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.

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

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!

I'm In Charge!

The title of this blog post is referring to a book I just illustrated and not my own proud declaration to the world. Though I do try to be in charge when ever I get a chance and think things are usually the better for it.
One of the writers for Hârn, a game I am the art director for, knew about an author- a friend of a friend, who was looking for an illustrator for a children's book he was working on (was that sentence  more confusing than it needed to be?).
Henry Vogel was working an series of stories based on old medieval folk tales. I have wanted to illustrated a book for kids for a while now, so I inquired. After a some back and forth emails, we agreed to work together on this project.

I'm In Charge cover, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

Henry had 6 stories, and we chose 3 to be in this first book: I'm in Charge, the Seven Silly Brothers and The Three questions.
I would tell you more, but I am going to have you read the description on the Amazon page for the book. Click Here to read and to order piles of books for your family! It is available in print and for the Kindle (PDF).


I worked on the cover and interior art pretty much at the same time. I wanted this book to have an old timey, classic look. I love Arthur Rackham's work and wanted emulate that style.
I sent Henry a quick sketch done in photo shop to see what he thought.

I'm In Charge, digital sketch, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

He gave me some notes, a few sketches went back and forth and I then assembled my reference. I like to use the best looking and most handsomest models I can find for the money.

I'm In Charge, reference photo, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

I did a pencil sketch and then inked the drawing.

I'm In Charge, ink drawing, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

This is scanned into Photoshop and then colored digitally. I usually start by adding some texture to the image- I set a photo of parchment on a multiply layer and did laid a tone in.

I'm In Charge, digital value scheme, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

I select all the parts out on different layers and start adding color. Using my initial color sketch to select colors from.

I'm In Charge, early color layers, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

I keep painting and pushing things around till I like it. I didnt like how the spear touched the edge, so I selected it and angled it out to match the shield. I added the Seven Silly Brothers walking by the castle outside on their way to some adventures. The princes hand was a bit too manly and the face too harsh. I made the crown bigger and finished the painting. The text was added and then tweaked a bit by hand, painting around it to give it a more natural look.

I'm In Charge, cover, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

For the interior art I decided a set of simple silhouettes would look nice.

I'm In Charge, Interior, pen and ink, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

Here we see the power hungry prince is ordering his friend's mother to jail for not letting them play together.

Seven Silly Brothers, Interior, Pen and Ink, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

The Seven Silly Brothers are not the brightest lot. They get themselves into all kinds of trouble.

3 Questions, Interior, Pen and Ink, © 2016, Henry Vogel and Richard Luschek

In Three Questions, the princess and her father the king, do not agree on the qualities that will make for a good husband and prince.

No spoilers here, you will have to find out how they end on your own by reading the book yourself or preferably aloud to your kids.
So, go get the book and write some glowing reviews.

Big Catch

The next HarnQuest is coming out very soon. I have all the art done (only about 2 months past due) but I had other Harn related stuff to do -so give me a freaking break will you!

Floating to Freedom, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Actually I will post about some of that other Harn / Gen Con related stuff next.
This issue of HarnQuest will contain Menekai, Patrel and the Salt route.
Menekai has never been illustrated. The rough looking Larga Gydsilen has been shown in Rethem, but the castle and its surroundings had not. I started with Sketchup model drawn over the maps by Oddgeir Drevdal.
Often things are found in modeling that helps us draw better maps. One discovery was that the north tower and walls are in mid construction. I had modeled them too high. Brent pointed this out and we realized the maps really should have scaffolding and some signs of construction. The corrections were made.
Here is the cool flyover animation I did of the model once I had something in mind.

Once the model is complete, I pick a view that I think will look best and gives a good flavor to the place. I wanted to show the metalworks, with the smelting furnaces going, and the charcoaler piles smoldering. I decided to show a boy fishing as a dead body floats by, probably from the slave quarters. I would imagine with the harsh conditions of this place, slaves don't last long. A lazy guard may just decide to toss the body in the river rather than deal with it. I use Sketchups rough 3d figures as stand-ins.

Menekai Sketchup screen shot

After I do a sketch, I ink it, scan the image in photoshop and start coloring. I usually create some layers for the major units of the image. The inked layer is on top set to multiply. I had a sky layer, a water layer, a town layer, foreground layer, boy/body layer, and a water reflection layer -which was the town layer selected, filled with a gradient, vertically flipped and set to multiply over the water layer.
All this gets painted in broad strokes, working towards detail. I often add some multiply layers to get darker and add some mood.
I thought I was done.

Floating to Freedom (minus mood), Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

One of the writers pointed out the image was not dark enough in mood, and possibly in value. That the place should feel dirtier. After my attempts to get that person fired failed, I thought maybe I should consider this criticism.
I do like contrast in subject matter. So a sunny scene of a kid fishing with a dead body floating by had a touch of that. I figured a bit more mood could help, plus I keep forgetting my promise to myself to do more rain scenes. Harn is a wet place. Adding a rain texture gave it the miserable mood that was needed. I had to darken some things, like the kids wet clothes, add some splashes resulting in the image you see at the top of the page.

Look for a few more posts soon. I will try to keep up on this blog more. Let me know if there are any topics you'd like to see covered.

Xerle Chapterhouse

The next HarnQuest will be printed this Tuesday with shipping beginning shortly after. This release has a nice variety of articles including Arathel Castle, Onden Keep, Ruins on the Silver Way, and Xerle Chapterhouse of the Checkered Shield (an expansion to the Dyrisa article).

I thought I would post about some of the work from Xerle.

"Xerle is a chapterhouse of the Order of the Checkered Shield. The order holds the manor from the Serekela (archbishop) of Kanday. Xerle is home to a commandery, or half-chapter, of five melana (knights) and 10 meken (common men-at-arms). The Xerle chapter is charged with patrolling the King’s Way."

Morning Patrol Gathering, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

First thing I do, after skimming the article of course, is to load the map into Google Sketchup and rough out a model of the complex. I do tend to get carried away on these models since it is kind of blast to do, but I am getting pretty fast and have a collection of components stored I can reuse. Sketchup has a cool animation feature which makes it very easy to do a quick fly around of the model.

The idea for the cover page image was to have the Larani soldiers gathering for the morning patrol. Of course "Chivalry, honor, and duty are characteristics of the Order of the Checkered Shield, a fighting order dedicated to the goddess Larani, the Shieldmaiden of the Worthy Cause", but that doesn't mean they are above stringing up some poor bastard in the woods to coax out some answers.
I did an image of the patrol questioning a suspect. At first drew him being strung up by the neck. I figured it was confusing and looks too much like they are administering frontier justice. 
 

A few questions, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I changed it to the having him being painfully hoisted with his arms behind his back. Also, it's probably easier to answer questions this way than with a rope around your neck.
As the process is sometimes in flux, writing and art happening together. That with my desire to cram art into every orifice of the article resulted in me drawing an image that would not fit into the latest article. So, I had to squeeze that tree down a bit to fit the space. 

Here is the final image with some color. Pretty sure this guy will talk.

A few questions, Copyright © 2015, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I also did a fly around of the image of Onden Castle for your enjoyment.

Orbaal Invasion

I have finished the art for upcoming Columbia Games kingdom release. Orbaal was a big project for me, lots of hairy, and fur wearing Viking types to draw. I had to draw and paint over 50 images for this one.
The kingdom article is a few weeks away from being published as it goes through final review and editing.

This image is for the front page of the kingdom. I decided to illustrate something of the struggle going on in that northern kingdom; an invading Ivinian attacking a Jarin warrior.

Coming Ivinian Storm, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I thought I would post a few of the reference photos to show a bit of my process. Also I wanted to explain to any neighbors who may read this blog why I was posing like this in my yard last week while my wife took photos.

While the above image is full of rage and testosterone, - well, the reference photos are too.

The reference shots, while very helpful, are just part of the process for creating the final image. I had to outfit these guys with proper weapons and clothing, but I also had to make the guys in the final image not quite so handsome. I also had to remove my awesome van in the background and replace it with the rugged coast of Orbaal. There were ton of other photos for the hands and face to use for reference as well, as the pose required more action or a changes. I tend to assemble a reference in Photoshop, arranging various photos, then selecting various limbs, hinging them at the joints to move around like puppets until I get a pleasing arrangement.

Let me know what you think- I am more interested in your thoughts on the top image.

High Tech Detective

Last year I was asked to do a T shirt design for Cyber Security company in Michigan. The design was a zombie chewing on a computer modem- you know how zombies do.
Recently they asked for a new design for this years Michigan Cyber Range Conference in Ann Arbor on May 20th.

At the Cyber range they do various demonstrations in their fiction town of  Alphaville, a secure environment that enables users to practice cybersecurity techniques. For example, attendees may be airport traffic controllers who will be put in a scenario where evil hackers are trying to break into their computer system and cause havoc. They are taught how to stop the hacker and keep everyone safe.  It sounds pretty complicated and intense- even more advanced than tips like "your password should not be 1234".

Who shot the Computer? Copyright © 2014,Merit Cyber Range and Richard Luschek

This time they asked for a 1930's pulp style detective looking into a case of computer "hacking". I thought it would look cool if the "hacking" was represented by a computer that had been shot. Doing research on-line I was finding some cool 1930's pulp covers with wonderful graphic layouts.
I decided to push it in that direction and turn this into a cover. I sent some sketches of the detective I did quickly in Photoshop. After a few back and forth emails, these two were the last set.

Who shot the Computer? sketches, Copyright © 2014,Merit Cyber Range and Richard Luschek

I liked the gun, but it confused the issue and made it look like maybe the detective had shot the computer. The other was a bit cooler and looked as if he happened upon the scene. In the final image I made sure he had a subtle glance in the direction of the "victim".
I expanded the scene to an Alphaville office and pushed the silhouette a bit more so it was a stronger image. I had hand drawn a font based on one of the old covers, but they decided on a different title so rather than attempt to draw a new title I looked for some fonts that gave it a retro feel.
I also stayed with the anachronistic mood and changed the price to bitcoins.

This was a fun project. While I have yet to sent the invoice for the job, maybe I can get some help from them on my computer security. Like, do I have enough bear traps set around my computer area? Should I add more barbed wire?
I'll let you know what I find out.

And Thine Suckuth Less

I got kind of a lucky break being asked to do art for Columbia Games way before I was really ready. My initial offerings were barely passable, but I learned tons while getting paid to do so. Early on I felt so luck to be part of publishing for a game I had started playing when I was 13, I pretty much just shut up and did the work to the best of my ability.

A few projects I have worked on have been around enough that they are now due for an upgrade. I wont name them all, as I am not sure when I will get to them, but one that particularly made me cringe has been Kanday. Much of the art in that publication was done for other jobs that never saw the light, were already old, and kind of got forced into inappropriate spots. As you know CGI has been updating and expanding the product line with new color products. This gives us a chance to revisit old work and continue to improve the quality. Again with excellent editing and layout by Brent we have a wonderfully updated Kanday. It is not completely laid out yet, but will be available soon.
The download is available now on RPG Now.

Blessings of Larani, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Below is the image I am replacing. There are are a few things wrong with the following image. I liked idea, so I basically redid it. It is more appropriate to the kingdom of Kanday and has a bit more energy and life. The orc shown in the image are not much of a threat in Kanday. I figured a soldier from Rethem would me more accurate. Thankfully I have gotten a bit better in the 13 or so years since I did this image.

Blessings of Larani, Copyright © 2001, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I recently purchased a used Cintiq from a friend (technically- I haven't paid yet, but I probably will).

It has taken some getting used to. Already I cant believe I have not been using this all along. I think it is calibrated better than my monitor, so that has been a help as well. 

In the end for Kanday, I colored 5 of the images, updated, fixed or redrew 20 of my old illustrations. I started with the King. The old image did not seem very kingly in addition to being kind of weak overall. The trick was to redraw him, get the same likeness yet improve upon the old illustration. This one did get colored too, but I just wanted to post the B&W versions. 

King Andasin- Before and After, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I have never liked realistic images of dead characters in times before the invention of the camera. It is just too anachronistic. The only way they would be known visually is through painting or sculpture. I love medieval painting. I of course based this off of medieval icons- maybe too much. I even used some gold leaf texture in the background and painted the image over this. I have been trying to put more appropriate medieval art in Harn publications.

The Murdered Queen, Before and After, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

A few of the images were a bit miss placed. One image showed a man that looked about 30 years too young. So I aged him and put him in more appropriate clothing.

Constable Fodin, Before and After, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

This one had a bit of text that indicated the Baron is suffering from wasting disease, yet the image showed a robust individual. So, some tweaking remedied this. 

Baron Daffyd, Before and After, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Some of the images were just plain terrible in every way.This was not just a weak image, he looked like a commoner. I reworked this one the most of any and am much happier with it.

Constable Elaris, Before and After, Copyright © 2014, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

I can now page through Kanday Kingdom without crying in embarrassment.

A bit more Fairy action

The article on Harnic Fairies is finally online and available.
Download the PDF here for free.

Spirit Folk, Brownie, Bogaern, Cluricaune, Copyright © 2013, Columbia Games, Inc., Rob Barnes and Richard Luschek

Above are the common domestic brownies.
"Hearth or domestic spirits are solitary faeries who seek out human
households to inhabit. Such spirits may gravitate toward a particular
feature of the home, some preferring the stables or gardens while others
take residence in houses. A spirit that cares for the poultry may encourage
chickens to lay more eggs, find eggs that are hidden, or protect the fowl
from predators. A house-dwelling spirit may guard the fire in the hearth,
keeping the embers hot overnight or food from burning in the pot. The
range of powers differs with each kind of hearth spirit. Most like humans as long as they are treated well."
After many a sleepless night trying to catch a photo of one of these creatures at work in my house, I decided I was going to have to pose myself for these little guys. I wrote about the dangers of having these reference photos on your camera in a previous post. I shoot the photos, pick the best ones and then use them as rough guidelines for the drawings. After a few sketches I do a final drawing, ink it and erase the pencil. I scan the ink drawing and color it in photoshop.

Spirit Folk, Brownie, Bogaern, Cluricaune, -Ink Drawing Copyright © 2013, Columbia Games, Inc., Rob Barnes and Richard Luschek

While I will spare everyone the reference photos for the two fine fairy gentlemen on the left, the one on the right is pretty funny and give you some idea of the excellent acting involved. Keep in mind I did this completely sober.

Spirit Folk, Cluricaune reference photo  Copyright © 2013, Richard Luschek and my Mom

At some point I should probably do an entire blog post about that mug I am holding. It is an amazing piece of kitch pottery that must be shared with the world.