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.

Cover Babe

I think we can all agree that Hârn has been in need of the stereotypical high-fantasy, hot chain-mail clad babe on a cover a long time. Well, I have finally made all your dreams come true -Sort of.

Bestiary of Harn, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

There has never been a Bestiary for Harn. We have a lot of separate beast articles but there has never been a starter product or a binder to hold them. I will admit the selection of articles in the current starter bundle needs work and will probably change (for one, Garguns are not in the bundle), but we got one ready for GenCon and sold all we had.
I wanted this cover to be similar to the HarnWorld and HarnDex covers. So I started with that as a base.
Of course a Bestiary needs a dragon on the front so I thought a St. George and the Dragon type image would be cool. I decided to not be sexist and go with a female knight. A knight from the Order of the Crimson Dancer located at Quimen in Orbaal was the obvious choice. I like the idea of an Agrikan being a hero of the story.

Bestiary of Harn- Early version, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

As these things tend to develop and change as I work them up, here is a very early version of the cover. I initially had a more typical, knight saving a damsel in distress thing going on but decided it would be more Agrikan like if the knight used a slave tied to a tree as bait for the heroic hunting of the beast. I imagine that slave will be abused and burned at the stake in celebration of the kill.
The HarnDex cover did have some beasts already though it needed some adjustments.  The Kuboran warrior need to be changed, I tried adding a bear in that spot but thought it would be more cool to make the Kuboran undead. The Aklash was added in the top with the stinking breath decorating the corner. I adjusted the castle to look a bit more like Quimen and changed the shield to a generic Agrikan symbol.
I tend to shy away from true accuracy in these medieval manuscript images and make sure the image is pleasing and decorative. I find the mistakes and odd interpretations in medieval manuscripts fascinating.
On my To-Do list is to get all the beasts colored, at least the first page of every article. I did 10 for this release, including the Yelgri and the Old Ones.

Yelgri Attack, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

 It is not up yet, but for those of you who have all the articles already, the covers for this and the barbarians covers should be available for sale from Columbia Games soon. Or you could just ask for one now.

Ilvir's Crib

A new reprint of Araka Kalai is about to be shipped to customers. It has been expanded and updated.  
"Araka-Kalai is, according to legend and the doctrine of the Ilviran church, the dwelling of the god Ilvir. Located in the isolated Misyn region, the site’s dominant feature is a huge limestone sinkhole known as the Pit of Araka-Kalai. An ancient tower stands on a rocky island in the Pit, surrounded by a liquefied, fermenting sludge with a stench that puts to shame all other offensive smells."

Wading through the Muck, Araka Kalai, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Hopefully the above image looks like it is a stinky place. The plan was to use much of the old art, but this is such a cool site on Hârn I could not help myself- I ended up redoing most of the art. I did a sketch of the tower with a guide presenting the tower, but it looked a bit goofy and touristy. I decided for a view in the pit of some pilgrims carrying a ladder to the tower so they can enter the holy site. I did do a SketchUp model since the old article had some scale issues if you compared the art to the maps. The stout scaling would make the tower look too stubby. Here is a video walk-thru I did of the model.



We did an updated version of the cross section Eric Hotz did for the original article in 1987, but it ended up getting cut due to it not being "useful or accurate". Showing the cave complex in any realistic way would be very tough to do. I like the image anyway and was sad to see it go, so I thought I would post it here.

Araka Kalai Cave Complex, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

The other illustration that I was glad to tackle was a old one I had done for the Tave, an unique Ivashu. I did it over 12 years ago and was never very happy with it. A few obvious issues are that it is not long enough as per the description and the scene is more comical than frightening. It also needed to be colored and shown in a cave setting.

Tave, Copyright © 2002, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

As this creature is an Ilvirian priest that turns into a snake (spoiler alert!) I wanted the face to have a bit more personality. I made the soldier look terrified and added a bit more action to the image.

Tave updated, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Here is the final version colored.

Tave Attack, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Hârnic Centaur

The next HârnQuest is about ready to ship. The Centaur article, which has been bouncing around for a few years finally is going to see the light. I don't know about you, but when I think Centaur, the first thing that comes to mind for me is the SNL skit in which Christopher Walken interviews a Centaur for a job. The Centaur does not get the job.
So, all ideas for the concept of the Hârnic Centaur started there.

 One of my first thoughts was to really go beastial with this creature. Not the typical Greek Mythology, fashion model torso stuck on horse look. So, the early sketches were an attempt to move away from that.

I knew the horns were pushing it, but we realized that Centaurs had been mentioned enough elsewhere and even illustrated previously, so this was probably too much of a change. I did some other sketches, but this pose was my favorite. I just needed to tame it back. I initially wanted more goat-like hooves, and hands that even mimicked hooves.

Here is the final image I came up with. I did a late evening background that unfortunately got cropped out of the final article due to space issues, so I thought I would post the full rendering here.

Dirty Centaur, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I went with  a more human look with beastie features. I thought of adding more clothing or equipment, but it sort of mucked up the simple natural look of the creature. They occasionally interact with the Gargun, so I thought a gargun-like weapon would be a nice touch, but fashioned to take advantage charge. I figure some simple hook weapons on the hind legs would make a kick even more nasty.
I just realized that the image in the article is a bit different- I made the head a bit smaller and adjusted the weapon into a more pleasing position.

For the end piece of the article I drew a hillside scene.

 Centaur Herd, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I may eventually ink up one of the other sketches for FFF style release.

D&D Art and the 13 year old Me

My life changed in the 7th grade when I was given the assignment to read the Hobbit for my English class. I poured through unlike any other book I had been asked to read before. I read it a few more times and shortly after moved on to the Lord of the Rings series. (I should write a blog about how the recent Hobbit films have crapped on those childhood memories)

When that same teacher introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons in an after school group- well, I was hooked. I went full on nerd. That completely innocent awe in the idea of the grand adventure is something I have held on to with tooth and nail even into my 40s. Now I am lucky enough to illustrate for games much like those that first captured my imagination when I was a kid.
I heard today that D&D artist David Trampier died at the early age of 59.
As a painter, I like to champion the masters as inspiration. The great painters of the Renaissance thru the 19th century. In illustration the greats of the golden age often come up: Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Lyendecker, Gibson, Rackham, and Frazetta.
I have to say that some of the lesser know artists of the early D&D publications also had a tremendous influence on who I am today, including the work of David Trampier. 


Above is one of Trampiers most famous covers. He did a lot of the more striking interior pieces in the old Monster Manual as well.
His graphic and simple pen and ink interiors influenced me and many of my current illustration heroes.While at times a bit crude, his work had a wonderful graphic quality which was clear and descriptive. Often he was introducing us to weird fantasy creatures for the first time.
 
A few years ago I was asked to do a serious of black & white silhouette art for a game offering new look at old school D&D.  The game is called Roguish and was designed by Christopher Brandon.  I thought I would post a few images of the art I did for it, including this first one where I was asked to do an image completely inspired by Trampiers Players guide cover. I did a series of about 20 images that followed 4 characters through their adventures done in B&W silhouette.

The Gemstone Eye © Richard Luschek and Christopher Brandon 2014

Pumpkin Heads © Richard Luschek and Christopher Brandon 2014

The Bridge © Richard Luschek and Christopher Brandon 2014

RIP David Trampier. Thanks for the inspiration.

The Deadly, Cute and Fuzzy- Harnic Weasel

I primarily illustrate for the "Fantasy" RPG published by Columbia Games called Harn. It is a realistic fantasy world roughly modelled off medieval 12th century England. There are some Viking like elements, Kingdoms with Roman like political areas, and add a bit of fantasy creatures and monster reminiscent of Tolkien.
While most of the illustrations needed for Harn are realistic and mundane medieval images, I love it when I get to draw creatures. The bigger, uglier, and scarier the better. They should be covered in scales, bony protrusions, breathing fire and dripping with slime.
So, when I was asked to illustrate Weasels, I can't say I was terribly excited. But, it is a good article and has serious game play uses for the imaginative GM.
While I am not a writer, I like tell my own stories through the art in these articles. I try to not just illustrate, but enhance the article. You know what they say, "a picture is worth a 1000 words", which is a good thing- unless you are getting a text message from Anthony Weiner.
I thought I would offer some insight to the stories I drew for the Weasel article.

Stoat and Wolverine with Sarajin, Copyright © 2013, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

The above image is a winter scene, which I rarely if ever have done for Harn articles. This camouflaged stoat is scampering past an Ivinian stone illustrating the myth of Sarajin fighting a wolverine. I was thinking this beast could be one of the lesser known Pradeyalkri and may even have many myths associated with it. The Runic is translatable if you want to give it try. The runes at the top are some added graffiti, by some visiting warrior that wanted to leave his mark. 

Peoni Protects, Copyright © 2013, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I was not familiar with the horrible blood sport of badger baiting. If you are not either, don't look it up-it is pretty terrible. It is a real "sport" and has been illegal since 1835, though it is apparently making a comeback.
Shown in the illustration is a young Peoni priestess smuggling away a badger to safety before it is thrown to the dogs. I could easily see this being a adventure hook for a GM. -The Lia-Kavair has hired the PC's to find out why their badgers keep disappearing. or-The fleeing, priestess runs into the arms of the PCs asking for assistance. or -A PC has trapped some Badgers and would like to sell them at the market, but is approached by a seedy underworld type with an offer. 
Maybe Harn even has it's own version of Weasel Stomping Day.
There are tons of possibilities. Throw in the fact that the badger itself may not make its rescue easy and you have the makings of an interesting game session.

I would love to hear some stories of GMs using these beasts in their game sessions.

More Bloggin' Goodness

I have decided to set up a new blog, completely devoted to my illustration work. You might ask why I would set up another blog? Verisimilitude is so great and all consuming, why create another blog?
I have two reasons, first I think the illustration work deserves its own blog, through which I can more fully explore its every nook and cranny. Second, it gave me a chance to create a blog address using my name, and thus make an address with the word "kill" in the middle. http://luschekillustrationblog.blogspot.com/  So my name ends in and is part of the word "kill". That's cool isn't it? Of course I would never harm anyone-else.  Unless I had to- but still it is pretty cool.

So, introducing the new Luschek Illustration blog. Mostly made up of stuff that is not observed from nature, but is hopefully developed and executed in a truthful way that makes it both believable and fascinating.

Please read, make comments, post requests and questions. I will be posting process sketches, ideas and finished illustrations. I am sure there will be many directions, ways to reach, many ways to travel, many ways too look.
Not unlike the following creature with multiple arms, legs and arms (or tentacles) as owned by the following creature I drew for Dark Skull Studios.  Hope you enjoy the blog.

 Sheushan-naoth, © Richard Luschek and Dark Skull Studios, 2011