipment like a photo shoot?
Do you prefer to let the artist roll with it?
Is there a standard in your mind?
Do you have a favorite d&d artist?
Do you want to be more involved in the creation of your Character? (IF SO THIS WILL INVOLVE A TWO STEP PROCESS, Silhouettes then final.)
(mine are probably jesper ejsing and tyler jacobson for sure...probably more tyler jacobson I'm sure ya'll have seen some of their covers. That's the standard to meet.)
You guys can or don't have to answer any of those questions. Just food for thought. When I'm drawing the clothes and spots, and trinkets and stuff. I'm thinking about what that character is doing in the morning when they get out of bed, what kind of clothes would they put on? what kind of places do they live in, What do they look like when they travel, when they fight, when they are casual. I think of all those things usually in the beginning stages (after I've done about an hour of research and photo reference gathering, and finally get the characters mood) and the last 75 percent is literally just line work and anatomy/perspective correction.
This has been a blast. Your complements are very kind. I'm going to try and keep improving with every drawing, and if you are not satisfied with what your character looks like PLEASE PLEASE ask to put them back in the queue, its not going to hurt my feelings.
For example!: SmooveOperator! Which silhouette style fits your character best? Or what combination? Or none of the Above?
Also I swear to god I'm updating the queue right now.
1. it makes no difference to me; i like baseline portraits just as much as action shots
2. since my character has very little in the way of equipment i'd say yeah
3. generally i want to let the artist do what he or she is comfortable with; i like to provide as much information to give a solid foundation and let the expert work the magic
4. yes there is a standard; for me at least, if you weren't worth commissioning i wouldn't have even put my hat in the ring
5. i don't have a favorite D&D artist, no; most of my favorite artists are actually comic book pencillers. here's a list just off the top of my head(complete with a link to an example for each):
6. i'll be involved if you want to involve me! i'm not kidding when i say i have work for you this summer so if you want to involve me in collaboration and creation i'm all for it
Do you prefer to see them standing with all of their equipment like a photo shoot? As a Tech-Priest Explorator, Acrisius has far more equipment than I'd care to try and list, and half of it is internal anyway, so I'd say no, if only for your sake, Beastro.
Do you prefer to let the artist roll with it? I don't have too much experience with commissioning artwork, but I'd much rather let the artist do their thing, and enjoy it, rather than try and control every aspect of it. You've shown plenty examples of your work and I trust you'll make it awesome.
Is there a standard in your mind? What sort of standard?
Do you have a favorite d&d artist? I've always liked the traditional artwork that has been synonymous with Dungeons and Dragons, but if I had to pick, I'd say I prefer the (somewhat) more unusual styles of Tony DiTerlizzi and Wayne Reynolds.
Do you want to be more involved in the creation of your Character? I'd be happy to get involved and help in any way, if you're okay with it. This is honestly my first request for artwork of a character, so I'd love to assist in whatever way I can.