When +Joe Salvador of Raven God Games asked me if I wanted to do some cover work I was thrilled. When I found out that I would be emulating something from Cary Nord's Conan run I was beyond words.
Joe and I first collaborated with +Jeff Talanian and North Wind Adventures on the Hyperborea Three pack kickstarter, where Joe wrote Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess, and I did the Dinosaur illustrations. So, Joe has been a big reason why I still find work in this industry. My dinosaurs for his written work has drawn a lot of my current fan base to me, and for that I am grateful to both him and Jeff. Now to have collaborated on a side project with him, working not only on the cover, but also an interior image I feel that much more honored by him.
Joe's own artwork graces the interior of this book, and I must say I am really impressed by his artistry.
For the cover Joe said that he would like something similar to this image by Cary Nord.
Now, I love Cary's work, and his run on dark horse Conan in my opinion was nearly as perfect as Bucema/Alcalla's run on Savage Sword back in the day. Just saying, these guys are only a notch below Frazetta in my eye.
So, I knew exactly what Joe was looking for, but could I do it? Make it my own, and push down my fears of failing all over my self in the process?
What I created for Beyond the Ice Fall is here.
If you dig viking adventures in frozen wastes, and all manner of good adventuring fun, check out Joe's Beyond the Ice Fall, you wont be disappointed. Click the link or search Drivethrurpg or RPGnow.
Ill let you be the judge of how mine compares to a true master of his craft, but I like my version for what it is. It's also one of my only cover pieces so that alone makes it pretty special to me.
The line art is all done by hand, including grey ink wash, and white gauche. I then colored it digitally in GIMP. I must say that I need work with digital coloring, but thankfully Joe only demanded blue tones for this one.
I like the vikings in the foreground, especially the cloakwork, and armor. As far as the lady figure goes, a specialty not mastered by me, she is a 5/10 in my book, not stunning, but not ugly either. Hopefully your tastes are different than mine and find some intrigue when looking at the cover.
Overall I am very happy with the piece, and think that everything Joe wanted came to fruition.
Thanks for looking, really check out Joe's book, it really is a great read, and should be a really fun adventure, comments always welcome.
