I mentioned in my post way back on May 22 and again on June 6 that Revenant Publications’ first actual publication would be based on the Lil Horsemen of the Apocalypse concept I created back in 1998 (first story in 1996 now that I think of it…) I thought now would be a good time to update everyone on our progress. To date ALL principle artwork is complete! This was some 58+ individual hand drawings I did in the intervening time between the project’s announcement and now. Also, more than a dozen background landscapes and interiors were created. The fairer-half of RevPub did a wonderful job inking all my pencils and I’m now ten pages in to the process of doing page layouts for the finished publication (which I’m now believing will be between 25-35 pages depending on how layouts end up). There are still a few stages to go but it is pretty much on schedule and will be coming to a RevPub post soon!
This is my first real publication project and, even though it’s being produced entirely in-house from the hard work of the two RevPub partners, it is an incredible rush to see these characters who, as of yet, lived only in my head with my other series’ characters and my multiple personalities. It’s been an eye-opener to work on it, one of those “this may actually be something I could enjoy doing for the rest of my life” projects.
So it will be coming soon and I just hope it’ll be as entertaining to read as it has been to produce.
Grimmy is waiting patiently!Skirmish is waiting impatiently…
I posted in my second “Off the Top of my Head” some of the 40k figures I painted. While I started painting with the five “came with the paint set” marines, the second model I painted wasn’t a Black Reach Ork but a Games Workshop, Citadel Balrog of Moria. I love the Lord of the Rings movies, but I don’t have much interest in the game (I like the grim darkness of the 41st millennium). This model was given to me by a friend I work with. His son loves the Lord of the Rings figures. He found this particular to be a little too advanced for him and offered it to me as a thank you for locating some hard-to-find movies and toys online (he calls me “the finder of lost items”). The weekend before my vacation I decided on a weapon for the Balrog, primered him, glued him and started painting him.
After painting it I decided, since I don’t collect the LOTR figures, I would return it to the young man who gave it to me. He was very happy to get the completed Balrog back and I received the ultimate kid compliment for my work: I was invited over to view his collection of Lord of the Rings miniatures and play video games. I take it as high praise!
My Balrog. Chaos Black primer, washed all over in old Baal Red, then the fire parts were painted white and washed in Casandora Yellow. I used some Troll Slayer Orange for the darker fire parts and washed it in Bloodletter GlazeFull Balrog from the right. The whip used the same technique as the fire, painted white then washed in yellow with orange details glazed in red.Balrog from the left. My Horus Heresy and 40k books made a good backdrop.The base was the most fun to paint. I liked the detail of the skeleton in armor with an axe. I painted it Runelord Brass, Moonfang Brown, Bugman’s Glow, and Screaming Skull then washed the whole thing in Earthshade.Base of the Balrog showing the bony hand with axe. I didn’t put the orange detail on the Balrog’s arms. I probably should have but I was eager to get to that 40k army!The face of the Balrog. His horns are drybrushed with Praxeti White.
Though I have very little time to just kick back and play games like when I was a kid, I still follow the culture and play when I can. I do have a current-gen PS3 but I find the most joy playing the games from my youth. As I said in previous posts, I started with an Atari PC (and was roundly mocked by all the Nintendo kids), but eventually got an NES for Christmas. I loved the system and played its games religiously. Nintendo was so dominant, I didn’t even know what the “Sega Master System” was until I got a Sega Game Gear and it came with an attachment that let me play Master System games.
This IS my original Game Gear. I fell in love with Sega after playing it.
Shortly after acquiring my Game Gear in the early-mid 90s I discovered the Sega Genesis. Unlike many, I don’t recall ever seeing the “Nintendon’t” or “Blast Processing” commercials. I do remember seeing Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage 2 on the demo unit at Target. The Genesis looked cool and the games were a lot of fun in the store. I was sold. I pawned my NES, all my games, and used some birthday money to buy a Sega Genesis (with Streets of Rage 2 included!!) I loved the system, and began a rabid support of Sega.
NES fans…I have nearly every great, classic NES game…and I think this collection is every bit as classic and no where near as complete…
In the early-to-mid-90s gamers were divided into Sega people and Nintendo people…I was a Sega person. I played the fighting games, the Mutant League games, I LOVED the Genesis Shadowrun, and fought viciously with those who compared SNES franchises and graphics. I so supported Sega I got a Sega CD one Christmas, and a 32X the next. And I even enjoyed those systems. I played and beat Sewer Shark; I was obsessed with Sonic CD and it remains the best Sonic game EVER in my opinion. I had Doom on the 32X and a great little unknown game called Kolibri, a horizontal 2-d shooter where you and a friend can play as hummingbirds. Don’t laugh…it was terrific… I eventually bought the Saturn, which for its time was by FAR the best system out there. It was well-supported and had great tech-specs, but lost out eventually to the N64, and eventually was crushed utterly by the new Playstation. I even bought a Dreamcast…and only ever played Resident Evil: Code Veronica on it…before the PS2 did it in.
My handheld Nomad Genesis system.How I currently play my Genesis and Sega CD games on my TV. And a Slime PS2 controller. Because that’s where he lives and he’s photogenic.
Despite all their mistakes in business (Sega was obsessed with hardware and put games and software support secondary, blinded by competing with other companies they forever sought the “best tech” and rushed it out before the market was ready…barely supported it…then rushed out the next one and barely supported it) I have a lot of love for Sega. After I set up my PS3, I played some Oblivion then, while filing the game away I found my Sega Nomad and spent the rest of the evening playing…you guessed it…Streets of Rage 2. Still beat it too. Sega lives in my gaming consciousness. I still remember the Mortal Kombat blood code (Down-Up-Left-Left-A-Right-Down…memorizing codes from magazines in the grocery store…those were the days…), and playing as a raptor in Jurassic Park. The GREAT X-Men Genesis games are still loads of fun to play and I still plan to invest time into eventually beating Shadowrun…if it’s possible.
To all those who criticize the Sega CD I thought I’d produce a STACK of some great Sega CD games. This pile doesn’t even include the great Terminator game…Some of my Saturn games. I don’t have the Panzer Dragoons (though I beat the first one in high school) nor do I have the fantastic “Children of the Atom” X-Men fighting game. I put plenty of time in on that in the 90s too.
Sega is now in software only and is a shadow of its former self. With the Sony vs Microsoft competition dominating the market now it seems like history is repeating itself. Sides are being chosen, graphics comparisons are appearing in articles, libraries are being compared, and tech specs have appeared in countless posts and forums. What seems to be lost is competition is actually good for the market. I see posts on game sites where rabid fanboys declare their hope that their side puts the other out of business. Does anyone think that would be good? A monopoly on game technology would only reduce quality and innovation. The Wii’s motion control and rapid sales incited Sony and Microsoft into motion controls as well. The handheld war continues with new innovations like 3d, HD graphics, and wi-fi capability. Social gaming has gone from a second controller and split screens to worldwide gaming. I for one am hoping the “big three” continue to produce successful systems and franchises for several “next-gens” to come. And here’s hoping that none of them, like Sega, become lost relics, sacrifices to the gods of greed and commerce.
But for now I say, long live the memory of Sega. Plug in some 16-bit fun some time. The Genesis is every single bit the great, classic console the NES is. And I’ll GRAND UPPER anyone who says otherwise!
GRAND UPPER! Forward-Forward+B. You can beat the whole game with this one…And I don’t care who you are…this is AWESOME…
As I mentioned in a recent “artboard” post I’ve recently become interested in the intense, deep, gothic sci-fi table-top wargame and fantasy book series Warhammer 40k. I love it. The lore, the races, the strategy. It’s everything I’m interested in all rolled into a compact expressive, creative package.
Admittedly I only became interested after playing the excellent Space Marine on PS3 (my favorite game of last year) and became more obsessed after I played through the Dawn of War series, read some Black Library books and an old 3rd edition rulebook from a local used book store.
Like Hans Gruber from Die Hard (maybe not the best role model…) I always enjoyed models as a kid but hated painting them. All those tiny parts with horrible paint that never went on cleanly… I just wanted to put my tank together. Putting together Citadel miniatures has been a new experience. Not only do I like putting them together but I actually enjoy painting them. It requires a lot of focus, steady hands, and patience, which thankfully I do actually have (thanks to years of drawing and old-school gaming…) Though I have a couple of battleforces in boxes ready to emerge onto the battlefield, I started with the easy-to-put-together miniatures that came with my starter paint set.
These guys were supposed to be Dark Angels but because I grew to love the Dawn of War Blood Ravens characters I decided to go with that paint scheme. They aren’t finished (I haven’t put any wash on them and I plan to print off some chapter-specific insignia) but I thought I’d share my progress!
It’s my first time painting anything like this…definitely anything this small so there’s nothing but room for improvement but I’ve enjoyed it and I hope the future models will only get better.
This was the first guy I ever painted. I primered in Chaos Black, air brushed in Mephiston Red and layered from there!The backpack.
The Dawn of War series also introduced me to the Orks and I love those guys. Their gruff, simple demeanor. Their remarkably descriptive slang. Their ultimately unruly appearance and junkyard tech. Gotta love orks. Because I’ll mostly be playing with myself (hey, you in the back, stop laughing. Care to share what you thought was so funny with the rest of the class?) to learn the rules and get used to the complicated ins-n-outs of the game I bought Assault on Black Reach at a local hobby store and started painting the Orks as well. Not only are they a lot more details in their equipment and appearance than vanilla marines, but they also present a lot of variety and possibilities in painting. I’ve only painted some of them so far, but I feel my abilities and techniques have improved from what I did with the Marines. They are still very beginner but I’m happy with them so far!
I didn’t follow the model in the Black Reach book and went my own direction on a few aspects, like the checks on his orky belt buckle.The twin guns and boss pole on the back of the warboss. I used the new Citadel paints as well as a couple older ones. Then drowned them in Nuln Oil. I figure I’ll get the hang of shades by the time I get to my Zagstruk finecast…The start of my little Waaagh! The warboss, a couple of boyz (one wiff a big shoota) and a nob. I decided to make them Goffs, not only for the color scheme but because I like the idea of a horde of infantry.The side of my first deffkopta. This one took some time and didn’t come out perfectly…but I was still pleased with my first vehicle effort.A pic of my Nob (you again? I said stop laughing!) It was the first chain weapon I painted and I liked the messy splatter effect.Drawing inspiration from the bigger ork, I painted this littler guy up to match him.My Waaagh! so far.
I hope you enjoyed my first painting attempts. As I go on and get a little more experienced I plan to share more. Once I get into live firefights I’ll be posting on those as well!. It’s been a fun, and fascinating entry into the 41st millennium so far!
There have been a number of projects with which I’ve been involved that haven’t really panned out. Reasons for this vary, from simple lack of enthusiasm to too many similarities to other projects. Most of the time I can take these ideas and wrap them into the creative concepts that will pan out, but this is one that kind of dead-ended.
The premise came from my friends and frequent creative collaborative partner, Brandon Combs who is now pretty busy with Glitz and Grime. During one of our many editing/review sessions he brought up how twisted the Wizard of Oz story really is and how much fun a darker, psychotic version would be. We planned to use his unconventional story-telling and my artwork to create a graphic novel using the base story and producing it. Unfortunately right after we began developing the concept “Weird Oz” hit everywhere. McFarlane Toys began to produce it’s own line, various comics, books, and TV shows started to riff on it, and we both decided we would like like we were the soft, backing iron on the blade instead of the cutting edge. So we dropped it. Fortunately I still have the artwork and with the new “Oz: The Great and Powerful” film coming out I thought it was a good time to share:
My Dorothy. I gave her “farm girl” weapons and Ruby Sneakers just to mix things up. I wanted her kind of hot-girl tough.This is my Tin Man. In this concept the Tin Man is made up of various armor parts that he finds and collects from enemies. His REAL body can be seen underneath sections of the armor and looks like iron bands. He would replace his “armor” sections during the story. Which sounds great but would create lots of problems if I had to draw this series for an extended run… Oh and I. Hate. Chainmail.I called him “Scar Crow.” It was in the midst of this drawing that we decided to nix the project. He was going to look like a torture victim, with that beam permanently tied to his body.
Maybe someday I can finish concepts on these just for fun, but I hope they still show that the idea was a little cutting edge when we came up with it!
Anyone who has read my section in “About Us” knows I have of late gained a massive interest in Warhammer 40k. Thereby giving me +100 to my “King Dork” abilities.
Honestly, I didn’t even know much about it until “Space Marine,” which was my favorite game from last year. Purists might scoff at my console-game entry into this vast universe, but, to quote James Rolfe: “To be a fan of anything, you have to be exposed to it first.” Since discovering the incredibly deep and detailed world of the far future, I have read several novels, collected many art books, played through the Dawn of War series, watched the fun Ultramarines movie, and even started my own army (pics of my first painting attempts coming soon!).
Though I began my knowledge with the Ultramarines and read books about both Space Wolves and Grey Knights, it’s the Librarian-Knowledge-Centric Blood Ravens from Dawn of War that appealed the most to me.
I utilized this overwhelming interest to exercise more of my recently acquired, albeit limited, Illustrator skills. While I’m still in the “look what I can do with polygons” phase using only the limited tools that come with Illustrator (the preloaded color options, shapes, etc), and creating objects and/or figures that just stand there, I was impressed with how much could be done using just what was learned in a few Google-found tutorials. This has been a fun exercise in making something I’m interested in to try and learn to operate Illustrator and make using all the tools and functions second nature. It was also an exercise in mass-production as I started with the basic marine and used parts from that piece to create the others. I also created two artboards of “stuff,” weapons, insignia, and symbology that could be used over and over in various places to prevent having to re-create anything.
How impressed I’ll be with these early efforts next year only time will tell, but for now I give you my 2D squad of cartoon-style Blood Ravens!
My first effort. Basic tactical marine all cartoon’d out. I gave him a standard bolter and a couple of grenades.This one was a nice exercise in different equipment. Making that chainsword was a blast and the first part of the Blood Ravens’ motto can be seen on its blade.A heavy-support devastator marine with heavy bolter. This one proved tricky and needs the most correcting. I made him a veteran just to mix up the colors a bit.Captain Angelos with the Godsplitter. Making the artificer parts of his armor were an immensely fun challenge. Also he’s the only one with a human face. He’s still a cartoon but mostly recognizable!The final piece of the squad, Davian Thule as a Venerable Dreadnought. This one was obviously the most difficult, I could borrow very little from the others. It was also the most fun to build! There’s some canonical text on his armor. Davian Thule was my favorite character in the Dawn of War series. I wanted to ensure his venerable dreadnought state got the respect it deserved.
These were fun creations and made for nice self-taught Illustrator tutorials. They’re still 2D flat objects, but are pretty far from my first “magnifying glass” creation, even though they were created essentially using the same concepts. Next I’m going to try some expressive orks and maybe more dynamic character art. These were fun though and hopefully they’ll be enjoyed!
Revenant Publications 