Polishing an Orc.

Its entirely possible I will start doing more blog posts. Ive said this before, but this time I almost kinda sorta mean it, maybe.

I do think the key is to keep it sort and sweet. Since I started blogging 13 years ago, Twitter and Instagram have been training people to be annoyed with much more than a single image and 140 characters. I include myself here since I was annoyed when twitter expanded to 240 characters. Who has time to read extra words?

To the topic at hand: I have been working for CGI for almost 20 years. Its been so long that I am getting to rework and redo stuff that I did when I was in the early stages of my illustration career. So, there is a lot of stuff in print that I am very embarrassed by.

The recent kickstarter of Columbia Games HarnMaster update gave me the chance to redo some art that really hurt my soul. One of the things Ive wanted a second shot at was the Harnic Orc and the Ivashu creatures. I drew some real turkeys. Since this time Ive done some pieces for fans and for other Harnic publications that have greatly improved how I draw these guys.
There was one Gargun image I did I was still quite fond of: the Gargu-arak or small orc. I rescanned the 17 year old drawing and worked it over a bit in black and white before coloring it. You can see the differences in the two images below where I fixed some problems (Bow just touching the knee) and refined some of the drawing.

Also back in the day, for some reason the images got converted to clunky bitmap files. So the new high res tiff files have more life to them even in black and white.
As is the style for my Harn work, I paint under the line art in photoshop. I have a few brushes I like that give a  nice water-color feel. For this image I thought Id try something different and give it a fall look with bright yellows and orange colors. Every other harnic orc was too embarrassing and replaced with something new.
Hope folks are as happy with the update as I am. Please burn your old copies so my shame disappears forever. Seriously, burn them all! and get the updated version.
Ill post about the Ivashu updates next. Feel free to ask questions in the comments or suggest topics for future posts.

Freaking Magic- Melderyn Cover

It has been a while since my last blog. I've been doing some work that I feel like talking about, so you may see a few more of these pop up.

Please be nice, as I need to get my writing chops back.
I wanna talk about the recent cover I just finished for the Kingdom of Melderyn.

Bringer of Storms on the shores of Melderyn
pen and ink, digital, Copyright © 2019, Richard Luschek and Columbia Games, Inc.

Years ago, Tom Dalgliesh at Columbia Games asked for new covers for all the Hârn Kingdom Modules. This was a big job and the idea kinda frightened me. I worried I was not good enough to pull this off. I procrastinated. A few HârnQuests came up that were new or updated kingdoms and they needed covers: Orbaal,  Ivinia, Rogna and most recently Lokis. When forced into a corner, one at a time, I felt they were pretty successful. So, after this request from three years ago, I'm off an running on the rest.
The original kingdoms in the 80's all had cover images, mostly painted by Eric Hotz, but as Hârn moved to the binder model with constant expansion to the product, the images did not quite fit and a simple monochrome cover was used.
    


Almost makes you yawn doesn't it? Are you yawning?
My original plan was to use the inside, page one image on the cover. This idea worked with Kanday- after a lot of tweaking.
This time for Melderyn, I did a mock up with that image just to get a rough idea. You can see where it was a long panel and I had a lot to add to the top and bottom.

Melderyn cover rough layout

I decided there was a lot I didn't like about this image for the cover. The pose was boring, the hands were not great, the color is iffy, and the image does not pop. It needed more punch.
I like the idea, not the execution. The idea is based on the destruction of the Viking fleet at Cape Renda that is in the Hârnic histories. Though it could also be a new, similar event. The details of the story can be left up to the Game Master.

So, I was back to the drawing board. I did a rough sketch and then asked my neighbor to pose as the sorcerer. He came over, we got him dressed up in the approximate garb and I had him strike a bunch of poses. He really got into it and did a great job.

sketch and pose reference

I did a more detailed drawing and then inked over the pencils lines with Pigma Micron pens. I mostly used the small ones (005 and 01) as I like the fine lines and building up a tone slowly.

Bringer of Storms on the shores of Melderyn
pen and ink, Copyright © 2019, Richard Luschek and Columbia Games, Inc.

I knew I wanted lightning being summoned or at least the illusion of that. I got the idea that the lightning would be in a similar position as the magic user's right hand. Like he was directing the lightning, composing the storm. I played around in the mirror, moving my hand into a pose I thought looked lightningy.
I even played around with different colored lightning. Below you can see I started out drawing the blue lightning over his arm, following all the joints of the skeleton, enlarged it and moved it into position. I have labeled things to make it clear.

Lightning Arm

The white lightning looked better- a bit more subtle and the giant arm of lightning felt a bit too on-the-nose. A bit harsh honestly. I tried a few other things on this piece, like having the lead boat be on fire. Sometimes restraint works well too.
I did have fun on the standing stones- making up some magical type designs, including the Shek Pvar wheel at the top, and some map that could be a strange solar system or list of portals.

All the Hârn Kingdoms will have a similar treatment. Kanday is done, Rethem is started and I am finishing up a "redo" of the original Hotz painting from the 1984 Kaldor cover.
All should be done and available by Gen Con.

As to how these will be made available to customers with the old kingdoms, I do not know.  You will be able to get them somehow.
This image will probably appear on some products in my new swag shop at Redbubble. Visit now to purchase all your Luschek Swag.

Post your thoughts below or on the many social media site this will show up on.

HarnQuest, Coselin and Lorkin

A few notes about the newest HarnQuest, which contains the articles Coselin and Lorkin and a map.
I got a chance to expand the illustration for Lorkin, so I built a sketchup model. Lorkin also has a cool mausoleum on a rock in the river just out of view in the illustration below.

Lorkin Keep, pen & ink and digital,
Copyright © 2018, Richard Luschek and Columbia Games, Inc.

"Lorkin commands the head of the Anoth Delta in the southeast corner of the Kingdom of Orbaal. It is the largest settlement in the region and an important center of maritime trade."
I chose a view very close to the original illustration by Hotz which I liked it a lot.

Watch this video walk around in Sketchup here on YouTube:

For the mausoleum I chose a solid, yet simple architecture as it is of Jarin construction.

I selected a view that hints at a visitor. Is it a Jarin Ilvirian who has come to study the mythology of Eochaid, the priest laid to rest here? Is it an Ivinian here to deface the sacred site or is it someone here to pillage the site for artifacts?
I always imagine an Ilvirian site teaming with life. Seals have chased some fish up the river and are now resting on the rocks. Seals are some pretty strange Ivashu dont you agree?
The scene I selected:
 

 The resulting illustration:

Faenghease Rock, pen & ink and digital,
Copyright © 2018, Richard Luschek and Columbia Games, Inc.

 I had a lot of fun drawing the floor painting of the mausoleum. I chose an image of Eochaid of Olthair, aided by some Hru to drive out the gargun to restore the temple at Gedan. I tend to look at early Celtic as inspiration for the work of Jarin.

Eochaid of Olthair, pen & ink and digital,
Copyright © 2018, Richard Luschek and Columbia Games, Inc.

Coselin has a very cool temple as its major feature. The images for the towns often tend to feature the castle or keep of the town, so it was nice to focus on something else. The Sarjin Temple dominates the shore line.
The floorplans are pretty simple, and I struggled with how to represent it. I looked at the complicated wooden Stave churches and took inspiration from there.

I hinged most of the Coselin illustrations around the docks. You can see from my sketchup reference I had to work a bit to make this interesting. The simple model I built looks more like modern pole building.

I wanted to roof of the temple to have the feel of a serpents back-  I wish I had pushed this a bit more. I covered the temple in pinnacles and various fanciness. The whale ribs form an arch as you approach the temple.

Coselin, pen & ink and digital,
Copyright © 2018, Richard Luschek and Columbia Games, Inc.

The interior design and description of the temple left some room for playing around. I designed the priests platform to look like Sarajins sled. The priest is holding a ceremonial golden axe, a warrior and a shield-maiden present for this ceremony.

Worshiping Sarajin, pen & ink and digital, Copyright © 2018, Richard Luschek and Columbia Games, Inc.

Combat Infantry: World War II tactical block game

A few years after working on the block art for what I thought was all going into Victory in Europe- (Sometimes I don't know the plan. I just draw what they tell me to) all of that art is going into a new game, Combat Infantry now on Kickstarter.

Combat Infantry, Charge, pen and ink-digital color
Copyright © 2017, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I was asked last month to do the art for the box cover. I will paraphrase the request from Tom, "Something silhouettey, with soldiers in combat, and I am fond of orange".
Above is what happened from that request.

Here is a shot of the game block art I did a while ago. Of course it is all very much strongly based on lots of reference photos that I tried to clean up and turn into readable images that would only be around 3/4" square.

Combat Infantry, game block art, pen and ink-digital color
Copyright © 2017, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

But I digress, back to the cover.

Combat Infantry, Sketches digital color
Copyright © 2017, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I decided I wanted the cover to have the feel of WWII poster art which have very strong and readable designs- though Columbia Games asked for something a bit more realistic, I feel I kept it pretty much in the middle of those ideas. In my research I found a few photos and images I liked for reference. The final image is based on a nice black and white photo of a single soldier charging. I sent these three sketches for Tom Dalgliesh to approve. As he said in his request, he said he likes orange- so he picked the first one. He had some suggestions, and I went from there.
First step is to a more detailed drawing. I used Google Sketchup to get the positioning of the tank which was a bit challenging to draw from that view rolling over the hill.

I ink the drawing and scan it into photoshop to color it.

Combat Infantry, Charge, pen and ink
Copyright © 2017, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I played around a bit and at moment tried a bluish sky but Tom thought the orange sky with higher contrast had a stronger impact. I agree.

Combat Infantry, Charge variation, pen and ink-digital color
Copyright © 2017, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I pushed the sky to orange and removed the competing tank explosion and replaced it with a trail of smoke to keep the focus on the charging soldier.
Once this gets laid out on the box slip cover it may go through a few more changes but I am pretty happy with the final image.

Plain of Towers

A quick blog about the March HarnQuest shipping as I type this. I just finished the last illustration less than a week ago. It is a pretty unified release, focusing on one location of Harn, the Plain of Towers.  Included in this release is the map section of Chelna Gap.

"The Plain is named for the large mortared cairns or standing stones, some more than 30 feet tall, that mark the ancient barrows of the Jarin people.
The Plain is within the range of the Chelni tribes and dotted with their burial sites.
The region's most prominent feature is Elkall-Anuz, the ruined city that was once the center of the empire of Lothrim the Foulspawner, the despot who ruled much of central Hârn from 110 to 120 TR. In addition to the ruins of Lothrim's city and gargun (Hârnic orc) complexes, the site includes one of best-preserved structures left by the Earthmasters."

Sunning on the Rocks, Plain of Towers, pen and ink-digital color
Copyright © 2017, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Here is a Sketchup model I did for the Earthmaster sites.

I found a spot I liked and did a screenshot of the model. I often just throw the Sketchup dude in there for scale.

The Gazers Well is described as "sweet", so I figured it would be frequented by local wildlife visiting for a drink. A large hawk rests on a column.

Afternoon Drink, Elkall-Anuz, pen and ink-digital color
Copyright © 2017, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

My favorite illustration of this article is of a particularly vicious orc, named Kalgash one-eye who has taken up residence in a local ruin. I gave him an unusual hairdo having it tied up in natty horns on the sides of his head. A cute touch for a nasty dude.

Kalgash one-eye, pen and ink-digital color
Copyright © 2017, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Making It Rain

Twighlight Rain, Marby Keep, pen and ink-digital color
Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I got a chance to update some illustrations for the latest HarnQuest. If you game with Harn, and are not signed up for the subscription, do it now! What's wrong with you?

The first article was Marby, a minor port in the Kingdom of Orbaal on Hârn's northern coast. The old illustration by Hotz is pretty nice, but I decided for a different view and I usually prefer a view that players would actually see when approaching the place. The birds-eye views are nice for an overview, but not very realistic unless you are looking down from a cliff or the back of a giant bird. 

I believe this is the first wooden keep I've drawn, which is surprising. During my research I was looking at some historic reconstructions of old Russian wooden walled towns and they had these narrow slots rather than crenelations. That made the most sense to me in this situation. The old illustration did not really show this stuff, but its a distant view so I assumed it's there in spirit.

Hotz Marby Illustration , Copyright © 1992, Columbia Games, Inc. and Eric Hotz

As usual I made a quick Google Sketchup model of the place so I could pick the view. Here is a swing around animation of the place.


The other article was Geshtei, the capital of Gerium Province and a stronghold of the Gerium Legion, sits on the Thard River along the western border of the Thardic Republic. The old version, done almost 30 years ago, had a view and illustration I thought would be cool to just expand upon. Despite what I said above and birds-eye views, I did a higher view. It just looked too cool, so don't give me any crap about it.
I had a bit more room to play  with so I expanded the view and showed what is around around the castle. The two outer walls added some interest and power to the castle.
Here is the old illustration.

Hotz Geshtei Illustration , Copyright © 1987, Columbia Games, Inc. and Eric Hotz

Of course I made another model which got a bit more involved than it needed to be, but I had two locations on the map to illustrate for the article so Ill use that as an excuse.

Again, it's a testament to Hotz- on how he got these illustrations so damn accurate without this program. I'm not sure how he did it. I need a model, either digital or physical, to get this proportions and perspective to work out.
I settled on a view and did the illustration.  

Geshtei Keep, pen and ink-digital color
Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

For the illustration of the Magistrate Borisir Wytel, I based him off a famous character in American politics. He popped into my head when I read the description.

Magistrate Borisir Wytel, pen and ink
Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Can you guess who it is? Can you?

Hmm, I wonder who?
Please do not discuss politics in the comment section or I will delete this entire blog. I mean it!

Oops. I made a mistake.

Turns out- I am not perfect.

The Mistake- Sherwyn, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

The recent HarnQuest was recently released with articles on Sherwyn, Pled some Books and Scrolls and some maps I had nothing to do with.
While I decided to just color the Hotz drawing of the castle in Pled, I decided I wanted to redraw the castle for Sherwyn. It is a very complicated castle sitting on a series of rocky outcroppings off the shore of the town. As is often the case I build a quick Sketchup model so I could get the proportions correct.
Shortly after the release some eagle eyed Harniac was quick to point out a mistake that the drawbridge on the above image is too low.  Of course I thought "How dare you? Do you know who I am?!! Richard Luschek does not make mistakes!"

Then I checked it out and turns out I did make a mistake. I know! I could hardly believe it myself.
First, Here is the model after I corrected it. I did a video fly around so you can see the whole place.

While the product has shipped, I thought I would post the fixed image here. Feel free to print it out and use for your game.

Corrected Sherwyn Castle, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

 

 

It really just involved me moving the gate up about 15'.
Enjoy this corrected image- now get off my back!

Hot Models

Shipping now is the February HarnQuest made up of:  Arone Keep, Cherafir F5: The Wolves' Den, Coranan D2: Lia-Kavair Guildhall, Coranan D10: Gladiator School, Coranan H3: Palace of Pentacles, Atlas Hârnica F7

Below is a rough overview of some of the art for these articles.
First I will post an image of a creepy new aquatic Ivashu near an unfortunate pilgrim.

In the Brooder Pool, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

After reading the description I did a few sketches first to see what the writers liked best. They picked my favorite one.

Ormanoam, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

The creature is near an old Ilvirian temple, Ormanoam. The temple is surrounded by standing stones and earthworks.
Here is my very rough model for this illustration. Each of the models below at some point will feature the view I ended up selecting to use as reference for the final art.

Nearby is Arone is a small seaport on the southeastern tip of Orbaal. Along with the nearby thrans, Arone is isolated from its neighbors to the west by the vast Arone Marshes that form the northern edge of the great Anoth Delta. The keep sits on a low basalt headland overlooking a fine natural harbor that offers refuge to seafarers from the stormy Sea of Ivae and the pirate-infested waters of the delta.

Arone Gate House, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

 Below is a view of the model to get a good idea of layout.

Finally, I did illustrated the fine palace in Coranan.
The hall of the Coranan chapter of the Mangai was built in the mid-5th century to house the Court of Pentacles, the economic advisory body to the Corani Imperium.

Palace of the Pentacles, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2016, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

It was fun to add more to the model I did for the updated Coranan article. In this fly around you can see the reference I used for the Chamber of the Red Domes.

HarnQuest- Geldeheim in the snow.

I am currently finishing up the December HarnQuest with only a few more illustrations to go. Till then, lets talk about the last issue. The royal city of Geldeheim in  Orbaal.

Geldeheim in the Snow, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

"Geldeheim is the seat of Alegar II, King of Orbaal. The castle is on the south shore of the Geldesfjord, the most populous region of the kingdom."

I had a lot of locations in the town to illustrate, so I went a bit overboard with the Sketchup model this time- but it was so much fun.
Here is a walk-thru of the model I posted on YouTube.

So, the various scenes are then used as reference for final illustration.

Used for the snowy view on page one.

The nice thing is that while a lot of the stuff done in sketchup is custom built, there is a nice online warehouse of prebuilt models, including a viking ship and a selection of medieval houses. You can also save components you build to use for later.

The Agrikan Temple had an exit below to the river that I wanted to show from the other bank. Getting things to scale without using this a model is challenging for me.

Agrikan Temple, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Not the exact view I used for the illustration, but this gives you an idea of the scale issues I needed to figure out.

Shipbuilder, pen and ink-digital color, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

This one didn't really need the model, but it doesn't hurt to double check things. Here is a distant view of that scene.

I did a separate model for the Annwyn ruins too. I was not too sure what I was going to draw so the model helps me get some ideas.

Barbarian Charge vs Barbarian Sneak

HarnWorld Barbarians, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I was asked by Columbia Games to update a cover for one of their publications- Barbarians of Hârn. They wanted something featuring a lone warrior- something with a bit more action.
One of my big goals for this years production running up to the next Gen Con is get nice covers done for all the Kingdoms and the major cities. I think Hârn needs covers that will help sell the product to a new fan base. This was a good way to get the ball rolling on the cover situation for new products and to fancy up the current product like.
The original cover was done by Eric Hotz, the illustrator who set the gritty visual tone for Hârn and is one of the reasons I was drawn to this fantasy world in the first place.

Barbarians cover by Eric Hotz, Copyright © 1984, Columbia Games, Inc. and Eric Hotz

The original cover is 30 years old (that does not seem possible!) and was due for an update. There is something quaint about this cover but I always thought the barbarians looked more like shy, fat Dwarves.
I decided to compose my cover after one of my favorite Hotz covers- Nasty Brutish and Short.

N, B, & S cover by Eric Hotz, Copyright © 1984, Columbia Games, Inc. and Eric Hotz

Imagine your players being attacked from the right by goblins when suddenly a barbarian tribesman charges out of the woods on your left.
I started with some very rough sketches to get approval.

I did about 10 or so, some on horses, but thought a closeup of the barbarian would be more interesting.
I chose the Equani tribesmen known for their rough facial branding and collecting of scalps.
After posing myself for some very manly reference photos (which you will never see), I started sketching it out. I had a sword initially but the axe is just too bad ass.

Barbarian Sketch, 11" x 9", Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I tweaked it a bit, printed it out on 11x14 card-stock then coated the drawing with amber shellac. The oils in the paint will eat the paper, something is needed to protect the drawing.

Barbarian drawing , 14" x 11", Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I just started in painting in oil, working towards the big look of value and color on that first day.

Barbarian Day one Lay-In , 14" x 11", Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Each day I refined the drawing, bringing it into focus.

Barbarian Day 4 , 14" x 11", Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Once the painting progresses problems start to emerge and you discover things you just don't like. I did not like the back arm and totally repainted it removing the leather guard. The sketched in brands were starting to take on  a gross dimensional look.

Barbarian Day 5 , 14" x 11", Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

After I fixed the back arm, the one in the front started to look terrible. Looking in the mirror, I found a pose I liked better and I took some new reference shots.

Barbarian Day 6 , 14" x 11", Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

A bit more tweaking and I was basically done. I ended up adding a purple glaze over the whole figure to darken him down and give him a more swarthy look.
I shot a high-res photo of the painting. A bit of photoshop cleanup and it was ready for the title- which ended up covering more than I had hoped.
The cover was printed and added as a wrap around to the books in the warehouse. The interior text is all the same, so if this is already part of your collection, but you'd like to update with the new cover, contact Columbia Games for purchase.


The framed original painting is available for sale as well. Contact me if you are interested. If you have young children, this would look great hanging at the foot of their bed.