Bunker 58

Doodles — Comments Off
31
Jul 09

Sketches for Twits 04

This is for @Motoko_K a brilliantly geeky server overlord with an excellent taste in anime.

s4t_motokoK This was the 140 character (or less) sketch pitch: Flying Spaghetti Monster, yr version of what it would look like.
http://twitter.com/Motoko_K/status/2852824846

She gave me a lot of freedom so I opted to make a Flying Spaghetti Monster in God Mecha form… The meatballs are rotating sauce blasters and the eyes are slunk down into a protected visual cradle, its divine noodly appendages feed into graviton armour which continually shifts and reforms about the noodled core. To speak more of the armour is to stand on the brink of madness and rapture!

There were lots of very strange looks in the staff canteen while sketching this, I opted not to explain because they wouldn’t get it anyway…

Apologies for missing my usual update days, I’m swamped with some apprenticeship deadlines so have been mightily distracted.

-Tom

Share and Enjoy:

Steamshaft — Comments Off
22
Jul 09

Steamshaft Chronicles: Sketch Diary Three.

This will be a slighty shorter entry than usual and is about one small part of the internal structure that makes up the Steamshaft, largely one type of support column… The Hevnar support.

tsc_hevnar-support

Continue reading →

Share and Enjoy:

Doodles — Comments Off
20
Jul 09

Sketches for Twits 03

This is for @shuttler who is the source of my miniature wargaming/collecting envy, beyond that podcasting, gaming and geekery abounds!

s4t_shuttler

This was the 140 character (or less) sketch pitch: 15 ft amazon women defends the city of London from alien jellyfish falling from the sky.
http://twitter.com/shuttler/status/2741841104

I should also add that I had loads of fun with this one, best pitch so far… I don’t normally draw Jellyfish, Big Ben or Amazons. I’m probably going to go over in copic pens and erase what doesn’t make that and give it a touch of copic/prismacolour. Easily more that could be done to take it beyond the sketch stage. I couldn’t resist adding in that text before I uploaded.

(I probably messed up on the 15ft part, I had intended to use the vague height of Big Ben as a marker but “OMG, Jellyfish in the sky while London burns!”)

I’d also like to apologise to the city of London for the sloppiest rendition of Big Ben ever to grace the internet. I really did want to spend hours crafting each beautiful part, I really did!

-Tom

Share and Enjoy:

Doodles — Comments Off
15
Jul 09

A lady of fae origins…

2009-07-15-fae_nicola

Managed to colour an old sketch earlier that I love. While it fails on an artistic level for various reasons my intent was purely to liven the original in a way that pleased me. I still prefer the sketch as it was but I was determined to splash some colour to it eventually and have thankfully done so.

The original sketch was for my beloved lady as a Valentine gift in 2005, I really like drawing her and she really likes faeries, dragons and all kinds of mythical and fantastical things. This is a scan of the original made before I framed it for her:

fae_nicola_sktch -Tom

Share and Enjoy:

Steamshaft — Comments Off
14
Jul 09

Steamshaft Chronicles: Sketch Diary Two.

In this second sketch diary I will be sharing a very quick part of the wider world. Many settlements are still in a creative infancy but they are coming along strongly and as other features of the setting get the stamp of finality I can lockdown parts for release and make more certain strides on the way some settlements work or serve the PC and NPCs alike.

tsc_thesteamshaft_d01

The Steamshaft is broken up into three segments, the Delvus Minor, the Crux Delvus and the Delvus Major. Within these segments there are large regions that have acquired names of their own from the peoples that call them home. The blacked criss-cross near the middle was originally intended to be of no consequence but I have now written in a very interesting bit of background and information about what is hiding there. I will say only that it ties in with the larger story and is likely to feature in any large campaign, though a GM may opt not to use it.

The above does not feature the thousands upon thousands of outward digs, with the exception of a few specific areas I am writing, these oft-dangerous outward regions are at the discretion of the GM who can create as many as he/she needs.

While this is an early concept I am likely to leave it unchanged, beyond making it visually stronger.
Continue reading →

Share and Enjoy:

Steamshaft — Comments Off
13
Jul 09

Picks of destiny!

2009-07-13-picksofdestiny

This featured entry is going to be consumed by The Steamshaft Chronicles!

Perhaps the best part of world building is found when you get to concept sketching little details. The pick and pickaxe is an important symbol and tool of life in the Steamshaft… a source of income, a weapon at need and indicator of wealth or heritage. So I’ve been spending some time thinking about how each race approaches the pick, even the Elves who would rather not dig any deeper (or outwards for that matter) have ornate and less functional incarnations.

Continue reading →

Share and Enjoy:

Doodles — Comments Off
08
Jul 09

Sketches for Twits 02

This is for @Blue_Alice an overworked young lass, who deserves a much better and lazier lifestyle making god-damned awesome cowboy bebop canvas magic.

s4t_bluealice

This was the 140 character or less sketch pitch: Doc K. 50ish, short grey hair. Smart suit. Bionic steampunk style eye. Think femme Muraki and you’re mostly there. DO IT.
http://twitter.com/Blue_Alice/status/2521116694

-Tom

Share and Enjoy:

Doodles — 2 comments
06
Jul 09

Sketches for Twits

I sketch to unwind after a long day, a doodle here and there of random. I’m starting to take requests on Twitter every so often to give some goals or themes to sketches, I can’t promise artist grade sketching but I’m not going to drop something completely dire either… Just a way to encourage me to put sketches up here and gift people at the same time.

This is for @PkmnTrainerJ – A nice guy who likes to doodle also and quite possibly worth a follow.

s4t_pkmntrainerJ

Legs annoy me, well crossed legs do but I did try…

This was the 140 character or less sketch pitch: James Wolfsbane – Thief with a fondness with wolf-skin tunics & gold coins. Unkempt appearance, but posh boots, regularly stolen.

Missed out the gold reference and the tunic is more partial wolf-skin but I’m sure if I sorted digital lineart and colour I could sneak in some bags of gold.

-Tom

Share and Enjoy:

Steamshaft — Comments Off
06
Jul 09

Steamshaft Chronicles: Sketch Diary One.

Every other week I’m going to offer a sketch from my Steamshaft Chronicles sketchbook for viewing, along with a little bit of information regarding the world setting and how the sketch relates to the work in progress. These sketches won’t be worked on before upload but many will be produced in a better format for later use.

This week I am going to talk about factions, I like the idea of reputation and I’m going to play test one such system as an expansion unit for the AG core rules or the fantasy variant of those rules (@DrMagister seems to be hooked on making the fantasy transition and since I’m building TSC to work with the AG rules, it makes sense to delay some rule modifications.) at some stage. I am largely working on the idea of two main factions, rather than a multitude of small factions whom are the key to extra perks, privileges, and dangers.

The Steamshaft Chronicles: Climbers faction. (Faction Crest)

Continue reading →

Share and Enjoy:

Doodles — Comments Off
03
Jul 09

Potterific

potter_msn

Just a quick post, was supposed to be doing something else and stumbled onto some old sketches… got distracted and ended up finishing off a colour version of one such sketch…

Share and Enjoy:

Blog — Comments Off
30
Jun 09

Reading Update for June

Currently reading:

A Brief History of the Future: Origins of the Internet

I’m about half-way through this, it was recommended to me by a lecturer and has positive reviews… I started reading it quite some time ago but got distracted and have only recently returned to it.

—-

Just some quick ‘flash reviews’ of books I’ve read recently:

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Easily one of my favourite books of recent months, I already had an inkling of the quality from my ladies excited discussion when she first read through it. It is one of the most unique takes on the time travel story and proves surprisingly easy to follow.

The Difference Engine

I enjoyed it as the steampunk classic that it is. Anything further would just involve omgoshing over William Gibson to the embarassment of all.

Smoke & Mirrors

Gaiman <3 in this collection of short stories and poetry. A friend summed this up when he said, “It just makes me wish I’d thought of those stories first.”

American Gods

As a confessed and shamed ‘late to Gaiman’ Reader I have been devouring his tasty offerings in quick succession, while I still consider Neverwhere my favourite I rate American Gods highly.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Read many times now and still loved with equal measure.

Jennifer Government

Another reread, I have a soft spot for this book and really want to see it as a film. The Nation States game was an inspired way to bring it to wider attention.

Share and Enjoy:

Doodles — Comments Off
28
Jun 09

Campaign Maps

I promised a better upload on Twitter and here it is. A campaign map for an (as yet) unrealised D&D 4th edition campaign.

I really enjoy making fantasy maps and tend to find excuses to start working on them, this map was created during the lunch breaks of a training course. I spend all my breaks and lunch breaks on illustration or the written word, largely because life has sent me into an industry that dulls such skills. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the work in that satisfyingly tired kinda way but am always wishing I worked in an environment that allowed me to use my interests and talents better.

The job has made it very hard for me to sort out a blog again or pursue many of my old interests to the full, it has been hard to adjust and even now I’m fighting for balance… I’m trying very hard to focus on getting this place up to the standard of my old home.

-Tom

Share and Enjoy:

Sketches for Twits 04

Steamshaft Chronicles: Sketch Diary Three.

Sketches for Twits 03

A lady of fae origins…

Steamshaft Chronicles: Sketch Diary Two.

Picks of destiny!

Sketches for Twits 02

Sketches for Twits

Steamshaft Chronicles: Sketch Diary One.

Potterific

Reading Update for June

Campaign Maps

About…

Links

Support

Social