Usually, this blog is for the sort of info and ruminations useful to our tabletop RPG community. After all, that is what Onyx Path Publishing currently publishes. Makes sense.
But, this is one of those times I’m going to indulgently write a bit about a different part of my life, yet one that has enriched and informed my years as art and creative director for White Wolf and now Onyx Path.
I started in this business as an illustrator inspired by Frank Frazetta, the Brothers Hildebrand, Barry Windsor Smith, Mike Kaluta, Berni Wrightson, John Buscema, Gene Colan, and a slew of others from fantasy book covers and comic books. Caravaggio and Bernini were my fine arts touchstones, and both were very involved in the storytelling and drama of their handling of their subjects. My illustrations for White Wolf Magazine led to art directing and then to being the ultimate visual authority for all of WW‘s projects.
WW was what would be called a start-up these days, but at the time we only knew that we “worked hard and played hard”. And boy did we work hard. Vampire: the Masquerade 2nd Edition was our first book to be totally laid out in Pagemaker, which enabled us to output every page to film and send those films to the printer. This gave us unprecedented quality control as we weren’t relying on the printer to add in shots of the illustrations and we could look on each film to be sure everything was where we wanted it. But in order to get it to press on time, Chris McDonough and I worked around the clock for over a week outputting films 24 hours a day and spelling each other so we could get some sleep.
My point being, there was not a lot of time for me to push my illustration career.
Yet I still managed some art in the early WW books. Sometimes we needed art because of an artist not being able to get us all their pieces on time, sometimes just because I read a section and wanted to keep my hand in illustrating it. And I still had a few outside clients I would spend weekends working for.
The most fortunate of these was Wizards of the Coast, first for Lisa Stevens, who I got to be friends with in the really early WW days (Fun fact: we were born at almost the same time/day/year at different sides of the US), and then with Jesper Myrfors as art director. I did logos, interior art, covers, and this weird idea they had that they needed small pieces of art to go on cards for. A trading card game? I had never heard of such a thing nor could I see how people would get into it, but I sure liked the idea of doing art that went on cards. I had done a whole tarot research thing, and a further one on the evolution of playing card imagery, so YES! I was in.
So, you see, it was just luck and the power of saying YES.
Here’s one of the original pieces from that first Magic the Gathering set, Wall of Ice:
I had told Jesper that I was into it, but only if I could play around with washes of pretty intense color and set that off with thick and thin lines like stained glass. Just a technical experiment I wanted to play with. Never thought it would become a thing.
But it did. And then, as the game became an astronomical success story, the art and the artists became something almost none of us had ever experienced. Autographs and card signings. Being flown out to conventions and having the creatures they had basically made up in the visuals become these iconic images. The little guy pictured at the start of this blog from the Black Vise card was dubbed the “Stuffy Doll” by the Magic fans, not me, and became a fan favorite. Jesper started to ask me to work him in to other pieces.
I was at a convention and as I was talking to an artist signing cards at the WOTC booth, I caught a flash of orange/yellow through the crowd. I talked some more and caught the same flash of color, but closer this time. The crowd parted and out came a six-foot walking version of Mr Stuffy ambling towards me. WOTC had had a costume created and here was my creation wandering around! I heard later that it was an incredibly hot costume and so it could only come out gamboling once in a while. I felt bad for the guy in the suit, but he was always great to see. Here’s another Stuffy Doll piece from back in the day:
Yet, with all the stuff going on for the artists, I never got all that involved because there was just so much to do with White Wolf.
Until now.
Time passed. The art directors came and went at WOTC, and their needs and tastes changed and I did fewer and fewer pieces for them until one day I realized I hadn’t done art for them for years. A shame, but there were Revised editions and Exalted to publish. And then at a Gen Con a few years ago, a guy asked if he could talk with me about how I liked being a Classic Magic Artist. I had never heard the term before. I wasn’t sure I liked it.
But then, I talked to the fans. They were so excited to talk to one of the original artists.
And that made all the difference.
I realized that the art is out there. It simply is in existence and just like 20 years ago, folks like it. That is pretty cool, and speaks to the difference of viewpoint when you heads-down are making all these things. Magic card art, art bibles for new game worlds, deciding which images go on the Onyx Path booth banner, figuring out the W20 Shattered Dreams deluxe cover treatment; all these things are created in their moment but inhabit a continuum together of all the visuals I’ve ever done.
On a creative level, there is every chance that the artistic decisions I made and learned from for my Magic card art influenced and informed my choices for every piece of art I’ve made since then. That’s just how it works.
So now, this body of work allows me to work with Mirthful Mike Chaney on these amazing game visuals for lines I helped create 20+ years ago AND on brand new lines like Pugmire that will reap the benefit of all those previous pieces of art and the decisions that went into creating them.
And it opens the door to invitations to travel with my wife to places like freakin’ Milan to sign the Magic cards I did the art for.
Which is where I’ll be for a little more than a week. Hopefully my signing arm won’t fall off. Fast Eddy Webb has promised to write the Monday Meeting Notes next week, and Impish Ian, Rollickin’ Rose, and Mirthful Mike will all be handling the day to day operations. So things are in the best hands I can imagine, and our projects will move forward.
All because I said YES.
(And so we don’t leave this blog on too much of an inspirational note, here’s the loathsome Wall of Flesh):
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And now, the BLURBS!
HEY! keep an eye out while I’m gone for the special blogs we’ll be doing every day to celebrate October: it’s Our Month of Darkness. Look for snippets from various projects and notes from the developers on why they bits are their favorites and what went into them, as well as special sales. These will happen all October leading up to Halloween – because you know that’s our favorite holiday!
Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition PDF & Standard and Premium PoD physical book editions are NOW AVAILABLE on DTRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149562/Mage-the-Ascension-20th-Anniversary-Edition
Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition: The Dark Ages is NOW available in PDF and PoD versions at DriveThruRPG.com! This massive full color tome is part of the V20 line but does not require V20 to play and enjoy.
The Pugmire Pamphlet we had available at Gen Con is now ready for PDF download. Read about the world of Pugmire from the enthusiastic and optimistic pen of Princess Yosha Pug, as well as notes from the gruff and worldly hunter Pan Daschund: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/153518/Pugmire-Gen-Con-Brochure
The sixth and final Pugmire poster for now, Spike Mutt, is on the loose now as a free PDF or $.99 physical poster, suitable for framing: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150845/Spike-Mutt-Pugmire-Poster-6
The fifth Pugmire poster, Pan Dachshund, is ready now as a free PDF or $.99 physical poster, suitable for framing: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150844/Pan-Dachshund-Pugmire-Poster-5
The fourth Pugmire poster, Jack Rat-Terrier, is on-sale now as a free PDF or $.99 physical poster, suitable for framing: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150944/Jack-RatTerrier-Pugmire-Poster-4
The third Pugmire poster, Sgt. Leo Bulldog, is available NOW as a free PDF or $.99 physical poster, suitable for framing: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150843/Sgt-Leo-Bulldog-Pugmire-Poster-3
The second poster, Princess Yosha Pug, is available now: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/149750/Princess-Yosha-Pug-Pugmire-Poster-2
And the first poster, Sister Picassa Collie, is here: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148516/Sister-Picassa-Collie-Pugmire-Poster-1
Start spreading the Code of Man!
Dread Names, Red List for V20 is now on sale! This collection of the most dangerous Kindred ever called Anathema is available in both PDF and hardcover PoD versions: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150381/V20-Dread-Names-Red-List
CONVENTIONS!
We’re finalizing plans for a big Onyx Path presence at Mid Winter Con again this year this January in Milwaukee. Big blurb when that is all worked out.
I’ll be at Ovino in Milan, Italy signing Magic the Gathering cards on October 2-4, so any of our community in the area that wants to stop by and say “Ciao”, I’d love to see you. http://www.ovinotournament.com/
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And now, the new project status updates!:
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM ROLLICKING ROSE (projects in bold have changed status since last week):
First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)
- M20 Book of Secrets (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- CtL anthology (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)
- Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition
- Beast Fiction Anthology (Beast: the Primordial)
- Cavaliers of Mars
- Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
Redlines
- Mummy Fiction Anthology (Mummy: the Curse)
- Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition
- Cursed Necropolis: Rio (Mummy: the Curse)
- Beckett’s Jyhad Diary (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition, featuring the Huntsmen Chronicle (Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition)- In Open Development
- WtF The Pack (Werewolf: the Forsaken 2nd Edition)
- VtM Lore of the Bloodlines (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- WtA Kinfolk (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Dark Eras Companion (nWod Dark Eras)
- V20 Ready Made Characters (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Beast Ready Made Characters (Beast: the Primordial)
Second Draft
- Arms of the Chosen (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Secrets of the Covenants (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)
- The Realm (Exalted 3rd Edition)
- Dragon-Blooded (Exalted 3rd Edition)
Development
- StoryPath System Rules (Base rules set for Scion and the Trinity Continuum)
- Scarred Lands Player’s Guide: Ghelspad (Scarred Lands 2nd Edition)
- W20 Changing Ways (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- nWoD Hurt Locker (World of Darkness 2nd Edition)
- M20 Anthology (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Dark Eras Expansions (nWod Dark Eras)
- Pugmire Early Access
Editing
- V20 Ghouls (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- V20 Black Hand: Guide to the Tal’Mahe’Ra (Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition)
- W20 Shattered Dreams (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
- Promethean: the Created 2nd Edition, featuring the Firestorm Chronicle (Promethean: the Created)
- Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition, featuring the Fallen World Chronicle (Mage: the Awakening)
- W20 Pentex Employee Indoctrination Handbook (Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition)
Post-Editing Development:
ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:
In Art Direction
- V20 Ghouls – Awaiting text.
- Tal Me Rah – Sketches still coming in, some finals arriving.
- W20 Shattered Dreams – Still waiting on a couple of pieces from Jeffe. Some glitches with the KS interface have slowed this KS down. Still working on it, but with Rich gone the KS will probably be delayed into October.
- V20 Lore of the Clans – Gaydos continuing to work on them.
- Demon STG – Fulls in. Sketches for everything else in.
- Mage: the Awakening Second – Art in progress.
- Promethean: the Created Second – Contracting.
In Layout
- Lore of the Clans – working.
- Dreams of Avarice – working.
- NWoD 2 – working.
- Beast: The Primordial – Corrections done… doing some more tweaks and sending off for 2nd proof.
Proofing
- M20 How Do You Do That ?!? – Corrections to proof being made, and Pg XXs.
- Ex 3 Anthology – Awaiting updated text file.
- Ex 3 core book – RichT here: Page XX page numbers from the Devs sent to Maria. No idea how long it will take for her to input these into an almost 700 pg book. It took me three 12 hours days to do the ones for V20, and we didn’t have as many. After she’s done we submit the whole corrected PDF to CCP again to show we hit their needed correx. And then the backer PDF gets sent out…
At Press
- V20DA – Rolling along. Screen proofs signed off on.
- M20 – PoD up finally.
- M20 Screen– Signed off on.
Special- projects on hold until an external factor is resolved
- Dark Eras
- Wraith 20
- Pentex Employee Indoctrination Manual
TODAY’S REASON TO DRINK: Salut!
Comments
55 responses to “Buon Giorno, Parli L’Inglese? And Stuff-y. [Monday Meeting Notes]”
Any update on Exalted 3E? I’m guessing it’s still awaiting approval, but something to confirm would be nice!
EX3 is noted down in the art production Update section. Basically, Pg.XX’s being input right now.
Sorry – my bad, I missed it.
Exalted is tantalizingly close! It’s been a long time coming but I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.
I’m also heading to Italy but I’ll miss you in Milan by just a couple of days. Curses!
Are there going to be any V20 by Night books or any W20 Rage books.
Always possible, but the location books have traditionally been hard sells. That’s why we try and get setting info into our books now rather than into separate books.
So we might see the battle between Helena and Menele continue.
The Group I run would love that (so would I, but other stuff would be cool)
At least we get it, kind of.
So if we were attached to a particular city, such as Chicago (by Night), would the details surrounding it be more likely to be in the core V20 book, or a different one, more related to the elements present in the city (such as a book about the Sabbat covering the state of affairs in Toronto, for example)?
Or would it be more reasonable to expect a generalised overview of *all* the cities in a single, specific volume? If such volumes are typically poor sellers, comparatively, maybe it would be better to do it all at once? At least then, everyone looking for a specific location would *have* to buy it.
I’d have a separate chapter about the Inconnu, and one about the Tal’Mahe’Ra, or maybe throw the two together. Explain what a Monitor, for instance, actually does to keep hidden, to gather information without being caught, and so on.
They might not control cities, but they still need to have a presence in various cities. The Inconnu even have a title (Monitor) for the “official” representative of a specific city.
So you did art on the old WW mag? I have a few of them (and a while back, I think I linked them in the… Exalted forum here?) and scanned the covers because I figured a lot of people never knew about that magazine. Hmmm. Interesting!
Yes, from about issue #6 into the 20’s, I think. Lot’s of covers during that stretch too.
Given the choice of header picture for this post, it’s ironic that Black Vise was unbanned in Legacy today.
Good timing indeed! I bet the requests to sign Black Vise cards goes way up now! 🙂
About M20: POD is out, congratz to the team on a fantastic volume (been reading the backers PDF), that said how does that impact the backers printed version? I do not expect dates, of course, just may be a word or two on how it’s progressing.
Many thanks!
If you’re a backer, I sent out an Update just the other day that let folks know the process, if that helps.
Ah. That explains it. I’ll talk to the guy who did the actual backing then. It was a group thing. Thank you.
Can I ask who is the artist that will draw Mage Awakening 2nd edition Path “signature characters”, the Orders arts and Full cover art from chapters?
Seconded. A little teaser art wouldn’t hurt either.;)
Trying to stay hyped. Losing the hype. Trying to stay hyped. Hype Hamster is fading fast..need..some…spoilers…
On ehat?
*On what?
Ex3.
You may want to read last week. If I am not mistaken someone mentioned where to find those.
Promethean 2nd would be nice, if available.
Maybe some furtive looks at Changeling/Hunter 2nd or Deviant, as longshot possibilities. Though a look at the nWod 2nd corebook is also tempting: I hear their are numerous things not found in the God-Machine Chronicle.
Just spitballing. Hoping, absently.
What does “Page XX page numbers from the Devs sent to Maria” mean?
Hokay.
So when the writers cross-reference the book, they don’t know what page they’re going to need to refer to later. As a result, they use “XX” as the page number placeholder–I imagine in part because it’s easy to search for–to get back to later.
Now the developers–Holden in particular I believe–has gone through, located every instance of page XX he could, and made notes on where each instance is and what it needs to be replaced with in that place.
And now they’ve sent those notes to the layout artist so she can make the necessary replacements.
Someone else can correct me or add to this. But I think that’s the gist of it.
Basically the devs have identified which pages the various “page XX” refer to, compiled the references, and sent them to Maria so she can incorporate them into the final version of the book.
When you’re writing a book and need your rules to refer to the rules on another page, you won’t know what page it’ll be, because the book is still being written and hasn’t seen layout yet. So you write (see Character Creation rules, Pg. XX). When the book is done with layout, the developer goes and finds all the Pg. XX numbers, and replaces them with the correct page number, so in the final instead, it would say (see Character Creation rules, Pg. 147) for example.
Hope that cleared it up!
Gotta admit, I really don’t get why this is an issue. Word documents these days have a function where they can designate words/text/etc as “bookmarks”, and set references to return the page numbers of these bookmarks that can automatically update when refreshed. I don’t understand why this kind of functionality can’t be used.
Word is not our layout software. Those “bookmarks” do not carry over.
Fair enough. Although that in itself dismays me a little, that whichever (I assume) professional software is being used can’t do that kind of thing when something as basic as Word can. Having said that, I am admittedly not familiar with professional practices & whatever is necessitated by working with multiple authors and needing to amalgamate text from multiple sources.
I don’t understand why you’re still looking for Page XX, it’s in the Clanbook Malkavian 😛
I will attend at the Ovino by Friday with some friends and I really can’t wait to meet you there!.
Also even if I’m a bit shy I hope there is a chance for a small chat beyound the cards signing.
So how well is the cover attached to the spine on the M20 PODs? I ask because the cover completely separated from the book of my V20 POD copy within less than a week of normal usage.
I’ve said it before (and I’d say it again when I see you), those ‘stuffy doll’ Magic cards have been among my faves in terms of art for as long as I’ve played Magic: the Gathering (started at Fourth Edition, if you need to know). It’s great to see your reminisces of that time, RichT, and thanks for all that work you’ve done, the work you’re doing, and the work you shall (nay, MUST) continue doing!
For those wondering, here’s a list of all the Magic cards Rich illustrated.
The Stuffy Doll appears on Black Vise, The Rack, Cursed Rack, Leshrac’s Rite, and Wall of Wonder.
The only one of those I am missing is Wall of Wonder. Must get it now, somehow. That way, if I ever meet Rich, I can get him to sign all of them, plus my Wall of Ice, and really cheese someone off when I pull them all out in a game.
It was really nice to hear about Rich the artist today. Thanks for sharing your reflections and whatnot
Breaking News!
Don’t know if it was simultaneous with or just after the Monday Meeting, but the editor delivered Awakening 2e this evening. So it’s moved forward a stage into post-editing development.
YES! AND IT WILL BE GLORIOUS, SHINY AND CHROME!
Wonderful news!!
So, what does it means, in this case, that the Mage book is in post-editing development? Honestly I’m not sure what that stage entails.
Post-editing Development is where the Developer gets the files back from the editor, approves or denies their changes individually, applies any last tinkering and errating, then sends it to Mike to go into layout once the art (which in most cases, he’s already commissioned) comes in.
It typically goes by quite fast. Awakening might be already out of it by next Monday Meeting.
That’s even better than I thought! I’m crossing my fingers for having Mage 2nd Ed at Christmas then! Or earlier, even!
Illuminati Alert! The overwhelming success of WotC in the mid 90’s is what sent TSR bankrupt. They threw everything into ‘Dragon Dice’, their attempt to compete with M:tG, which flopped (along with their hard cover fiction works). TSR went so belly up that they were actually bought by WotC in the end. Now it is all clear: The incredible success of WotC was actually due to… Richard T’s artwork! So not only did RPGs get transformed by WW’s incredible World of Darkness, but TSR was ALSO slain by Magic as well – a double whammy which Rich T. was ALSO responsible for the success of. It all makes sense! /end wild conspiracy theory.
RichT, I had no idea you did any art at all, much less Magic: The Gathering art.
Even though I haven’t played in probably 15 years, Wall of Ice is the one I remember best because of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner quote on it.
And through the drifts
The snowy cliffs
Did send a dismal sheen.
No shape of men nor beasts ken
The ice was all between.
I’m reticent to buy hardcopies of the new books coming out. I’ve heard that the quality of the POD books is terrible. Has anyone here been burned with a POD book falling apart?
All my POD books have been very good quality. About a step up from the Classic WoD books from the 90s, and a step down from the NWoD books of the 2000s. I do tend to go for Premium, though, which is a better print quality. I’ve had some bent corners, but that’s the postal service for you.
Thanks
I’ve been getting proof copies of the PoDs for years and I often will do a test of grabbing some pages and swinging the book around. I never have had pages come out from that entirely unscientific and anecdotal stress test. Wear and tear from continued back and forth through the book looking for rules might be a different thing, but I have heard more good things from our community than bad about the PoD bindings. Since each book is individually made, there will be some where the glue doesn’t go on enough or dries oddly, but that’s maybe more of an isolated problem than traditional printing where a large number of books could have glue issues before the binding can be shut off, which is pretty much the same thing with any manufacturing. I think! because again I haven’t had binding problems, DTRPG has been attentive to folks who report any bad bindings, so your friends might want to message them.
Thanks
Thanks
Here’s hoping all the main artists from Promethean 1e return for the 2nd edition! Those books looked and felt awesome.
By Night Studios announced at Las Vegas by Night that they’ll be organizing a new Grand Masquerade in New Orleans to honor the 25th Anniversary.
Will Onyx Path Publishing partake in the organisation or be present?
Oh look! It’s the Wall of Putrid Flesh.
That thing would be right at home in the WOD.