New Art

I love art. One of the skills I wish I had was the ability to draw or paint.
Sadly, I don't. But that is ok. I know lots of people that do.

Avionetca is one of those people. She does FANTASTIC character art.
So when she had a slot open in her commission schedule I had to jump.  So here is my iconic witch Larina, Avionetca-style.

Full character sheet.

http://avionetca.deviantart.com/art/WebWarlock-Larina-the-Witch-620193449

I am inordinately pleased with this.

When her commissions open up again I might get her to do Larina's daughter Taryn.
I love this character and I never get tired of seeing her brought to life.

The Witch Queens Gather...In my Game Room!

Last week it was my pleasure to share some new art I had commissioned.

Tabletop Witch Coven by ProdigyDuck on DeviantArt

Well, today my (slightly) early birthday present has arrived.

It's huge, 20" x 30"!  And it is going to look great on my wall.

+Jacob Blackmon did a FANTASTIC job.

It will join some of the other witches I have collected over the years.

I know I should take better pics, but I was in a rush this morning before work.

They say art inspires, well looking at this art this is what popped into my head.

"Outside of the Goblinwood, in the shadows of the Broken Mountains lies the village of West Haven.  Every 13 years on the Summer Solstice the witches of the world gather here to discuss plans, share secrets and keep informed of matters in the world.  Ancient pacts and rituals prevent the witches from harming or to cause to harm each other.

On the night before Midsummer's Eve someone killed Elena the Fair, Witch Queen of Summer.

Now chaos reigns as the witches prepare to go to war with each other.  Old alliances are destroyed and new pacts are formed.  Winter has come early and if a new Witch Queen of Summer is not found and the old one avenged the world will plunge into everlasting winter."

Yeah. I'd play the hell out of that game.

The Witch Queens Gather...

They are getting along now, but is War in their future?

Larina, Feiya & Iggwilv

This fantastic art was created by +Jacob Blackmon who has done tons of great RPG art including a lot of the art in the upcoming Strange Brew, which features Larina quite a bit.

If you like his work then pop over to his DeviantArt page, his Patreon page, Facebook or Tsū pages.

I am thinking of making this the "unofficial" cover of my War of the Witch Queens campaign. Which is fine given it is something I am just planning on doing in my home game and not publish.

I just need to do something cool enough to live up to the awesome in that picture.

Zatannurday: Tribute to Darwyn Cooke

Last week we lost a great.  Darwyn Cooke died after a brief but aggressive battle with cancer.

I loved Darwyn's style and his heroes always looked like they were happy to be heroes.  They were the best versions of the characters.  Maybe not always the version we wanted to see, but better than the "grim-dark" heroes so many artists (and filmmakers) seem to want to do.

I loved how he always showed Wonder Woman smiling.

And of course when she didn't need to be.

He knew how to make Selena sexy cool.

And of course he knew how to draw Zatanna.

But I enjoyed Minutemen Before Watchmen Comics the most.

Silhouette became something else under his care.

But this video was also something he did well. For Batman's 75th Anniversary.



We are going to miss you Darwyn. You and your influence on the DCU.

What Is Your Holy Grail Item?

As gamers I think there is a little bit of a collector in us all as well.
After all we all came into this hobby at different points so different things were "rare" or "must have" to us at different times.

Well I finally picked up one of those items I have been searching for for a while.
The AD&D 1st Ed Monster Cards.

I know these have been on eBay many times.   BUT these were still in their shrink wrap.

Yes I opened them.  I am still much more of a gamer than a collector.

Each one of these is a little work of art, it would be a shame to not enjoy them.

This collection was always one of my "Holy Grail" items.  Not because of it's significance to the game or even my own games, but because of the rarity.

I would pass by these little decks in the bookstores back in the 80s and think to myself "oh I'll get those next time."  then there wasn't a "next time" (lessoned learned there kiddies).

For the longest time I never could find these.  Plus I wanted to get a complete set of all four and I wanted to make sure they were in good shape.

Well these came along and I couldn't say no. Not after all this time.

What is your "must have" item? What have you been searching for to complete your collection?

Zatannurday: Lord Ingvard redesigns

Lord Ingvard's comic book redesigns are making their way across the net this week.
I posted the Red Sonja and Wonder Woman ones already.

Generally speaking I like the changes and can see them working. Though I will admit I am not sure he knows much about the history of the all characters he is talking about (he does have a good grip on Ms./Captain Marvel I will give him that).

http://lordingvard.tumblr.com/
http://www.ingvard.com

Let's look at his Zatanna.

http://lordingvard.tumblr.com/post/121856841408/womens-superhero-costumes-revamped-9-zatanna

ETA: Here is the image

He gets a few things right and a few wrong.  Now mind you. This is *his* version and by default that means it is right for him.  But I also ask how much can you change a character and still have it be the same character?

Ok so the punk style hair do, I love it. Black hair with streaks of purple (or blue) would be a great look for a younger Zee.  I can totally see her looking like this while she was working on her undergrad degree.
The coat is very reminiscent of Constantine's trench coat.  So this could even be early in her relationship with him.
I like the striped pants she is wearing; a nice call back to the striped socks you will sometimes see witched wear.
The choker necklace is cool, if a bit predictable.

I really, really love the look of this character.  It is cool, hip and I want to know more about her.
I can't help but wonder though...don't we already have a Raven and a Traci 13?

There is a reason for her look.
Zee dresses the way she does because that was how her dad dressed when he was on stage.  She dresses like an old school magician because her dad was an old school magician.  So the top hat, the fishnets are all apart of what her stage persona is.  She might be the most powerful magician on Earth, but in her mind she will never be as good as her dad was.

Now, not to sound like "that guy" but I do wish he had done some research into these characters.
The part where he mentions "changing the color of the spandex" on Zee's art shows he really doesn't know much about these characters.  Zee has one of the more recognizable looks of any superhero, male or female.  The only hero she looks like is the one that in character she wants to look like; her dad.

Oh and the bit about modern magicians not dressing like this anymore?  Two words. Misty Lee.

So I like the vision of his changes, but not for the reasons he gives.

In the end though I will agree with Zee herself. Her costume is fine as it is.

Strange Brew: Art and Updates

Strange Brew is moving along.  Not as fast as I would have liked, but it is getting there.  Magic items are taking a lot longer than I anticipated.

But I do want to share a new piece of art from Jacob Blackmon.
My iconic Larina in flight.

I really love this one!

Zatannurday: Darwyn Cooke Alternate Covers

If any artist captures what I feel should be the soul of DC comics it is Darwyn Cooke.

Well Darwyn is doing alternate covers for the various issues #37 out in December and they look awesome.

http://www.newsarama.com/22076-dc-reveals-december-variant-cover-theme.html

The cover for JLDark looks great.

Though I would have wanted to see more Zatanna and John.

You can see all the covers here too.
http://calvinscanadiancaveofcool.blogspot.com/2014/09/darwyn-cooke-does-variant-covers-in.html

And to celebrate here are some more of his Zatannas!

Summer Cleaning

So making some cosmetic changes here at the ole' Other Side.

I moved my Kickstarter applet lower on the screen so people can still see it, but make room for my social media buttons.

I also have a great summer themed banner from old friend from the Kitten Board, Willow Ehrenreich.
Yes that is Willow and Tara up there. Yes I think it's cool.  Here is her untouched copy.

I like symbolism to be honest. Tara under the tree, Willow on a rock.  Fits well with how I have been running these characters for the last 12 years.

Posting might be light this summer.  Working hard on Strange Brew and other projects.  But don't worry.  I am not going anywhere.  In fact I have something special in mind for tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Interview with David Martin

Black Gate has an interview with artist with David Martin.
http://www.blackgate.com/2014/04/23/art-of-the-genre-an-interview-with-david-martin/

Long time readers here will know I am big fan of his work, but in particular the witch cover to Dragon #114.

Pop on over and have a read.

David Trampier

Many of you by now have heard about Dave Trampier's death.

I am really at a loss of what to say here.

So I guess instead I will leave this here as my testament to a person I never knew, but whose art had a profound impact on my life.

Zatannurday: Zatanna by Stephanie Buscema

I have really been enjoying the Red Sonja covers by Stephanie Buscema of late.  I am posting some over at Red Sonja She-devil With A Sword and Amazon Princess today.  Here is her Zatanna

Links

• Blog, http://stephaniebuscema.blogspot.com/
• Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop/wreckinbyrd?ref=em
• Homepage, http://www.stephaniebuscema.com/
• Twitter, https://twitter.com/StephBuscema
• Tumblr, http://stephbuscema.tumblr.com/
• Comic Vine, http://www.comicvine.com/stephanie-buscema/4040-47849/
• Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Buscema/270727659633788

Lilith can be Yours

Normally I like to spend the profits from my books on more art for the next book or something like that. You know, put it back into the creative effort.  But this was a particularly good couple of months so I splurged and got something nice for myself and my game room.

I got this from the artist's, Israel Llona aka Isra2007, shop over at Deviant Art.

The great thing is, you can get one of these prints too!
Just go to the prints page, http://www.deviantart.com/art/Lilith-142131246 and choose one of the prints.
This is the 12" x 18" art print.

Plus all the money goes to the artist, well minus whatever DA takes, but I don't get any. Not even a commission.   So if you liked my book and the cover, or you picked up my book for the cover, grab an art print too! It will look great on your wall.

You can also see all his great art here, http://israllona.wix.com/isra
He has a few more that I think would make awesome book covers.

The Art of Eldritch Witchery

One of the things that I love about working on RPG books is looking for art.  Sure there are other aspects I enjoy, but once I am done I love looking for art. It's like a treasure hunt for me.  But for Eldritch Witchery I knew EXACTLY what I wanted before I began.

Back when I was younger and wrote what would become by first ever witch I loved books on witchcraft, demonology and the occult.  I still do in fact. I love all the great artwork from these books, whether medieval woodcuts, drawings on pamphlets denouncing witchcraft on up to the art of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

One of the more influential books on my writing was Rossell Hope Robbins's "Encyclopedia of Witchcraft of Demonology".

For me it was not just a great book of ideas for my class in particular and D&D in general, it was also a manual of style.

It features fantastic works of art that I just knew I wanted to include in a book of my own.
Since Eldritch Witchery is my ode to Original D&D, I didn't want to include anything really new.

I also enjoyed adding art about fairy tale witches; an equally important aspect of my witch as the mytho-historical one.

While some of these (or similar ones) appeared in The Witch, for Eldritch Witchery I wanted just these sort of images.

I hope you enjoy this art as much as I do.  For me it really is like picking up a copy of The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology or even a copy of Eldritch Wizardry.

Eldritch Witchery is available now at DriveThruRPG!