It’s What We Fight For (RPG Related)

For those interested in RPG’s, DriveThruRPG is having a New Year’s sale right now on a number of awesome games, including Mouse Guard! It’s normally $19, but for the next few days you can get it for $12. Totally worth it, because it’s a great game and the book is gorgeous.

Here is the link, for the curious:  http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/rpg_newyear.php?affiliate_id=22713&src=DTCTwitter

 

Speaking of Mouse Guard, I may be writing some Missions in the coming weeks, and then put them up as a resource for potential Mouse Guard GM’s.  I really like this game, and I’d like to think that that’s contagious, so I’m doing what I can to spread the word.  (Did I mention that the pdf is on sale right now at DriveThruRPG for $12.00??)

I’m working on an interior map of Copperwood right now too, as well as another fantasy map for my Etsy.  Convenient, because James Gurney posted today that he has a 7-page feature on mapmaking in the latest issue of ImagineFX magazine.  I’ve been interested in fantasy cartography for a long time, since fantasy novels generally come with a map of the relevant world at the front of the book.  I’ll have to see if I can find a copy of the magazine somewhere.  The Barnes and Nobles near me don’t seem to be all that awesome at carrying culture-related magazines…

I also joined a Meetup group that focuses on roleplaying and gaming of all sorts, and I may be making my way to one of the meetings at some point.  I’m excited.  :)

Mouse Territories of the Northern Reaches

I recently did a map for an upcoming Mouse Guard campaign that I might be running soon, and so I had the idea to post a listing in my shop for custom fantasy maps done in the same style. For those who don’t know, Mouse Guard is a comic set in the middle ages, and it’s all about mice with swords protecting their territories from predators and so on. It’s written and illustrated by David Petersen.

The map I created is inspired by the map that Petersen drew for the Mouse Territories. The original is done on 11×14 Bristol paper, stained with coffee, and colored in using watercolor pencils for the water. The lines are all inked using brushes or a steel nib pen. I know that most maps these are created using Photoshop or some other illustration program on the computer, but I don’t have anything of the sort, so I get resourceful and make things by hand.
What does everyone think? Any advice or suggestions? Thanks for looking!

4/365 Guardsmouse Mikel

 

Guardsmouse Mikel, performing a Zornhau.  I have a huge interest in German medieval swordsmanship.  Johannes Liechtenauer was a swordmaster in the 1500′s who pretty much started the tradition, or at least wrote most of it down in code.

The Zornhau is the “strike of wrath”.  If you are holding your sword in the “Vom Tag” position, basically at your shoulder, the Zornhau is performed by taking a step forward with your leading foot as you swing the sword in a downward arc at your opponent.  You’d block this blow with the “Ochs” position, and bind your opponent’s blade.

 

…I also learned that mice are hard to draw like this, because their knees are ambiguously placed somewhere in fur.  No worries.  David Petersen’s Mouse Guard is still awesome.

 

This is illustration 4 of 365 in my 365 Drawing Project.  Thanks for reading.

3/365

I need to do these earlier in the day.

 

Nordic-themed mice with swords continue.  I’m having fun with the weapons and the runes.  I had a name for this guy, and then I was so in the moment with the sketching that I forgot it.

 

2/365

Mouse Guard illustration.  Day 2 of 365.  December 31st, 2011.  This is Guardmouse Olaf.  My obsession continues. Done on the inside cover of my new Moleskines, which arrived yesterday thanks to a wonderful Christmas gift of an Amazon gift card.

The paper on the new Moleskine sketchbooks is thinner than the one I purchased about two years ago, which makes me sad.  I’m hoping it will still hold up to what I have planned.  I want to try some urban sketching with light ink washes.  I was counting on the thicker paper to hold up better to the watercolors/inks.

 

1/365

I’m going to be trying(keyword) to do a sketch/illustration/doodle every day.  It’s a 365 project.  I’ll try my best to post them here, and will also have them on my Tumblr – thekiltedgerman.tumblr.com

I don’t own a scanner, so they will consist of iPhone pictures for the time being.  This is number 1.  It’s a Mouse Guard piece that I did for fun.  I’ve been obsessed with Mouse Guard lately, and my wife got me the RPG box set for Christmas.  I might be drawing a lot of mice with medieval weaponry for the next few weeks.

I’m also thinking about restarting my Zibbet shop, and focusing on cartography.  Illustrated maps of fantasy locations, basically.  I’m working on a Mouse Guard map right now that I’ll try to post pictures of in the next few days.  I’m pretty happy with it.

 

Free Comic Book Day 2011

Yesterday was Free Comic Book Day.  For those who may never have heard of it, Free Comic Book Day is an event that many of the comic publishing companies and comic shops around the world participate in.  It’s intended to introduce new people to the world of comics, as well as bring new material to current comic book readers.  Many artists put out special FCBD editions of their work, in smaller, “sampler” formats.  I think it’s  a great idea, and I had been wanting to attend a FCBD for many years now, but had never had the chance because my Saturdays were usually busy.

Yesterday morning, Kathryn and I headed out to find our local comic shop, down Roswell Road.  Roswell is one of the roads that seems to pass through 90% of Atlanta, and it runs from up in Roswell all the way down to somewhere in the southern parts of the city.  The shop that we ventured out to find is called Teahouse Comics.  We found the shop after a little bit of difficulty in trying to figure out how to reach the shopping center that it’s located in, and arrived just a few minutes after they opened at 10am.

A note on Teahouse Comics:  it’s pretty awesome.  The employees were all super friendly and welcoming and excited to be part of FCBD, and the store was clean and well-lit and well stocked.  Definitely impressive.  I wanted to go mainly for the FCBD Mouse Guard edition, which I snagged shortly after coming in.  The shop was still pretty empty, which was nice, and they also had a sale going on for 20% off graphic novels, 30% off back issues, and so on.  Kathryn and I got our free comics, and she picked up Sandman volume 4.  I also grabbed issue #1 of the Mouse Guard: Black Axe series, which I had been looking forward to for ages.

Then, after checkout, we learned that comic shops are dangerous places for Kathryn.  She had spotted an Absolute Sandman: Death volume on the top shelf in the shop.  I haven’t had a chance to read Neil Gaiman’s Sandman yet, but I hear nothing but praise for it.  The Absolute volumes are normally $99, but the 20% discount applied, so after tax it came out to $85 – too good a deal to pass up.  Both Kathryn and I are highly in favor of supporting local shops whenever possible, so we both felt that it was a pretty good bargain.  That’s one of the reasons I always try to support the local game store, even if I’m just buying a coffee or a few vitamin waters on Warmachine night.

We headed home, both satisfied after our comic shop adventure.  I know that if I get the chance I’ll be frequenting Teahouse Comics again, and even though the chance of someone from there reading this entry is probably pretty slim, I want to say thanks for a great experience.  Customer service and friendly employees are important, and I couldn’t have been more pleased.

The Haul