AS&SH: Terracotta Warriors (Tomb Guardians)

I have been working so long on this project I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. +Jeff Talanian's Astonishing Swordsman & Sorcerers of Hyperborea has filled even my dreams at night. This illustration is for the supplement "Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess" by +Joe Salvador. It should be released via Kickstarter (once I finish my bit).

It was a real treat to work on this one, after drawing all of the dinosaurs that were required. 

Here is my version of the Terra-cotta Warriors. 

Copyright Del Teigeler 2015. Licensed to Jeff Talanian 2015. 

I went with a pseudo-mongolian/middle ages feel with these guys. I really liked the thief from the Arnold Schwarzenegger film with his fur hat with the turned up ear flaps, so I added that.  

I wanted them to be different from the originals of China, but keep the feeling that they were produced in a similar manner. The Chinese of the Qin Shi Huang dynasty, molded theirs from several clay molds and then attached the pieces. They produced them in assembly line style a millennium before Henry Ford was born. 

I started by researching the originals, google was great for that as usual. Then I worked on developing the look. I knew I wanted the hats, and the shoulder armor is reminiscent of the originals. I love drawing scale armor so that was a good choice for them as well. The problem with scale though is that it has that middle ages sort of feel. Combine that with thick bands at the hem, and the oriental styled shoulders and it actually went well. Top it off with a nice neckerchief (Asian inspired again).

For the boots I wanted to again recall a look that might be slightly oriental, so split toe with hard sole, and a bit of a looped clasp (which I mimicked in other places on the figure to tie it all together) and wallah! 

I think what I loved most about the Qin Shi Huang dynasty Terracotta Warriors was they all seemed to have that rolled-up sleeve look to them. Warriors needed to have their wrists and forearms bare so that they could perform martial arts with ease and agility. (or so I'm told). So i incorporated that as well. 

I started with the central warrior, and at first had the notion of just leaving it as that. But if this was to represent more than a solitary guardian of some long lost tomb, he needed associates.

This is where the fun began, at first I tried to duplicate by hand each of the others, but it didn't turn out quite right. So, off to the copier I went and copied the one on the left at 90% size and the one on the right at 85% size. It was perfect. A little sun lit window tracing and making sure they were lined up in proper perspective and we have ourselves a complete illustration. 

Thanks for reading along. 

Thanks for looking and comments always welcome. 

Random Gamers Guild Work: Xorta

Continuing the posting for Matt Hargenrader's future project, here is the Xorta. 

This is by far one of the most insane creatures I have drawn for Matt. I kinda went a bit wild on this guy. He slithers through the canopy of jungles, and forests and then hangs waiting for prey. Once he spots them he falls upon them and attaches himself. His osprey like mouth and teeth burrow into the victims skin and he sucks vitals.

Pretty nasty really, and all from the mind of Matt Hargenrader. I just illustrated him. 

Copyright Del Teigeler 2015. Licensed to Matt Hargenrader 2015.

I gave him a sucker like mouth with flanges around the edges of it, a flexible snout and wide staring eyes. He breaths through the air holes located along his upper back, and slithers through the trees with his snake like body. 

His arms I made slightly elongated so that he could hang lower from them and his findger (if you can call them that) I made longer and more agile as well. 

A lot of detail went into the stripes and the shadows here. 

The tree branches I really worked on casting shadows on the lower half, and making the upper parts very complex with bark like a black cherry tree, chipped and rough. 

Dont let him drop on you, always look up when wandering through the jungles. 

Thanks for looking, comments always welcome. 

AS&SH: Pegomastax

The days go by and all I seem to do is draw anymore. Not complaining, I love what I do, but lately as I am finishing up my work for +Jeff Talanian's Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers or Hyperborea game system, for the upcoming +Joe Salvador "Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess" module, it seems all I draw is Dinosaurs. 

Now don't get me wrong, who doesn't love dinosaurs, I mean, come on who? 

I do (subsequently so do my boys), and with this installment I continue my look at them with my version of the Pegomastax.

You can see the preliminary work here.

And the final. 

Copyright Del Teigeler 2015. Licensed to Jeff Tallanian 2015.

This is one of the smaller dinosaurs, and I was intrigued by the weird beaked head with the tusks. I pictured it as nearly bony with a thin skin covering, where the skin would kind of fold back as he opened his mouth wider. This thing was probably pretty nasty, akin to a feral barn cat of today I would imagine. 

It took me a while to figure out how to show scale for this critter, but after thinking about it, I thought "Ground Squirrel" (SQUIRREL!!). 

I think it captures it pretty well, that the Pegomastax is about the size of a large cat. 

I liked the idea of the thick soft quill like fur along his spine, and the thick protective plates covering his exposed sides. Though he would be vulnerable from attacks from below with the soft rippled skin, I think it makes for a fast moving vicious critter indeed. The bird of prey feet complete the look, as he would have to both move rapidly across the ground and attack prey with them, as his "short arms" wouldn't even be able to scratch his chin.

Again I started off with Sakura ink pens and finished off with the Neutral grey Prismacolor markers. 

On to the next dionsaurs!

Thanks for looking and comments always welcome. 

Petty Gods: Miri Nigri

When +Richard LeBlanc put out the call for more artists to sign on for his Petty Gods campaign seen here, I threw my name in the ring. Richard teamed me up with the Miri Nigri a constructed race of amphibian like creatures created by Chaugnar Faugn. 

I don't know why but my version seen below in the preliminary sketch made me remember a beloved movie of my youth. 

Copyright Del Teigeler 2015.

I sketched in the guy in the front first starting with his toad like head, added in the gaunt shoulders and then to the protruberant belly and frog like legs. He really had the look of Golum in the animated feature The Hobbit. So I had to not only keep the look as an homage, but also add in the "rams-like" horns to give him a different look entirely. 

I went with the three fingered TMNT approach to their hands as well, it just seemed to work for these guys. 

The guy in the background I gave buffalo like horns, leading the viewer to believe that none of the Miri Nigri are alike in appearance. Primative spears complete the look, and I will add more trinkets and details in the inking phase. 

Richard wanted the background to be a cave, and so I put in a common adventuring party along with in in the shadows, as if these Miri Nigri were chanced upon and now had some breakfast walk into their cavern. 

Well, here is the final illustration. 

Copyright Del Teigeler 2015. Licensed to Richard LeBlance for Petty Gods 2015.

I am pleased with the final and it only took me about 3 hours to finish it up. My work is getting faster, I just hope I am not sacrificing quality. Let me know. 

Thanks for looking, comments always welcome. 

Genius Loci Games: Pyramid of the Lost king...

Doing my part to help promote the latest offering from +Johua De Santo of Genius Loci Games via Kickstarter. I have been tapped as one of the interior artists along with +Frank Turfler.

Here is the first of my pieces a snake rider.

Copyright Del Teigeler 2015. Licensed to Johua De Santo 2015.

Check out the Kickstarter here. If you want to see more, contribute, and thanks in advance. 

At first I was going to take it easy on this one. +Johua De Santo simply requested a snake riding Egyptian warrior. The initial sketches were just that, snake writhing and the man plopped up top. But somehow that wasn't enough, and the lead was flowing so I let it. I popped in the temple structure first (the one that you can barely see to the left of the snake), and then the obelisk. 

As I progressed I just kept jotting in buildings in a similar style. Before I knew it there were a dozen buildings with no thought to the end. I knew I had to limit the piece as I was rapidly running out of space on the Bristol 

I am quite fond of those little buildings with the domed roofs, kinda remind me of Mos Eisley. But I didnt want to over due them either. 

What great town anywhere in a fantasy setting would be complete without a wall to protect it. However, how was an Egyptian wall drawn? That was a good question and I started with the "tower" in the foreground (just under the f in Mavfire) and from there I blocked in the walls and other towers. 

I progressed on and figured I might as well add some depth to the drawing and sketched in the sand dunes, and finally deciding there needed to be some vegetation around I plopped in some palm type trees along the exterior. (coincidentally I had just returned to the fridged northern climes of Michigan after my brief vacation in Florida and the Bahamas, so I didn't need too much inspirational googling.)

I am satisfied with this piece and hope it is well received by you folks. 

Thanks for looking and comments always welcome.

AS&SH Shunosaurus

Now that I have wrapped up most of my work for Matt Hargenrader's "Dwellers in the Dark Places" I have once again vowed to get back on +Jeff Talanian's project for the Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, adventure suppliment written by +Joe Salvador entitled "Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess". 

Here is a final that I have completed over the last few days. The original sketches and work on these can be seen here. Where I talked about how I evolved the simple sketch of the Shunosaurus from an image I found of an Elephant rising up on his hind legs, and working it into this finished piece. Go there and read up on it, and see how much this guy has changed from initial concept. 

Go ahead...we will wait.

Ok, you're back. Good. I thought I lost you there. Ok, well here is the final version. I hope the tension of having to go back in time was worth the wait.

Copyright Del Teigeler 2015. Licensed to Jeff Talanian 2015.

I really gave this guy a work over with the Sakura Pigma Microns for sure. A lot of filler crosshatching and shading before the final inks were added. I used Prismacolor art brush markers for the shading, starting with a 10% Neutral Grey, and progressing to the 40% Neutral Grey.

(Sidebar here for other artists: It really sucks that Prismacolor sells these things for like $4. They dont last that long on a piece this size. Also, these Neutral grey ones, are like the rarest to find in a set. Most designers apparently use either the "Cool" grey or the "Warm" grey. Of course, my eyes see those shades as blue for some reason. Anyway.)

Overall I don't prize this as one of my better pieces (though I hope Jeff and Joe like it well enough), I wouldn't put it in the same category as the Allosaurus or the Equijubus I have done for this same project. And I hope that I fixed the "hose" look that were his neck and tail. 

As always, thanks for looking, commenting and plussing(?)

Random Gamers Guild: Xanniz Worm

The Xanniz worm is an underground beast created by Matt Hargenrader for his "Dwellers in the Dark Places" monster guidebook, and one of the many in this series I have published here. 

This critter is quite nasty, and the illustration mostly speaks for itself. 

Copyright Del Teigeler 2014. Licensed to Matt Hargenrader 2014.

I drew the Haldroon before I drew the Xanniz and I learned quite a bit about how these creeps move about, and the lines that work and those that don't. To be completely honest I like this guy better than the Haldroon, but both have a certain shiver down the spine kind of feel. 

The idea for the giant mandibles came from several variety of beetle that I googled and the long sticky tongue I gave raised bumps on it to indicate that rough cat like texture. I cannot imagine running into this thing. Not to mention the fact that its ability to make fists with his hands/feet indicate he has some form of intelligence. Not a good combination to make your foe.

I haven't even hinted at the stinger at the end of his body either. Venomous and jagged like a saw, so not only can he prick some unsuspecting adventurer dealing poison but also slash at them. Yikes. 

His bug like eyes were fun to do, and started off looking like cross hatch madness before inking. I am especially proud of his body turning, something that working on the Haldroon taught me for sure. And his underbelly with a hint of bony bumps along his sides are there to protect his body from sharp rocks and such. 

I have to smile though, because to me, the body looks sort of like the bugs in the cooties game seen here.

Thanks for looking, comments always welcome. Thanks in advance for the +'s on google +.

Random Gamers Guild Work: Haldroon

This is another creature done for Matt Hargenrader and the Random Gamers Guild project for his book "Dwellers in the Dark Places" that will be available on Kickstarter later this year. 

The Haldroon is a subterranean creature much like the purple worm of classic games. 

Copyright Del Teigeler 2014. Licensed to Matt Hargenrader 2014.

The powerful mandibles and spiked tail make him a ferocious underground denizen. The single clawed appendages help him move with uncanny speed and agility over the stalagmites and rough floor of the caverns in which he dwells. 

I went with a dark background here, and put him in among some stalagmites and stalactites. 

Over all I a pretty satisfied with this illustration, I do not work much with nearly completely black background, and it can be challenging. Most artist tend to leave a small white gap between the figure and the black background, and I experimented with that here to some success. 

This was a fun one to do, and the next post will show yet another of these worm like creatures. 

Thanks for looking and comments are always welcome.