tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28606822638866937572024-03-19T01:01:41.951-04:00Doomslakers!The RPG, comics, and art blog of J.V. West.James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.comBlogger828125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-25236170015205454012024-03-17T09:00:00.003-04:002024-03-17T09:00:00.131-04:00Artists I Like: Andrés Garrido Martín<p><a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2024/03/artists-i-like-evlyn-moreau.html">Another exciting post in this series</a>.</p><p>One thing I love about the modern world is we can very easily find people all over the planet doing cool things. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/andresgarridoart/">Andrés Garrido Martín is a Spanish artist I found on Instagram</a> (god bless Instagram, honestly) and fell in love with instantly. He (I'm assuming gender here) has a style that reminds me very much of another artist I've looked at in this series, <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2024/02/artists-i-like-pt-1.html">Rune Ryberg</a>. Both have a "nervous line" energy I love.</p><p>Andrés' work is nothing if not energetic. But also atmospheric. He knows how to emphasize shapes and shadows and composition to deliver an emotional impact. His figures are dynamic and varied, with more than a few lovely nods to bodies of bigger size. If I could snap my fingers and have him draw a comic for me I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I might need him to write the comic too because I haven't had any good comic book ideas for a long time (tangent... sigh).</p><p>Regarding tools, I am not sure how he works. The colors seem digitally rendered but the linework, which is clearly some kind of pen, could be digital or traditional. I'm not sure which.</p><p>I don't see an official website for this artist, so go <a href="https://www.instagram.com/andresgarridoart/">check out his Instagram</a> and maybe <a href="https://ko-fi.com/andresgarridoart">buy him a coffee</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAq5Wqr0UrbPG_DSV1-z1ZXZpwFnFBZJLbo-KIaaCXFGhj3Lk8TwXrrwmMom7nUpuuROgw14ENq16e2skiPzTRarNBM7932X13cWKamu2KDgE7SjxATjEUCV23GoJ3AXuejaqK1SojDEWUbYw0XXzJCEfsE2FVxeOc08w20rbj2kBvA2XwW6RGM8OWxbB/s1350/323153992_220927863620506_1838317075267945915_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAq5Wqr0UrbPG_DSV1-z1ZXZpwFnFBZJLbo-KIaaCXFGhj3Lk8TwXrrwmMom7nUpuuROgw14ENq16e2skiPzTRarNBM7932X13cWKamu2KDgE7SjxATjEUCV23GoJ3AXuejaqK1SojDEWUbYw0XXzJCEfsE2FVxeOc08w20rbj2kBvA2XwW6RGM8OWxbB/w352-h440/323153992_220927863620506_1838317075267945915_n.jpg" width="352" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsqnM0t4_WEt0fTCad80yHTfxsZY9jEGLmNXo7jQ0Z6gx3B-z9kkQFUggOL_G9SGRb950JRUhR0FIscea5lcD-3e0XQsGKjWJQ9nPO_zS1iTWymvA1I7UBENVAeBhEL00TLf0h2gN0w-Ue-A96Yt0Y-MyELRpwvKTCILawwAThSvdjfBbkFL2SOP9UrRL/s1440/349315988_1012401946330544_2703093486095192470_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwsqnM0t4_WEt0fTCad80yHTfxsZY9jEGLmNXo7jQ0Z6gx3B-z9kkQFUggOL_G9SGRb950JRUhR0FIscea5lcD-3e0XQsGKjWJQ9nPO_zS1iTWymvA1I7UBENVAeBhEL00TLf0h2gN0w-Ue-A96Yt0Y-MyELRpwvKTCILawwAThSvdjfBbkFL2SOP9UrRL/s320/349315988_1012401946330544_2703093486095192470_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxuBv4-4yYr658M6kUlz8uaNOVUe_6g3rlPKxrH4d9LUHrK2SNH3d8uDKZO4zIyj1u4WlbC22CUFUdLiMKcSIY65czCGpIKcu2jFgE3ulY5mkTZuaAQHJ-CkjrchHMvC7RxM8T42LQ1b-yp39TCX7s9w-aqQVH4WKvb02HnngeEBzyxUjnqbE2sJxKdJ5W/s1440/427786632_1514546122450048_7031282887699461096_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="1440" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxuBv4-4yYr658M6kUlz8uaNOVUe_6g3rlPKxrH4d9LUHrK2SNH3d8uDKZO4zIyj1u4WlbC22CUFUdLiMKcSIY65czCGpIKcu2jFgE3ulY5mkTZuaAQHJ-CkjrchHMvC7RxM8T42LQ1b-yp39TCX7s9w-aqQVH4WKvb02HnngeEBzyxUjnqbE2sJxKdJ5W/w411-h316/427786632_1514546122450048_7031282887699461096_n.jpg" width="411" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect example of tension, emotion, composition...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-75203347314207744672024-03-15T21:45:00.014-04:002024-03-17T07:22:16.052-04:00Artists I Like: Evlyn Moreau<p>Another entry in <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2024/03/artists-i-like-stefan-poag.html">this spectacular series</a>.</p><p>I love a lot of artists. More than I can even count. But some of them have ambiance and beauty that can't be forgotten or lost in a sea of other creators. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau/posts">Canadian artist Evlyn Moreau is one of those.</a></p><p>The first time I can remember seeing her work was this delicious drawing she did for an old school character class called the <a href="https://evlyn.itch.io/goblin-enchantress">Goblin Enchantress</a>, written by Benjamin Baugh. A delightful, delicate drawing featuring her signature linework and textures. Evlyn's drawings are what I would call "stamp like". Meaning, they resemble designs as much as drawings. They are generally composed of simple figures drawn without any extreme concern for realism, embellished heavily with wonderful textures and patterns. Lovely to behold.</p><p>I love her work so much I got my hands on some of it for Black Pudding #6. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau/posts">Follow her Patreon</a>, it's chock full of wondrous art! Also, I think if you spend more than 5 minutes browsing indie, small press, and OSR role-playing games, you will be unable to avoid running across her work. She's always in demand!</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5_6WM5kAowlZWW-c0JY7GxZFw8KeuZ776AhhT_G7AJZCkWh9c8pZQtDU-Yxt7kI3Deih7uS9GfCLa7MBWHmOFbxdr2hMymbll7lmAvWBqeCOo98K2BIEmXAQSCQBxaUlvlC-biMN2rLRD-C8-SeX-OagCWx0xbrKiA56jZ6sQ8gmFkVtzWO_tZeUcOw-/s620/1%20(1).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="620" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK5_6WM5kAowlZWW-c0JY7GxZFw8KeuZ776AhhT_G7AJZCkWh9c8pZQtDU-Yxt7kI3Deih7uS9GfCLa7MBWHmOFbxdr2hMymbll7lmAvWBqeCOo98K2BIEmXAQSCQBxaUlvlC-biMN2rLRD-C8-SeX-OagCWx0xbrKiA56jZ6sQ8gmFkVtzWO_tZeUcOw-/s320/1%20(1).png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiXvcunAva8hOwEwXeRXKzmWW_hyphenhyphenAGMEHeTVgmuoblNskfj7sqLLcXHTWBAJk8Cqu3Tm9-HN2WKqkxg9LtbATjD0_75Zarjh0UQG-3V7bsOi04SF3qwO-BMoyrQ0FDA_piSAEfpTIS-BEWLxPGBiwJPB2cUeO9ZfSiFZq36xWpnBOYnq8dUCj_N-5rsdD/s713/1%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiXvcunAva8hOwEwXeRXKzmWW_hyphenhyphenAGMEHeTVgmuoblNskfj7sqLLcXHTWBAJk8Cqu3Tm9-HN2WKqkxg9LtbATjD0_75Zarjh0UQG-3V7bsOi04SF3qwO-BMoyrQ0FDA_piSAEfpTIS-BEWLxPGBiwJPB2cUeO9ZfSiFZq36xWpnBOYnq8dUCj_N-5rsdD/s320/1%20(4).jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDrG3L7Xv4vqMbnTttKd9M_Nul84uayCb7uYstpvID2OP6RDXgdUNaFxjJIDWSXLAsOI8_izKygN-CRc-kuU3lRPXa6FJpRoKU4SQwTda4NpMqkpgj944dm1_69HWS3GXDGDwt5Heh5oi_VlByYUC4zAjFIaD1SuOnXYhwu2oKHWWtUHAWZj3cT_jUVFe/s735/1%20(8).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="620" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDrG3L7Xv4vqMbnTttKd9M_Nul84uayCb7uYstpvID2OP6RDXgdUNaFxjJIDWSXLAsOI8_izKygN-CRc-kuU3lRPXa6FJpRoKU4SQwTda4NpMqkpgj944dm1_69HWS3GXDGDwt5Heh5oi_VlByYUC4zAjFIaD1SuOnXYhwu2oKHWWtUHAWZj3cT_jUVFe/w418-h496/1%20(8).png" width="418" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8dLTiN8-0lcspIayQ85W4kvDP6UQQBcwKGLZKajIhZHTyEvMgQRiE-RDQRHvmhKVsSo5CfNfAWtXCGrWqo2yZLlX7Vu51eNQ4xxUdnAWd0tMoc4-_6BxaTL2gJhciPwNBD4ylf0eHx0hZCjkNjANYyTg7Fgkirg-CsQ6sWnrftEKanDyyQp6LnGH8YnP/s620/1%20(14).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="620" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8dLTiN8-0lcspIayQ85W4kvDP6UQQBcwKGLZKajIhZHTyEvMgQRiE-RDQRHvmhKVsSo5CfNfAWtXCGrWqo2yZLlX7Vu51eNQ4xxUdnAWd0tMoc4-_6BxaTL2gJhciPwNBD4ylf0eHx0hZCjkNjANYyTg7Fgkirg-CsQ6sWnrftEKanDyyQp6LnGH8YnP/w442-h398/1%20(14).png" width="442" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxzdWRnn-qfEUHurycNdeKkKzeKvimGn9Gn1XMDQ6anrMl1BNQGR4sHNdSTrnxWqitDQ49HeIVyCQ4Lf6ana6I1IJHV0tX8ql7vRvJq5fhlSIBOnvO_4-ezoXHHbKyd7GuxT97DIzNjriLbIxvM2chYhk-I_0G7xSiVRhUs6wki5myRdlhobAKsJUvrXt/s964/1%20(31).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="620" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxzdWRnn-qfEUHurycNdeKkKzeKvimGn9Gn1XMDQ6anrMl1BNQGR4sHNdSTrnxWqitDQ49HeIVyCQ4Lf6ana6I1IJHV0tX8ql7vRvJq5fhlSIBOnvO_4-ezoXHHbKyd7GuxT97DIzNjriLbIxvM2chYhk-I_0G7xSiVRhUs6wki5myRdlhobAKsJUvrXt/w305-h474/1%20(31).png" width="305" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-63922329900945375132024-03-11T08:50:00.001-04:002024-03-11T08:50:00.130-04:00Cataloging Yourself<p>I did my first paid work as an artist when I was in high school way back in 1987 or so. It was a drawing of a girl writing for the cover of a poetry zine that one of my teachers published. I think it was called Promise. Since then, I've done work for hire, work for trade, and work for fun for many, many people. And I absolutely never bothered to keep track of any of it. At all.</p><p>For years now I've promised myself I would make a real effort to catalog all this work spanning decades and put it into some kind of big, fat list. Why? To remind myself of what I have accomplished. Because I get down on myself a lot. I berate myself for not doing enough. I'm a lifer amateur, by choice. I work a day job to survive and pay bills and support my family. I do art because I'm an artist. So... often I don't take my art as seriously as I should. I don't categorize myself with other artists who make their living with their craft. At best, I augment my living with my craft.</p><p>Anyway, self-deprecation aside, I realize it will be nearly impossible to catalog all I've done. Hell, I've done art for people in the 90s that I mailed to them and never saw again. I didn't have a computer back then, no camera in my pocket. I don't have pics or scans of that work. It's just gone. And I don't even remember much of it.</p><p>But I can make an effort to do what I can. This Spring I hope to dig through the boxes in my storage shed and work on some kind of catalog of my small press comics work, at least. I spent over a decade doing that stuff and I never show or talk about it. I tend to do a thing, then move on to something else. Which is fine, I think, and perfectly healthy. But you also have to remind yourself that you've done something lest you forget your own efforts and achievements.</p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-11639221023128219102024-03-10T08:48:00.002-04:002024-03-10T08:48:23.623-04:00Artists I Like: Stefan Poag<p>Continuing <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2024/02/artists-i-like-pt-1.html">this series</a>. Another artist I like: <a href="https://stefanpoag.com/">Stefan Poag</a>.</p><p>I encountered Stefan's work when I discovered DCC RPG around 2013 or so. Immediately I was blown away. Stefan is one of those artists after my own heart... a singular figure with a style that is reminiscent of other great artists yet entirely unique at the same time. On the cartoon spectrum*, his work is fully on the cartoon side of the line - which is where I live and love.</p><p>I am cautious about comparing one artist's work to another because we don't always <i>want</i> those comparisons. It can make us feel like you're saying we are mimicking or copying someone else. Which, I realize, is a silly thing to think. I take it as a compliment when I'm compared to someone else. But I get it that some folks don't take that way. All that rambling out of the way... Stefan Poag's work does remind me (in a very good way) of <a href="https://baymerch.com/collections/erol-otus">Erol Otus</a>, <a href="https://www.planeturf.com/">Chuck Whelon</a>, and even <a href="https://www.rickgriffindesigns.com/">Rick Griffin</a>... three artists I adore. Also... there's a bit of Robert Crumb in there too.</p><p>There's a whimsy and crudeness to Poag that I simply adore. I mean those words in the best possible way. He's not doing highly precise, realistic art. But don't get it mixed up: he's pouring a ton of effort and craft into what he does. There's this insidious notion that "cartoony" art is somehow less rigorous or less important. I disagree. All art, if the artist takes their own work seriously, has rigor and craft. Mapping a drawing of a face onto a photograph to make sure it is accurate is not a measure of quality unless your goal was to draw a photographic face.</p><p>Stefan draws wonder.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1xqFYoU60BQ6Avr5vrGByZa90gT7Gwwx9q6fqlRJ5XhFA8YlAsoi5WJXo067roOWod1-mey1o2Xr9YfSWOTkYHd4nZgHN3MKEdMbUS_5Z5980VfReH1k2HKzodkrzl7b4Fe2Zg_KaSyqjeSZSmsH87xMU93VRxyTUNgoskqglOX0aBpAalnmbC06OwAY/s2000/DCCRPG_9thHardcover_PoagNew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1177" data-original-width="2000" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1xqFYoU60BQ6Avr5vrGByZa90gT7Gwwx9q6fqlRJ5XhFA8YlAsoi5WJXo067roOWod1-mey1o2Xr9YfSWOTkYHd4nZgHN3MKEdMbUS_5Z5980VfReH1k2HKzodkrzl7b4Fe2Zg_KaSyqjeSZSmsH87xMU93VRxyTUNgoskqglOX0aBpAalnmbC06OwAY/w400-h235/DCCRPG_9thHardcover_PoagNew.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsqpWzzWLNOOx5xkFgmDsTXrjbU5rroPnLxXGdcDAoQ1qUz2sfksO1TF32jVf9ZKRLfGjo2AeP9UGe2WB5aHFZlNH4yVE8cP5m1kCwEBLKTHFF0Kv8E2_wP4Iz8U2D0RhCYXVIpDs9TCKd1RYhdXbv5Hir14-sizchhIzcZ_W3VyRI4ImBSAgcLpuAqZ7/s1165/81-lDDEXhfL._AC_SL1165_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="900" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsqpWzzWLNOOx5xkFgmDsTXrjbU5rroPnLxXGdcDAoQ1qUz2sfksO1TF32jVf9ZKRLfGjo2AeP9UGe2WB5aHFZlNH4yVE8cP5m1kCwEBLKTHFF0Kv8E2_wP4Iz8U2D0RhCYXVIpDs9TCKd1RYhdXbv5Hir14-sizchhIzcZ_W3VyRI4ImBSAgcLpuAqZ7/w362-h469/81-lDDEXhfL._AC_SL1165_.jpg" width="362" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWYPwgzMoDmdNkTXa61EAdIRmQqmSpEI9Ff5bf91OQiZpAbXINa6fn-ElEMsHFflbL79fz5MQJs5tDADfwz8-gVOEOhddfMvaNN8VccNjT6qhyphenhyphen9sLxgFLyI1rjEFi_abHU1TOLZdWs5BgWG_6qw9UBQ4rUlWGjollyKZTLzYdJAavmIvep-ZICoMASa0v/s3602/dragonden-72dpi-scan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3602" data-original-width="2968" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWYPwgzMoDmdNkTXa61EAdIRmQqmSpEI9Ff5bf91OQiZpAbXINa6fn-ElEMsHFflbL79fz5MQJs5tDADfwz8-gVOEOhddfMvaNN8VccNjT6qhyphenhyphen9sLxgFLyI1rjEFi_abHU1TOLZdWs5BgWG_6qw9UBQ4rUlWGjollyKZTLzYdJAavmIvep-ZICoMASa0v/w331-h401/dragonden-72dpi-scan.jpg" width="331" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3nOnjwJCyQWtYzvq7-Lz7a0NBpQn-K0zicuKZVW3HXY7IewpV_2HPo5yqd8YNIM_aExSe9-yTdoG-tuGAylQ3rGKfHW4Y_HnDfbYVuc79-y5ZB0u6K72yfrrZmFktcbX6OZMxHDZmaRiWJ1uC4uRywwlQsGoq2W9tzMB2o0xHcD9GEXiVprrrgIfnhRk/s1018/the-twittering-machine-stage-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="798" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3nOnjwJCyQWtYzvq7-Lz7a0NBpQn-K0zicuKZVW3HXY7IewpV_2HPo5yqd8YNIM_aExSe9-yTdoG-tuGAylQ3rGKfHW4Y_HnDfbYVuc79-y5ZB0u6K72yfrrZmFktcbX6OZMxHDZmaRiWJ1uC4uRywwlQsGoq2W9tzMB2o0xHcD9GEXiVprrrgIfnhRk/w319-h407/the-twittering-machine-stage-2.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQm9tzEU0ftg9mGTOJx1BAan1-qbfMx6SIgGIdqAdd_gq_Gt7SEnavtAjVhbPQdUweAP4Ut-VJT3Qy9TT00_wHhfVpTdkYqcPrbyLmbwDAlYgVCqawR2wQN8hjvGJoffPODcJOOnH8vK2ME1Qi4d0skVsQBWMJIUMFKZu2ssd0icECVE2vkQnSiRR2LS4F/s1242/tumblr_pizsa24TVE1y10ofzo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1242" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQm9tzEU0ftg9mGTOJx1BAan1-qbfMx6SIgGIdqAdd_gq_Gt7SEnavtAjVhbPQdUweAP4Ut-VJT3Qy9TT00_wHhfVpTdkYqcPrbyLmbwDAlYgVCqawR2wQN8hjvGJoffPODcJOOnH8vK2ME1Qi4d0skVsQBWMJIUMFKZu2ssd0icECVE2vkQnSiRR2LS4F/w429-h280/tumblr_pizsa24TVE1y10ofzo1_1280.jpg" width="429" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Check out this video of Stefan giving us a little sketchbook tour.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_ZYBGug-bOI" width="320" youtube-src-id="_ZYBGug-bOI"></iframe></div><br /><p>*What I mean by "cartoon spectrum" is simply how likely someone is to describe the work as "a bit cartoony". Because even when I try to draw something as realistically as possible, inevitably it will be described as "a bit cartoony". To me, that's a great compliment because I kind of despise super realistic art. Yet there are a lot of folks out there who use the label "cartoony" if not in a derisive way, in a kind of dismissive way. As in "it's cartoony BUT..." like a sideways compliment. Stefan Poag's work is cartoony AND, not BUT.</p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-80525560109828163812024-03-10T08:11:00.001-04:002024-03-10T08:11:48.822-04:00BP Heavy Helping 2 is Simmering<p>Folks have been asking me for years when <b><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/246471/black-pudding-heavy-helping-vol-one">Black Pudding Heavy Helping</a> Vol 2 </b>would appear. Of course I had to wait until another 4 issues of the zine were in the can before I could even think about it. Now that issue 8 is alive in the world, I can think about it.</p><p>I believe this one will follow in the same footsteps as the first one. I'll reorganize the material into the same categories as before. There'll be some new content as well. And I plan to create a comprehensive Black Pudding Index so you can find anything you want in the zines or in the collected volumes. Handy!</p><p>Here's the cover art too. First pic is what it will look like, second pic is the original. See, I started drawing it as just a lot of doodling and then suddenly it became the cover art. I didn't think about it up front so I didn't center the text. I had to so some Photoshop hijinks to get the title centered and avoid cropping out some of my favorite bits.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0BMtbHQxBeysRJ2EvYZo6awgqfB-hJdsqUgNDpHI1TiATDo2NBoHrlqOPnlbnsGs-nALgxe58ueg7_JFN1hbswajZxYwgwYSBYBNwuc217P2OmrVuyjid7VwXrGT3xKI1g74OX1sZFPA46v3jhGUhM5C206wlp91vDnHuwHDy4kA5Sox9cjXfQyTkUY_/s1333/BPHHV2-B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0BMtbHQxBeysRJ2EvYZo6awgqfB-hJdsqUgNDpHI1TiATDo2NBoHrlqOPnlbnsGs-nALgxe58ueg7_JFN1hbswajZxYwgwYSBYBNwuc217P2OmrVuyjid7VwXrGT3xKI1g74OX1sZFPA46v3jhGUhM5C206wlp91vDnHuwHDy4kA5Sox9cjXfQyTkUY_/w300-h400/BPHHV2-B.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>Heres' the original. Notice how that title is off center just enough to piss me off?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7M1KSZHd1j7ia1VUgUjOHFQqXNeZjygLDRJ-3-xOeRag6MUhjbX18vQ4Yk-3H5qnThnfF3MZ-_lCvunw2Vter9VtgRkA_3yFYlC9X0n7Q9pXy8WziZXKBi74yBMqkxU-4Q8qlQmvyYavzBJatzUeQXh5aFdc3vC3tLkIjnu4lZUsc8LXJnb-aK9ClQv9B/s1333/BPHHV2-A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7M1KSZHd1j7ia1VUgUjOHFQqXNeZjygLDRJ-3-xOeRag6MUhjbX18vQ4Yk-3H5qnThnfF3MZ-_lCvunw2Vter9VtgRkA_3yFYlC9X0n7Q9pXy8WziZXKBi74yBMqkxU-4Q8qlQmvyYavzBJatzUeQXh5aFdc3vC3tLkIjnu4lZUsc8LXJnb-aK9ClQv9B/w300-h400/BPHHV2-A.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>Easter eggs on the cover? I think everything is an easter egg, so they're not really easter eggs... it's just what the cover is. From top left, clockwise:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Spiders. Because they're cool and I draw them on a lot of stuff.</li><li>Ninja from issue 5.</li><li>Rats... because they're in a lot of issues.</li><li>Arqod Dreadling from issue 5.</li><li>Rat Bastard from issue 7.</li><li>Orbii from issue 5.</li><li>Skulls, because I draw a lot of them.</li><li>Eyeball, from issue 7.</li><li>Star Troll from issue 5.</li><li>Monstrous Toad from issue 6.</li><li>Sinewy Barbarian from issue 1.</li><li>Black Pudding. Duh.</li><li>Eyeballs from issue 7.</li><li>Rats again.</li><li>Magic book because I like them.</li><li>Chainmail Chick from issue 1.</li><li>Zarp cameo.</li><li>Worm priest from issue 1.</li></ol><p></p><p>Anyway... I've barely started putting this thing together so it'll still be a little while.</p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-26502057866989158362024-03-03T18:42:00.000-05:002024-03-03T18:42:20.744-05:00Another Helping on the Stove?<p>It's true. I finished issue 8 of <b><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/246471/Black-Pudding-Heavy-Helping-Vol-One">Black Pudding</a></b>, which means I have enough for <b><a href="https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/246471/Black-Pudding-Heavy-Helping-Vol-One">Heavy Helping</a> Volume 2</b>. Of course I can't just slap them together as-is... I need to remix, organize, adjust, and add-on. This takes time and inspiration. I'm working on it.</p><p>Timing? Oh you sly dog. Asking me questions I can't answer! Stay tuned.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtKCg4KNECzRSvZxbpkL04vk4hSfGlmcxPW6dyaSBFjf3UMw9J2H01mCKgmMa_UxqsI5x8XYqUS0v5Ug6-DtzdeBx2eZ6s3anM9XSJmfiRYTeU3aTf88-JEINkxUwiJPIiPcECk0ofK-UsVjV2i3p6QMCEYZ4E-iPYHaLoA_4dgYCQrlpLHg1G0MjnALj6" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1244" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtKCg4KNECzRSvZxbpkL04vk4hSfGlmcxPW6dyaSBFjf3UMw9J2H01mCKgmMa_UxqsI5x8XYqUS0v5Ug6-DtzdeBx2eZ6s3anM9XSJmfiRYTeU3aTf88-JEINkxUwiJPIiPcECk0ofK-UsVjV2i3p6QMCEYZ4E-iPYHaLoA_4dgYCQrlpLHg1G0MjnALj6" width="320" /></a></div><br />Details are thin, but here's where it's going right now.<p></p><p>• All the content of issues 5-8, including the covers.</p><p>• Content arranged into categories the same way Vol 1 was organized.</p><p>• Maybe a master index of all BP content with the issue and page and the HH vol and page for easy ref.</p><p>• Roll up tables! Expanded to include as many classes as possible, monster tables, etc.</p><p>• New content. I have some pages in the bag that I could save for issue 9 but I have no idea when that will be a thing so I might just add them into HH Vol 2. </p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-28391962979623913472024-02-25T09:52:00.004-05:002024-03-10T08:12:33.819-04:00Artists I Like: Rune Ryberg<p>I'll do a few posts rounding up artists whose work I really enjoy. I'll present a few examples and talk about why I like them. I'll link to their pages and other ways to find out more, if such exists. These are presented in no deliberate order other than the order in which I thought of them and did the work of posting about them.</p><p><b>INSPIRATION</b></p><p>There's something remotely cannibalistic about being an artist. I "consume" art, process it inside my mind, then things come out the other end that include bits of the art I consumed. It's a lovely analogy, right? But that's how it is for me. I often say I don't have any original ideas. It's true. Nothing I've ever came up with was cut from whole cloth, as they say. It's patchwork, at best. Sure, sometimes it's novel and maybe you haven't seen anything quite like what I do. But believe me: what I do is riff on what I've seen. That's all I <i>can</i> do.</p><p>Art inspires more art. It's a continuous cycle of creation from some ancient beginning to some unforeseen ending. All we are doing is riding that ride, trying to make something beautiful to keep all this beauty alive.</p><p><b>RUNE RYBERG</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_E37k2A9rDu9gCqhuVnBjGDl8M2VLQWjO_6MDGRz-au84wKhc9H1cAsin8_nXDPZC4zFofOVGT40MhaORVGpNZX23cvPRKsjMt0UAYjmQFX3HPflG8Cq85wwpDObv0eBZA9BSfkIeLHDGjLhdd9Eo_9greqcgBwGOYpLnQQXcWdd41lPZKx_Ij7Z2CIri" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="1268" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_E37k2A9rDu9gCqhuVnBjGDl8M2VLQWjO_6MDGRz-au84wKhc9H1cAsin8_nXDPZC4zFofOVGT40MhaORVGpNZX23cvPRKsjMt0UAYjmQFX3HPflG8Cq85wwpDObv0eBZA9BSfkIeLHDGjLhdd9Eo_9greqcgBwGOYpLnQQXcWdd41lPZKx_Ij7Z2CIri=w525-h194" width="525" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://runeryberg.com/">Rune Ryberg is an artist</a> whose work I <a href="https://www.instagram.com/runeryberg/">discovered randomly on Instagram</a>. As soon as I saw it the first time I thought it was magical. To describe it is hard. To my eyes it's a dose of Richard Sala and a dash of Ed, Edd n Eddy filtered through a classic European comics vibe. Rune is Danish and I honestly don't know much more about him than that. I'm not even sure you can get his comics in English, though I've seen them online in English. The website only lists Danish and French language comics.<p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwqKyXR69GHB5EZnSJfYkakli1QwNmEsefgpJMfXnbJa0HaKr-w9OmB0gjoTHGsZfxs_K_m1HF_OWQBMKUFf1hvstdcTRUuQiF5UG9QcO6DfaeE6GQyIfywKBvmQmu0dGQ6rxunpznoCW_i_-CtcjCeXb2oFNUaRTLc84uNVn0Hab6VmMOeNoUQzocZMSD" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img 10px="" alt="" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="524" height="427" padding:="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwqKyXR69GHB5EZnSJfYkakli1QwNmEsefgpJMfXnbJa0HaKr-w9OmB0gjoTHGsZfxs_K_m1HF_OWQBMKUFf1hvstdcTRUuQiF5UG9QcO6DfaeE6GQyIfywKBvmQmu0dGQ6rxunpznoCW_i_-CtcjCeXb2oFNUaRTLc84uNVn0Hab6VmMOeNoUQzocZMSD=w253-h427" style:="" width="253" /></a></div><br />His drawings are wiggly wobbly, and definitely feel inspired by the 2000s Cartoon Network era (though that's just a hunch and might not be true). His drawings flow and move. They are kinetic as hell. His comic pages are smooth, constantly in motion, and tell us as much about the character's inner worlds as their outer worlds.<p></p><p>I stared at some of these pages trying to figure out what tools Rune uses. My guess was traditional drawings with dip pen, then digital colors. Turns out I was right about the drawings but he seems to be using Micron pens for inks, at least for his main lines. But the colors... in some works, such as Death Save, they are very flat and I thought digital. But other works are clearly some kind of watercolor or markers. So I'm not sure.</p><p>He has a kind of drybrush effect in some of the shading and I'm not sure what he's using there.</p><p>Notice how his lines vary in weight a little bit, but not much. Under that, he's often using flat colors to great effect. Vibrant, rich colors that also convey simple depth.</p><p>Wonderful stuff. I would pay a handsome price for a big, fat coffee table book of Rune Ryberg art.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-THPAG8JUxx1I49F6AM3z7mNlw5tYxrDBDfeSA05ptE6ADMRIty1nwDvllq_FFtzxRx7jnWsV6cjsJreHM0a1SCSPOodcs3o6WzmS-2qDje6t9udjHiU3JVBDJabss7YKQM7FyoQlAE2ExhSWijoQUUGaP1CbwCYRH5IoRA9LamMTiOXhGFMw0ra8vOST" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-THPAG8JUxx1I49F6AM3z7mNlw5tYxrDBDfeSA05ptE6ADMRIty1nwDvllq_FFtzxRx7jnWsV6cjsJreHM0a1SCSPOodcs3o6WzmS-2qDje6t9udjHiU3JVBDJabss7YKQM7FyoQlAE2ExhSWijoQUUGaP1CbwCYRH5IoRA9LamMTiOXhGFMw0ra8vOST=w512-h640" width="512" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSGrucxPLkShTggF7iqqmHTH8mtojTOsIUIrIfV45LMoT7G3963m8xn7FC3oXrej1TN1TFeddfRBjpDOoFWX86KQ2WgDcwoGAW_bMt0b66ZNJ__hGjRn03r9iH9svM2_rIFu4YwXQuYmb_JkVHBu2NMuLoKTmMD2kAijIseN_gHJ8R-TKLh9_MaBdJlJfV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSGrucxPLkShTggF7iqqmHTH8mtojTOsIUIrIfV45LMoT7G3963m8xn7FC3oXrej1TN1TFeddfRBjpDOoFWX86KQ2WgDcwoGAW_bMt0b66ZNJ__hGjRn03r9iH9svM2_rIFu4YwXQuYmb_JkVHBu2NMuLoKTmMD2kAijIseN_gHJ8R-TKLh9_MaBdJlJfV=w512-h640" width="512" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYjCGw2ndR3hKufmSOHnBJhfpm8ov5tIX0XaoGXIaZ1aquYkQj6ZqcMI27FzFCqwBtpBraIYHfAEi9QUN1QqRvAIms5EOOM_sK0IQgFM5vgx7UMoMOSK2MVyy_D-0p_s4rQsum5f45QAyqW23Hg_eXbI6UGG8QSjiwCn3Z61CsEBrCY1S6cqaQ0eo_NhRj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYjCGw2ndR3hKufmSOHnBJhfpm8ov5tIX0XaoGXIaZ1aquYkQj6ZqcMI27FzFCqwBtpBraIYHfAEi9QUN1QqRvAIms5EOOM_sK0IQgFM5vgx7UMoMOSK2MVyy_D-0p_s4rQsum5f45QAyqW23Hg_eXbI6UGG8QSjiwCn3Z61CsEBrCY1S6cqaQ0eo_NhRj=w512-h640" width="512" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-49947003622277581012024-02-16T05:28:00.005-05:002024-02-16T05:28:38.239-05:00Paper and Book Sizes<p>Here's a blog post about my history in the fine world of art and publishing, as it relates to paper and book sizes in particular. Because this shit really matters if your goal is to print something.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhp4uExruS8vSSC92EhR0_cPXG5Zauz0hMKWgQWgcUSda0XijF7Cs1avEyhMlyk2WfKVjtw4hHN-DtYqGiPO2SHBp8YlFqyJ4YSB5yHELmzvDNDCdyRy3pwRD-Iwqre5dn74RsehOBCWEqQedDXu6ZMd0TcLU1b2Rbp4ajPZau1E-8yckUoB6C39APlVt_c" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="441" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhp4uExruS8vSSC92EhR0_cPXG5Zauz0hMKWgQWgcUSda0XijF7Cs1avEyhMlyk2WfKVjtw4hHN-DtYqGiPO2SHBp8YlFqyJ4YSB5yHELmzvDNDCdyRy3pwRD-Iwqre5dn74RsehOBCWEqQedDXu6ZMd0TcLU1b2Rbp4ajPZau1E-8yckUoB6C39APlVt_c" width="178" /></a></div>Earliest memory of making a zine: 1980, trailer park by a river. In my room, which was really a hallway portion of the trailer in which I had a bed and dresser, sitting on my bed with pencil and typing paper and some comic books.<p></p><p>Actually, now that I think on it, I'm not sure how many comics I had at that time. But I did have a full BOX of Marvel Comics Super Heroes Rub-A-Tattoo packs! These were like bubble gum trading card packs, but with dry transfer images of the various characters. At this time, my experience with comics was limited to a stack of old Donald Duck, Hot Stuff, and Archies some cousin gave me. Plus whatever cartoons and TV shows they had, such as the Hulk and Super Friends.</p><p>Anyway... I knew I liked Spidey and The Thing and Hulk. And I was fascinated by the comic book as an object. So I took my typing paper (8.5" x 11" cheap white paper... equivalent to A4 but slightly different because we Americans can't just adopt the most universal stuff like everyone else). I folded a sheet in half so it was now 5.5" x 8.5" and I drew a battle between The Thing and Spider-Man. I have no memory of what happened in the "story" or to what degree I actually finished it. I believe I only did one sheet and I marveled (get it?) at how much like a comic it didn't look.</p><p>Fast forward to teen years. I didn't try to make a book again for a while. But I was very interested in doing it. When I got into RPGs I made my own games and the format was usually just a sheet of typing paper or whatever kind of paper I had. Often it was loose leaf binder paper from my school stash. Or a spiral notebook. Whatever worked.</p><p>But a few years later, in 1987 or so, my friends and I decided to make a REAL comic. I had seen copies of an APA, so I knew people were doing this kind of thing. People were just making their own comics and books and printing them on Xerox machines (that's what we called photocopiers). Then they would trade them or sell a few locally, mostly through the mail.</p><p>This was the "small press" scene. Our comic, called Fast Lane, ran for 3 or so issues. I can't remember exactly how it went, but some of them were full size (8.5x11) and some were "digest" size (5.5x8.5). They were all photocopied when we used the machine at a friend's dad's place of work. That was a fun memory, laying out the pages on the office floor on a Saturday morning to collate and staple them. I think we ran 50 copies. Some were sold to kids at school, most were just given away.</p><p>I'm not even sure if I have copies myself anymore. In fact... I'm almost certain I do not. Pity.</p><p>So anyway, pretty much all small press folks (I didn't hear the term "zine" until the 90s) worked at some iteration of 8.5" x 11" in the USA because that was the by far the most common and cheap paper you could get. Every Xerox machine used that size by default. And when you're doing guerilla publishing, you use what is available.</p><p>The three common paper sizes in the USA are:</p><p>Letter: 8.5" x 11"</p><p>Legal: 8.5" x 14"</p><p>Tabloid: 11" x 17"</p><p>Every photocopy machine would handle these paper sizes and every place with a machine almost certainly had a pack of each. So you could plan your book in the following easy increments:</p><p>Full size (stapled flat): 8.5" x 11"</p><p>Full size (tabloid folded once): 8.5" x 11"</p><p>Digest (letter folded once): 5.5" x 8.5"</p><p>Mini: (letter folded twice): 4.25" x 5.5"</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLnBcCJO0fbJ_TgbTggaikRr468AsKcu-NbZYYnQgseVDKz5E6VpmgxfAtAEx8ZNCJmvN3aC5NwEKPjFphAca9y2QsHr2sU4sgs3saxjbvVDS_He4Xdc176_cPzmWrEbHNlIj_HYvPcAKdX4AMhnTgoYYOVPvaxzhGjj9kRTkEFk7CKqTuIsSPGk-hdEl2" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLnBcCJO0fbJ_TgbTggaikRr468AsKcu-NbZYYnQgseVDKz5E6VpmgxfAtAEx8ZNCJmvN3aC5NwEKPjFphAca9y2QsHr2sU4sgs3saxjbvVDS_He4Xdc176_cPzmWrEbHNlIj_HYvPcAKdX4AMhnTgoYYOVPvaxzhGjj9kRTkEFk7CKqTuIsSPGk-hdEl2=w253-h338" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Printed on my desktop, c. 2004.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Virtually all comic zines of that era were black and white because the cost of doing color was incredibly high by comparison. And to get GOOD color was even more expensive. This is why I have been a black and white line artist for much of my life, though the internet sort of changed that for me and I've done my fair share of color work in the past 20 years.</p><p>There are other options, of course, such as folding a legal sheet in half or folding a letter sheet down the long way to make a really tall, skinny zine. But those were rare to see. Most folks stuck with the variations listed above because they were easy, common, standard. And one thing that us comic book folks really enjoy is a standard format*.</p><p>My zines have taken on various formats over the years, but I'd say the bulk of them were "digest" sized. This was, in my experience, the most common format for small press comics. All through the 90s I was involved in various small press co-ops, making and trading my comics with other creators. It was fun times. I have a TON of old zines in storage I should bust out and share pics of.</p><p>One huge leap forward for me was when I got a black and white laser printer. It's just as good as a photocopier (of its time... this is an older printer now), so I could make zines all day long. But there was one problem: the INTERNET happened. Suddenly print books were not all the rage and zine folks were doing a lot of digital stuff. The small press networks I had grown with over the years flagged, sometimes fading away entirely. I retreated from that scene, feeling like the connections I craved there were now being met more readily online. Over time, we would also see the cost of mailing books go up and up and UP until it made no sense at all to mail a single digest sized comic to anyone. The cost of the book was far, far less than the cost to mail it.</p><p>To close out on this rambler, in the USA, in my own experience, it was most common to do your comics and zines in black and white in size formats compatible with 8.5x11 sheets of paper. Because that's what we had to work with.</p><p><br /></p><p>*Hey, calm down. I'm not saying weird formats are bad. Hell no! I published some zines in weird formats. I did the tall skinny thing with Random Order Comics & Games issue 1, for example. And if you went to any small press conventions you'd see all kinds of weird books! People are super creative about this stuff. This post is just talking about the most common uses of the materials that were available, filtered through the lens of the small press comics world. Most small press comics folks were not interested in having a weird format, they wanted something as close to a "normal comic book" as possible, to be honest. But it was super expensive to do a professional print run. We slummed it with Xerox machines.</p><p><br /></p><p> </p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-32014263389454503202024-02-11T10:21:00.001-05:002024-02-11T10:21:46.468-05:00Arcades! Pew Pew<p>Personal post talking about my interactions with arcade video games.</p><p>My earliest memory of video games, I think, was Space Invaders. Two separate memories.</p><p><b>The Dinner Bell</b></p><p>There was a restaurant called The Dinner Bell and it was in the same building as a cab service and the bus stop. This was in my home town and it would have been sometime between 1978 and 1980. My parents got divorced in 1978 and this memory was when I went with my dad for a weekend. He drove a cab, so I basically hung out at the Dinner Bell while he was doing that. I had a few quarters he had given me because they had a video game called Space Invaders.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6Uv8zzCD2QiF5wvOpRai0RnpBgdmd3TQz8MpORKRUOg9je39gUTiqQqlWtK1iYuAYclKt9fyLQ3oMlxgM7P6QRk3jdNrNthkSLpTr5DazC4K7ProOkjROvMbAIqMkMumV0RmC9z9uwkxb-z_YkKE4L7OM84YV-0484Cf5gVvxGf-7ZT5VNBlc06zidstB" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6Uv8zzCD2QiF5wvOpRai0RnpBgdmd3TQz8MpORKRUOg9je39gUTiqQqlWtK1iYuAYclKt9fyLQ3oMlxgM7P6QRk3jdNrNthkSLpTr5DazC4K7ProOkjROvMbAIqMkMumV0RmC9z9uwkxb-z_YkKE4L7OM84YV-0484Cf5gVvxGf-7ZT5VNBlc06zidstB" width="320" /></a></div>Now, this version of SI was a flat top table. You'd sit in a regular chair and the joystick and button were under the table top at the end. Folks would also use this table to eat and drink, so it wasn't terribly clean. I was fascinated and played it with however many quarters I had... probably less than a dollar's worth.<p></p><p>Being a truck stop, cab service, and diner all in one... the place had smells. Lots of them. It wasn't terribly busy, just a handful of people milling about here and there. I don't even remember any of the people there at all. But my grandmother worked the diner, so she was probably there too. The memory is fuzzy. The Dinner Bell went out many years ago and I believe it is now a Save-a-Lot grocery store. I don't think we've had a bus stop in this town for decades, as far as I know. But boy, every town used to have one.</p><p><b>Morgan's Grocery</b></p><p>I'm very fuzzy on the name, but I do believe it is Morgan's. This was a little grocery store way out in the sticks with a gas pump. In those days, roughly 1978-1980, my mom was living with Lee, who would later be my stepdad. Lee was a... lazy entrepreneur. He basically did odd things here and there. Not </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP48ubmvgy6Ek3Uz-ThnM7ly_bAGWLiFP6iEuwA9rvglbvXgNp6OJjp4EPD8-JbnU0PPyK9Dsskrdw4TbXELY-TxcgezuNYZ4voqQOECJN7oCN_KNlCCXto7XLmHUehR6YzriFJxcuErDDAQSgE5VyWaNZeJnLyjm0ETvkBJWN5LdOAFKQIgpChHgUi8We" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="502" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP48ubmvgy6Ek3Uz-ThnM7ly_bAGWLiFP6iEuwA9rvglbvXgNp6OJjp4EPD8-JbnU0PPyK9Dsskrdw4TbXELY-TxcgezuNYZ4voqQOECJN7oCN_KNlCCXto7XLmHUehR6YzriFJxcuErDDAQSgE5VyWaNZeJnLyjm0ETvkBJWN5LdOAFKQIgpChHgUi8We=w264-h457" width="264" /></a></div><br />handyman stuff, but more of a "let's try to sell this junk" kind of vibe. Mom met him when he was driving an old white pickup delivering loads of coal to various houses. At that time mom and I lived in a red shack her dad built and it was winter time. She had heard of Lee delivering coal and had requested a load. He brought it, dumped the coal next to the house (no cellar that I recall, but I was only 8 so maybe I'm wrong).<p></p><p>Next thing I know he's living with us.</p><p>Anyway, one of his little gigs was picking up cans on the side of the road. You could walk a highway stretch and fill a bag with aluminum cans pretty easily back then. Everybody just tossed their trash out the window in those days. It was shitty. Anyway, we did that. We walked the highways picking up cans*. One highway had Morgan's store on it and sometimes we'd pop in there, if we had any money, and buy some snacks. That was breakfast and lunch for the day: a honey bun and a carton of milk or a pop.</p><p>Morgan's had Space Invaders too. This time it was the traditional stand-up cabinet style. Every time we went there I'd beg mom for a quarter. Sometimes she's give me one, sometimes she would not. Depends on if we <b>had</b> any to spare**.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhum-bQWpZZewEGhSHiuJxkxGo28WSHuhPEwqdr21PdrvZFmh8ZTOKF0cBjAaLmQQnnSqSfsfFn2UWObOf9x7DdrDYKH1Wa-lljX_3-2q3ySFf9NNj9WmN5U141691D4RSnzgIUcT0vSYpd3UY-6f1WI4FEqqxwBRgIVYyh2zbneJhSsykVF_KSIMwkqdfW" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="785" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhum-bQWpZZewEGhSHiuJxkxGo28WSHuhPEwqdr21PdrvZFmh8ZTOKF0cBjAaLmQQnnSqSfsfFn2UWObOf9x7DdrDYKH1Wa-lljX_3-2q3ySFf9NNj9WmN5U141691D4RSnzgIUcT0vSYpd3UY-6f1WI4FEqqxwBRgIVYyh2zbneJhSsykVF_KSIMwkqdfW=w130-h265" width="130" /></a></div>So Space Invaders was my first experience with video games. I played it only randomly here and there, and only because it was the game they had. If they had a different game, I'd try that one too. And I sucked at them, probably because I'd get to play once, maybe twice then I wouldn't have another chance for weeks or months.<p></p><p><b>Convenience Store</b></p><p>Ok, this one is weird. Because in my head there is a memory of an official chain of stores called "Convenience". There was for sure one store that was located near an apartment we used to live in and had the word "Convenience" right there on building. And I recall Ernest P. Worrell doing commercials for Convenience. But alas... my child's memories are tainted and flawed for Ernest did commercials for various stores and brands and it appears that "convenience" was the catch phrase of the time for little quickie marts and I confused it as a name brand***.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2ZjsnWecZqE6YakjfV6lDEQIPoPvSTh7nhoCJuGIXBckxdZFNm8EgSPVwqRdj5LfdAxClfUGaj7MmxhkHvTciJ0oVj51isSKY9b-xB-QPIZ6Mh9eckGXI24TfBpY3tVlHLALzfS8Rxz6h7Axan5Ax8B3j664vrtQUd9eg0zvXBd_lNjgrkoXNhTJXpxOr" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="478" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2ZjsnWecZqE6YakjfV6lDEQIPoPvSTh7nhoCJuGIXBckxdZFNm8EgSPVwqRdj5LfdAxClfUGaj7MmxhkHvTciJ0oVj51isSKY9b-xB-QPIZ6Mh9eckGXI24TfBpY3tVlHLALzfS8Rxz6h7Axan5Ax8B3j664vrtQUd9eg0zvXBd_lNjgrkoXNhTJXpxOr" width="179" /></a></div>But the point is there was this convenience quickie mart near the apartment and we could walk to it for groceries and things. And yep, they had some video games. Almost every store at that time (by now... 1980-1982) had at least one video game. It was like having vending machines. Some company would bring you a game, put it in the corner, and you and the company would earn money from kids pumping it full of quarters. Almost no effort on the part of the store.<p></p><p>This store had Galaga! And they had Moon Cresta! My memory is poor, so I am not sure if they had both at once or if one came later. Because this store pops up in my memories more than once over the course of a few years.</p><p>Oh... they also had a silly little game called Pac-Man, but nobody cared about that, did they?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWYsqpJrQcuCi8DEN0pwbtEWk2Yts5dicide0whHiVlmTxXarC_ZNIG2U4OjhfTJimAmzZHzKssg_9-KGSdlrU3l6ICIsnbH1mwEK399OfI4vAv0dC7XWXImL2kbJ3Ayh75P5GpkLqm6poWqKVstd0CPYkubPchvNsoOUZWJ2KaNbR5nBCWtgtuOEWKaTB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWYsqpJrQcuCi8DEN0pwbtEWk2Yts5dicide0whHiVlmTxXarC_ZNIG2U4OjhfTJimAmzZHzKssg_9-KGSdlrU3l6ICIsnbH1mwEK399OfI4vAv0dC7XWXImL2kbJ3Ayh75P5GpkLqm6poWqKVstd0CPYkubPchvNsoOUZWJ2KaNbR5nBCWtgtuOEWKaTB=w259-h345" width="259" /></a></div><br /><b>Stanford Auction House</b><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJRC0vMt7YOKjLF7V5wJ1cijc9zZksYyJO4EkptORtuCGTArs1R6U82XrrzPopjjQVlI429Eq1pCMZ2IvINGTK6vQ3RSVco8pJCDHXNmUQtQpnMquQhoXfWnY6udBhdKpqt832vMLaWzToAeIbqlTIIacdC5xSuHYx9CgeG8CMoCBENeeZZRI8QIdFzuRE" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1169" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJRC0vMt7YOKjLF7V5wJ1cijc9zZksYyJO4EkptORtuCGTArs1R6U82XrrzPopjjQVlI429Eq1pCMZ2IvINGTK6vQ3RSVco8pJCDHXNmUQtQpnMquQhoXfWnY6udBhdKpqt832vMLaWzToAeIbqlTIIacdC5xSuHYx9CgeG8CMoCBENeeZZRI8QIdFzuRE" width="175" /></a></div>Back in those early 80s days, we were really into flea markets and auctions. We would go to them every single day to sell junk. When we lived in Stanford (the first time), there was a red auction house on a hill. I remember it well because it had a flea market in the day, auctions at night, and sometimes they had cool things like wrestling. I saw Leapin' Lanny there!<p></p><p>Anyway, that place had a video game and it was Donkey Kong. Basically NOBODY came to that building. I remember it was very disappointing to my stepdad because there was no crowd, no traffic. We sold at the auction, which was ok. But the flea market was just dead. But they did have two things. They had Donkey Kong and they had a seller with tons and tons of old paperback books. I would look through them, searching for the naughty ones. I was about 12.</p><p>Donkey Kong was great. I loved playing that game. I got decent at it because we were trapped in that building for hours at a time and if I could squeeze any quarters out of mom, I did. And I plopped them immediately into Donkey Kong. But it wasn't enough to make me a master. I was, at best, a noob even at my height.</p><p><b>Atari 2600</b></p><p>I'm not gonna spend any time discussing this. I encountered the 2600 when I was 12 at my cousins' house and when my mom got a job a few years later she splurged and bought one. We played it constantly. She played so much Pac-Man she could easily roll it over through all the levels multiple times. But that's a discussion for another post. Let's stay focused on arcade machines.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj44vjCo-Cq5kSQ_7KD6C6Axe2qn4KCpFNfeJy91IWwpWFgnqqkAeCK3X215HLMvkmz_YEMhH09pzriZsunB1zq8jHB4BWbN76-iH3lAR_ukfHJQSnm8_CFgf4kRNO8nvPt6yRe8LtGwBhbR2Iijf5CAsaCNibLXubnMYekHZ4_bWoWiRYYOCZ-qUXX2rTf" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj44vjCo-Cq5kSQ_7KD6C6Axe2qn4KCpFNfeJy91IWwpWFgnqqkAeCK3X215HLMvkmz_YEMhH09pzriZsunB1zq8jHB4BWbN76-iH3lAR_ukfHJQSnm8_CFgf4kRNO8nvPt6yRe8LtGwBhbR2Iijf5CAsaCNibLXubnMYekHZ4_bWoWiRYYOCZ-qUXX2rTf=w216-h324" width="216" /></a></b></div><b><br />The Pirate's Cove</b><p></p><p>Our local mall (malls were a big deal in the 80s) had an actual arcade called The Pirate's Cove. It was <b>awesome</b>. It was kinda dark, loud, and always had plenty of kids hanging out. By kids I mean teens like me. We owned that joint.</p><p>The Cove had all the cool shit. Yeah, they had Pac-Man and probably had Space Invaders. But this was the later 80s... those games were old hat. They had newer shit like Golden Axe, Raiden, and, my favorite, Rastan! And since by then I had started working, I had plenty of quarters to blow. I played the holy shit out of Rastan, Raiden, Twin Cobra, Golden Axe, Double Dragon, Outrun, and Gauntlet. Those were glorious days.</p><p>I started dating girls, going to college, and getting married soon after... these high school days were pretty much my last days of arcade magic. I haunted a few arcades after it, but the magic was gone. The Pirate's Cove turned into the Fun Tunnel (lame), home video games were dominant, and an era died. The arcades went into deep freeze for a long time.<br /><br /></p><p>*Jesus we were poor. I look back on it now in amazement when I think about the things we did and the things we didn't do and I put the pieces together I realize just how deep, deep, deep in poverty we really were. As a kid you don't necessarily know or notice that shit. You just exist. You play and eat if there's food and do what your folks say. But god damn, thinking about those years... those were rough times.</p><p>**Side note: My memory is that it cost a quarter to play arcade games from the late 70s pretty much through most of the 80s. I remember as a teen going to the local arcade, The Pirate's Cove (how cool a name is that?) and it was always one quarter to play games. Then suddenly we started to see these fancier, bigger games with seats and steering wheels that cost 50 cents and I was like "50 cents?? You gotta be kidding me!".</p><p>***Yeah, so that's not the only one. Before my folks split up but I was old enough to remember (1975-1977), my mom bought me a Big Wheel. Now, Big Wheels were a <b>big deal</b> back in the day. That shit was hot to a kid. And it was not cheap, I'm sure. Especially for poor people. But my dad allegedly had a job at that time and so mom bought me a Big Wheel for my birthday by putting it on lay-away. Now, lay-away was a term used by retail stores for when you would take the item to the lay-away counter, pay some percentage of the total price, and they would keep it for you until you paid it all off. It was a way poor people could slowly purchase an item that was too much to buy at once so that the item didn't go away before you had the cash to buy it. But my wee brain thought "Lay-Away's" was a brand name for a store. I remember going to "Lay-Aways"... I have no idea what store it actually was! Possibly Sears.</p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-17596319746342737962024-02-10T07:52:00.014-05:002024-02-10T08:00:46.840-05:00Ink Talk<p>I have been on a brush pen kick for months. My first experience with brush pens was back in 2000 or 2001 with the Pitt brush pen, which is not a "real" brush pen but a felt pen with a brush-shaped tip. The Pit is great, and you should try it out, but that tip wears out REAL quick*.</p><p>Sometime in the late 2000s I picked up two excellent brush pens and didn't fully appreciate them at the time because I was on the cusp of switching almost entirely to drawing digitally. I got a Sailor Profit and a Pentel Pocket.</p><p>Zip ahead to recent times and I have re-connected with traditional art in a big, big way. I've dusted off these old tools, picked up new ones, and have been experimenting and learning and growing as much as I can.</p><p>So anyway, this post is about ink. Because these types of tools are really, really picky and will gum up if you use the wrong stuff in them.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvm8BAZiG3ENE6oB27ZGHk86VErlR548GZvREKmumszHYFAwwrPkq8lWzv-acSbi7Tbex-i3DTS_8zR36fKFbYucz3q0s9hN6bAAeU033-NcP6982Wtje4QL6I_kQmLcXCBCCh7pUYn7bnNfMW7YP-ZcNdiVHNijStorynJw0Vw_0TUYoNy-6ilGXnxUlg/s1000/SailorKiwaguroBottle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvm8BAZiG3ENE6oB27ZGHk86VErlR548GZvREKmumszHYFAwwrPkq8lWzv-acSbi7Tbex-i3DTS_8zR36fKFbYucz3q0s9hN6bAAeU033-NcP6982Wtje4QL6I_kQmLcXCBCCh7pUYn7bnNfMW7YP-ZcNdiVHNijStorynJw0Vw_0TUYoNy-6ilGXnxUlg/w424-h318/SailorKiwaguroBottle.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sailor Kiwaguro ink bottle is sexy.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />YouTube has been a great resource for learning and from various videos I picked up the suggestion that the ink you get with the Sailor (my personal favorite brush pen) is perhaps not the ideal ink. One I kept hearing about was Sailor Kiwaguro. So I picked up a pack of Kiwaguro disposable cartridges to try out and fell in love instantly. Now I got myself a bottle of the stuff and I plan to switch to an ink converter as soon as I burn through the rest of these dozen cartridges.<p></p><p>Of course there's a trick if you don't want to use a converter. You can use a blunt syringe to just squirt more ink into an empty disposable cartridge and reuse those bastards over and over and over again. But beware! Make sure you stick that syringe tip all the way past the opening and just give it a gentle, tiny push or else you'll have an ink explosion. Yeah, it happened to me.</p><p>Kiwaguro is a pigmented black ink that is pretty waterproof and dries fast. I like it.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfjB46NUMvL7G-cvWFhjlSigy50Oyb56byRt47f_jVq7QsxrWRpjp8F01ml5ZRcns1VKF-TAodBEaVyk_DEfhhd6Xg6WXg71euTIhbYQbWDfrW3W6B09djJsOyp4l_eI-WOuzfGSsnzJhzzqC5Dulo5fp_49SqoXXAI-Log_xOBAWzIzdTkr6s5gc_sxl/s577/Noodleers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="394" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfjB46NUMvL7G-cvWFhjlSigy50Oyb56byRt47f_jVq7QsxrWRpjp8F01ml5ZRcns1VKF-TAodBEaVyk_DEfhhd6Xg6WXg71euTIhbYQbWDfrW3W6B09djJsOyp4l_eI-WOuzfGSsnzJhzzqC5Dulo5fp_49SqoXXAI-Log_xOBAWzIzdTkr6s5gc_sxl/w285-h416/Noodleers.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black as night, black as pitch...</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Then there's this Noodler's black water-based ink I got thanks to many recommendations. This shit is VERY black. Whereas Kiwaguro (and most inks) have a bit of a dull finish, Noodler's finish is kind of dense and matte... almost velvety. It has a texture. You can feel the ink on the paper. But there's a problem: erasing.<p></p><p>If you're like me, you sketch in pencil, ink right on the pencils, then erase. When you erase over most ink, it might lift some of the pigment and dull the black just a little. Mostly not noticeable. But Noodler's loses quite a bit of opacity to the eraser (see pic). So while I do love the thick, black feel, I am not happy about the eraser situation. I will probably not use Noodler's on important drawings, though it is great for doodling.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bHdPe7IBos6vOVwrokN_ov7pHG3G0tOK_0m1gx1Qq_W-pL3r4-kVkOA484HnqR-m7OKtEJiPSge6b9rG56lli3DrGWYqSxbEr1exhrkAxAgFHcofh2L3DzOSGQn6NYMpQIYv-fat-jPTfv2kYifCH_osjaQG5WnZWVSh8LkpYD7CAOEBWY7KADN5msk5/s1000/SailorKiwaguroTest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="1000" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bHdPe7IBos6vOVwrokN_ov7pHG3G0tOK_0m1gx1Qq_W-pL3r4-kVkOA484HnqR-m7OKtEJiPSge6b9rG56lli3DrGWYqSxbEr1exhrkAxAgFHcofh2L3DzOSGQn6NYMpQIYv-fat-jPTfv2kYifCH_osjaQG5WnZWVSh8LkpYD7CAOEBWY7KADN5msk5/w500-h336/SailorKiwaguroTest.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before erasing and after erasing, Noodler's black ink takes a beating.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>*There's a super secret though. If you pull the tip out of the Pit brush pen you will discover that it can be flipped around and you've got a BRAND NEW TIP. Very cool. I had no idea back when I was burning through these things in the 2000s. </p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-70550499478129473212024-02-07T18:34:00.007-05:002024-02-07T18:34:51.138-05:00Another Sketchbook<p>Another little sketchbook filled with some fanart doodles and other nonsense. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnGA46Y5yXTOBkRrTKF58mze23t0Amxn-o7omx69jccwnOImPU7qD34-jJmqi8NXjk1aK5_Ys7hl89hoxspD8us0qHGdwSV20OEybnTrRN4uB5xxaemLCiDZwcg9ki5NfR17LDnkhcTjAO_DohOuRNZd9-_8JbNV6yLbGHH0U3KcG4sO73sLlwhtXAn72/s900/DuckBarbarianCol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="900" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnGA46Y5yXTOBkRrTKF58mze23t0Amxn-o7omx69jccwnOImPU7qD34-jJmqi8NXjk1aK5_Ys7hl89hoxspD8us0qHGdwSV20OEybnTrRN4uB5xxaemLCiDZwcg9ki5NfR17LDnkhcTjAO_DohOuRNZd9-_8JbNV6yLbGHH0U3KcG4sO73sLlwhtXAn72/w400-h323/DuckBarbarianCol.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwFvPWrE5I2JJembcN3E8l_Uoo1BWUQZnlyrzyyF3B3kY-7LQzhvqC6haWZtfHTQpAwewoYWP0vuy2y6A-na3ZXEuBz4hlX53FbJPcgQSaw10G5Sk9aZrp4toZi0GfcR3_eB38x5tY80JyKTgs3Rx5IOU7jrarbGd_QJMJNTzMhfcOiv_foWC650HmZsm/s930/GracieLaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="658" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwFvPWrE5I2JJembcN3E8l_Uoo1BWUQZnlyrzyyF3B3kY-7LQzhvqC6haWZtfHTQpAwewoYWP0vuy2y6A-na3ZXEuBz4hlX53FbJPcgQSaw10G5Sk9aZrp4toZi0GfcR3_eB38x5tY80JyKTgs3Rx5IOU7jrarbGd_QJMJNTzMhfcOiv_foWC650HmZsm/w283-h400/GracieLaw.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQrkWxPD40JlFeUrOYyooVTtf3yG0ujIcFVVVJzzbYJAVwaXvuuSAwEHM1ZbhVU6SzHsx7A8iyOhb-hYn5qKU9SKsfEetX4JpmzocQwdVF6_bDcwcCPYzmq5Hy-p1ebEdjJQg0JpVZ_JYCBNH3sMXykmIE9nbHm_L2ysJsXKEntpiDDLSZi9i3LAgdh03/s1000/Hulk2024-02-C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1000" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQrkWxPD40JlFeUrOYyooVTtf3yG0ujIcFVVVJzzbYJAVwaXvuuSAwEHM1ZbhVU6SzHsx7A8iyOhb-hYn5qKU9SKsfEetX4JpmzocQwdVF6_bDcwcCPYzmq5Hy-p1ebEdjJQg0JpVZ_JYCBNH3sMXykmIE9nbHm_L2ysJsXKEntpiDDLSZi9i3LAgdh03/w400-h324/Hulk2024-02-C.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVjxMx2YOeMQkg4moJ5423RbUg0ZnFlKYTu03EW_SUd1zY6D-ewXRT52bowe2-ygbpo_nODTnVZGG6D6v0LSL-m-erICwFgr1_924P6Sv9vWqwba-38OWtOfWqd3OiOYXg5eRruvHPBCia5a9hjinwSvzHTAiAFar4KewLRXTYM8WQY6sW0KLGg_0Jnko/s915/HulkBigbw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="590" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVjxMx2YOeMQkg4moJ5423RbUg0ZnFlKYTu03EW_SUd1zY6D-ewXRT52bowe2-ygbpo_nODTnVZGG6D6v0LSL-m-erICwFgr1_924P6Sv9vWqwba-38OWtOfWqd3OiOYXg5eRruvHPBCia5a9hjinwSvzHTAiAFar4KewLRXTYM8WQY6sW0KLGg_0Jnko/w258-h400/HulkBigbw.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZrNNec60_lLM_eksTfZiYCEFgRzgOn0REAIrHGBV9qC1Ipvv3rJue5FKYyyPSmlS9hSAqpas3hJu7LB-5I77aT5CUw2lV8aDNyErpIzyK_aCHmxIQ9dOrl3X5ahMiq2gIjmgCjLsIFUJolsgPYItz4-ZFemciHlBaw8C_EhmMG6IKpzKU5egd536CvXK/s967/Petunia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="967" data-original-width="603" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZrNNec60_lLM_eksTfZiYCEFgRzgOn0REAIrHGBV9qC1Ipvv3rJue5FKYyyPSmlS9hSAqpas3hJu7LB-5I77aT5CUw2lV8aDNyErpIzyK_aCHmxIQ9dOrl3X5ahMiq2gIjmgCjLsIFUJolsgPYItz4-ZFemciHlBaw8C_EhmMG6IKpzKU5egd536CvXK/w250-h400/Petunia.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlp2yO1bo3cFKeOk49qOkpTjDdtx8Gzu6RFJRKjCLSAnq7miNiVQz67NFcJF3EEQ8hWtOMNZm9L06IYORt_S1Krmhk8ouEAeWPMDhagl9diuR3V6ZbxsQiFMJWE3xr0qyBCEAbFcSjcPH8uRysn9wq5UjddkwpcSpBp6J4tcyMLzu5wuJVq6eYbgoO6s3/s959/Princess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="631" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlp2yO1bo3cFKeOk49qOkpTjDdtx8Gzu6RFJRKjCLSAnq7miNiVQz67NFcJF3EEQ8hWtOMNZm9L06IYORt_S1Krmhk8ouEAeWPMDhagl9diuR3V6ZbxsQiFMJWE3xr0qyBCEAbFcSjcPH8uRysn9wq5UjddkwpcSpBp6J4tcyMLzu5wuJVq6eYbgoO6s3/w264-h400/Princess.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjF1At2NLJl-jn-pRf_CH2O9uNFZl-V3HFmIFwcm72QjuAMfv9oQgzwbDY_9uP96X0fRHrQF9fdABtqKdunR3cNLS0hRuB-qbB3YDfsQq6d-UWpr2d_TtGtWN07hxQ1sgsJyUvHwqQ7boqKyoAilZSCxNQbgDTLQCeuzpadipm6pFmLhlyTcFcip5ShA5/s1190/TheShroud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjF1At2NLJl-jn-pRf_CH2O9uNFZl-V3HFmIFwcm72QjuAMfv9oQgzwbDY_9uP96X0fRHrQF9fdABtqKdunR3cNLS0hRuB-qbB3YDfsQq6d-UWpr2d_TtGtWN07hxQ1sgsJyUvHwqQ7boqKyoAilZSCxNQbgDTLQCeuzpadipm6pFmLhlyTcFcip5ShA5/w235-h400/TheShroud.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-86707598438849801122024-01-15T14:13:00.002-05:002024-01-15T14:13:26.164-05:00Fanart Sketchbook<p>Daler-Rowney makes these little 3.5x5.5 inch sketchbooks. Black covers, 48 pages front and back. They are fun to draw in, so I have started buying them in packs of 6.</p><p>I did one recently that was just fanart of characters I like, or ones I just found interesting to draw. The Thing, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain Carrot, Warduke, etc.</p><p>My other reason for doing this one was to just focus on using the Sailor Profit brush pen, practicing line control, figuring out the range of that tool Nice experiment. I've come to love that pen quite a bit. Especially with the Kiwaguro ink instead of the default ink that comes with it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibATnljBIH1C4UbgsUbdU6l1_reib9x_bpz_ZJbqsUrSZk9eEYeO6xg-Z40lZyZc2bw8M5oAMdkhwyaoc0Txs9gLZegtVqch-A0pUqAZsG0BS_-O8ZQVHkCAnpJgodkd8yWuh9kTNkCM2ufCBHhJ_5KmC1IOnTbv-MGar9wF4SR0jzeRKX2mQ79SPLWpKd/s996/2024-Hulk01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibATnljBIH1C4UbgsUbdU6l1_reib9x_bpz_ZJbqsUrSZk9eEYeO6xg-Z40lZyZc2bw8M5oAMdkhwyaoc0Txs9gLZegtVqch-A0pUqAZsG0BS_-O8ZQVHkCAnpJgodkd8yWuh9kTNkCM2ufCBHhJ_5KmC1IOnTbv-MGar9wF4SR0jzeRKX2mQ79SPLWpKd/w281-h400/2024-Hulk01.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDe99p17AsCjYDb-adiL9Jx08ky0MkKdBUxPuJIDedt7XO0lVWfXlJKHwwOt_IH1XddXez4CE-FoqTcrbqmTqFd_Q_Zf5C0AwKcHogCe1F-UGtf0X_OMxxhx_NKuaotBDIloc2Jmo55qFDBja8j_QuzRzr2b8le1KXU-65GX-WjQTJenohnUXvoZV8JS8/s1182/CaptCarrot2024col.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPX5rL-ovQ70facb_XCWXUIBRK68bcTDm-0FdU2x6idcMCnD8A69lSEvyAucWhrwqrLkOPUnmm6DMu_H6Du9wdgjsIM7_8W3K_Z1N354UgqNtNlnoFxvpsKKqVxCx4wJQ_b3KG219Tk6Qdqm5OTX5mCHuHBYiwCo198vAjEhUTyiRipQ4_EwC5TWTrOLua/w256-h400/PigIron2024-col-pic.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6igxzQkccmvWIceWwKUpBVJumW7Oa882h9unQ6EzSJaiBwwPTAHGvezBHOlmJCe7pe7QsieDhDLBnjVU4Vm3x40IYzxNZmvEei0HSevbOhB9QbOpq07joPM9_2racUQ5AKgUG1TnKewJJpYiKf-MIIGffI1-KbChV4eox1LH4nzb1Sfb3w6wonOOCovij/s1016/SavageDragon2024-01-colpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6igxzQkccmvWIceWwKUpBVJumW7Oa882h9unQ6EzSJaiBwwPTAHGvezBHOlmJCe7pe7QsieDhDLBnjVU4Vm3x40IYzxNZmvEei0HSevbOhB9QbOpq07joPM9_2racUQ5AKgUG1TnKewJJpYiKf-MIIGffI1-KbChV4eox1LH4nzb1Sfb3w6wonOOCovij/w275-h400/SavageDragon2024-01-colpic.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorAskVB28AwC9n-RYuHvCc_tHCfeDpadHRSxUc8TMsp7osaE9T9xnBh9B0j6CaoUlwdCeWMOONWz7P5e9FnVBD6WORKC_8X1J0Qlv3kMXXCrVdh0aXj4QbxuOXMH_SS-fMK-LzG3MZV8Q1LFXSuCIA6P7DGopKXvMuAKpIIrS4L5F77WKFL6nT39w3aV-/s890/TheThing2024-color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="890" data-original-width="575" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorAskVB28AwC9n-RYuHvCc_tHCfeDpadHRSxUc8TMsp7osaE9T9xnBh9B0j6CaoUlwdCeWMOONWz7P5e9FnVBD6WORKC_8X1J0Qlv3kMXXCrVdh0aXj4QbxuOXMH_SS-fMK-LzG3MZV8Q1LFXSuCIA6P7DGopKXvMuAKpIIrS4L5F77WKFL6nT39w3aV-/w259-h400/TheThing2024-color.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl68FuE-COyC4_kzUoawO32CbgVPQH6bV6qnOzxl8DplfMJov4ByRNOo3ZyIAalxWFIVUDf99IyHQi52W0jorPLWLuRwSI7lFadR8Z23RksKmtyesXTVO5d6F1-HgD_-kuPzITJzO22oafk66HT_oReJlUvm0okSb7xRPZHdIXrhqcVkTRlAON6sa-9hSh/s976/Warduke2024-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl68FuE-COyC4_kzUoawO32CbgVPQH6bV6qnOzxl8DplfMJov4ByRNOo3ZyIAalxWFIVUDf99IyHQi52W0jorPLWLuRwSI7lFadR8Z23RksKmtyesXTVO5d6F1-HgD_-kuPzITJzO22oafk66HT_oReJlUvm0okSb7xRPZHdIXrhqcVkTRlAON6sa-9hSh/w288-h400/Warduke2024-01.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-57928038219244637722024-01-07T10:00:00.007-05:002024-01-07T10:00:00.251-05:00Brush Pens Part Two<p>See <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2024/01/brush-pens-part-one.html">here for Part One</a>.</p><p>I started talking about brush pens without clarifying a basic point. I use them because they are very, very convenient. You can, of course, just use a traditional round brush and dip it in your ink of choice. Nothing stopping you at all. Hell, I might get back into fully traditional brushes before all is said and done. I certainly cut my teeth on sable rounds back in the day. I remember dropping a whopping $5 on a Kolinsky #5 round when I was 20 and I thought it was super expensive. For 1991... it was.</p><p>But back to brush pens...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzwDwSyJkVx10yml2OZtyf0gUqBEKya2vQNF1Aht6XqyEs4UCWppWqRBePMUOSMCkU1G1ExD15bPeybtEjIDbM1nJtjRFpioT9RYWDgqoC6t5CnlF80Iv1ED1gXLx3sVn5Z0B_79jPig-dP9cnitDWQkeLtiLcl7PyBvoGiPEc-hUG8rybmdBJuOticIh/s1067/Yongsheng3009-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="569" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzwDwSyJkVx10yml2OZtyf0gUqBEKya2vQNF1Aht6XqyEs4UCWppWqRBePMUOSMCkU1G1ExD15bPeybtEjIDbM1nJtjRFpioT9RYWDgqoC6t5CnlF80Iv1ED1gXLx3sVn5Z0B_79jPig-dP9cnitDWQkeLtiLcl7PyBvoGiPEc-hUG8rybmdBJuOticIh/w427-h569/Yongsheng3009-01.jpg" width="427" /></a></div><br /><p>I wanna talk about a Chinese pen. I picked up a 3-pack of Yongsheng 3009 brush pens recently. My understanding is that there are several versions of this tool produced by various Chinese companies. I don't know. I just know I got a set labelled Yongsheng in a 3-pack for like $15 and holy shit they are worth every penny.</p><p></p><p>So far I have only used 1 of the 3. This is not a set of various tips, mind you. It's a pack of 3 identical pens. The body is clear and very nicely designed with a built-in piston refill mechanism. You don't use a cartridge or ink converter with this thing. You just stick the tip into your jar of ink and twist the piston to fill it up.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EOKIG32igHpMAdmUSV_HL91ZJPJgXw0KxxGKNeoesiOSUWOfxId4bX9plEeUAv_F2jAvQACPJIBVqiydxlo6cpn6BSQ0YNgXxQ0J44WXlfrCoUCyA8FZjvdfQaY1CsUtJKuEotwZ0a1sADdvw_c2DofIrmB1Ge_MNUj25dGzjSTY7kU0mqXERxL-QK_P/s1067/Yongsheng3009-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EOKIG32igHpMAdmUSV_HL91ZJPJgXw0KxxGKNeoesiOSUWOfxId4bX9plEeUAv_F2jAvQACPJIBVqiydxlo6cpn6BSQ0YNgXxQ0J44WXlfrCoUCyA8FZjvdfQaY1CsUtJKuEotwZ0a1sADdvw_c2DofIrmB1Ge_MNUj25dGzjSTY7kU0mqXERxL-QK_P/w435-h580/Yongsheng3009-04.jpg" width="435" /></a></div><br /><p>The tip is good. Synthetic fiber, decent tip coming to a fairly fine point. Not as delicate as a Kuretake or Pentel, but pretty good. Nice feel. The grip has a triangular shape, so it feels pretty good.</p><p></p><p>The flow is very different from other brush pens. At first, it will flow heavily. Almost too heavily. Then it will start to give you a lot of dry brush lines. Here's the key. Twist that piston one time. It has a tactile feedback that lets you know when it has been twisted once (great feature). That will force some ink down into the feed. Because it is clear, you can see the ink hit the feed. It will immediately flow out the tip. Do not twist more than once! It will flow too heavily and drip on your paper! One twist is all you need.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg634AQEQcemoF8nlUnBPXe3teUH3ZaknhoBb8GAYvZdrJSgryPH3QGiJ_C9SmCKtMuPjzuaWuqCnQDNocUExEfKh1m4X7jmwO-tJFksvxSaaCVEfHz8mp-VMAeuHJ927tUWzLd0sw2fGPRXMIqERivoHez-qCYkkREjVPHjXZueELZnxB5srqniR-HEPt4/s1067/Yongsheng3009-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="569" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg634AQEQcemoF8nlUnBPXe3teUH3ZaknhoBb8GAYvZdrJSgryPH3QGiJ_C9SmCKtMuPjzuaWuqCnQDNocUExEfKh1m4X7jmwO-tJFksvxSaaCVEfHz8mp-VMAeuHJ927tUWzLd0sw2fGPRXMIqERivoHez-qCYkkREjVPHjXZueELZnxB5srqniR-HEPt4/w427-h569/Yongsheng3009-05.jpg" width="427" /></a></div><br /><p>I have been doodling with this thing quite a bit and so far I gotta say it is quite good. I've refilled it only once so far (it holds a fair amount of ink). I will report back later to let you know how the tip holds up. So far, so good. Very nice, responsive, good-feeling tool that is frankly quite cheap. At $15 a set, these are basically $5-$7 each depending on shipping and all that. Very, very cheap for a reusable tool like this. </p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-51428604275993031522024-01-06T22:59:00.006-05:002024-01-06T23:07:49.459-05:00Brush Pens Part One<p>Sometime in late 2022 or so I started to get back into drawing on paper more than drawing on my digital tablet. I can't remember what caused me to switch over but it stuck and I've been drawing almost exclusively traditionally for over a year. I started drawing on a tablet maybe around 2009 and was almost exclusively digital for a decade, sans some trad work I did for Goodman Games here and there. It's very nice to get back to the ink stains and feel of paper.</p><p>This has lead me to explore traditional tools again. When I left off in 2009, my jam was mostly Pitt brush pens with Paris paper for pens (a magical combo, try it out!). These days I'm leaning much harder into "real" brushes via natural hair or synthetic fiber brush pens. So I wanted to do this post or series of posts about brush pens.</p><p>First, if you don't know what a brush pen is, allow me to elaborate.</p><p>A brush pen is a pen that has a natural hair or synthetic fiber tip. It is a brush. It's not a fake brush. It's just a brush. If you've ever used a paint brush, then this is just that. But the difference is that the ink (or watercolor or whatever) is in the pen body and feeds by gravity like a fountain pen. These are essentially or identically like fountain pens, but they have brush tips.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVHePGsChUm7lvc9xnTB37sXnnJxjSWZVX5iDBE76CRF6TktqedgxkjvvYV0z4pRRDv4h0mZw6f_sFY_YsXo_4DMF5XBuFKOltRr80HKO7TiMeXhltT0X9cTwMaBGlPHJ0OMFQv4LAKtlaIaaF0srVvBhpqimZMtZFOQApfi-BEtrQdCHERxXiOByuLdU_" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1264" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVHePGsChUm7lvc9xnTB37sXnnJxjSWZVX5iDBE76CRF6TktqedgxkjvvYV0z4pRRDv4h0mZw6f_sFY_YsXo_4DMF5XBuFKOltRr80HKO7TiMeXhltT0X9cTwMaBGlPHJ0OMFQv4LAKtlaIaaF0srVvBhpqimZMtZFOQApfi-BEtrQdCHERxXiOByuLdU_=w374-h166" width="374" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a felt tip brush pen looks like after a few uses.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Now, I need to be clear here. Because there are tons of disposable brush pens that are not actually brushes. They don't have hairs or fibers, they have felt tips. The Pitt, Micron, and Copic Miltiliner brush pens are not "real brushes" in that they are felt tips shaped like a brush. They are called brush pens, and that's fine. I'm not here to gatekeep these wonderful disposable tools. I used them a ton. Just wanted to be clear about what I'm referring to. Herein when I say "brush pen" I do in fact mean brushes with hairs or other fibers, not felt tips.</p><p><b>THE USUAL SUSPECTS</b></p><p>There are a small handful of brush pens that get talked about the most. They are the most common and easiest to get your hands on. Here's a short list of them.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvN09F6w7SF96BBcl1BYgRIJAHfd6c1w6llGDAsz2nlQGXnOJjL6PHjHpwgRzzhFdv7IfFYsfU0ZR5fYClCZ1xj-y1dMhiTU1wVwFYQsskViAYEPVmACJrkJ_LNW_opQcxfOSDYbzw52XWrORXLOPsqphRrgkYJGI7ov2t7CBrToz-avq1oQ604c5haN5V" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="1324" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvN09F6w7SF96BBcl1BYgRIJAHfd6c1w6llGDAsz2nlQGXnOJjL6PHjHpwgRzzhFdv7IfFYsfU0ZR5fYClCZ1xj-y1dMhiTU1wVwFYQsskViAYEPVmACJrkJ_LNW_opQcxfOSDYbzw52XWrORXLOPsqphRrgkYJGI7ov2t7CBrToz-avq1oQ604c5haN5V=w377-h125" width="377" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pentel Pocket Brush Pen</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Pentel Pocket Brush: I think this is the most common one. I bought one in the mid-2000s and loved it. I still have that one and even though it sat unused for a decade it's still a good brush pen to this day. This little bastard is great. The tip is synthetic fibers but very durable, from what I can tell. The tip is super responsive, the flow is good, and you can get super thin lines or fat ones if you want. It's biggest downfall is that it is not designed to take an ink converter... meaning you have to use the Pentel ink cartridges designed for it. That's fine. They are not very expensive and the ink is pretty good. And, hint hint, you can refill them with a blunt syringe or hack an ink converter to be used with them. It's not hard to do. This one is around $15. Worth it.<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_p2LB7oz0jlH_LB6K74c_oCvCvCYlTUmlBMVqMUgv_AwSXvHDbw2CRrmxtrIo-LXDQ0Tvc_hM-KpzgyRm3Y1yOBxI3TGaTw5paCxQMnRFG2ZfUruwhGJmmyjDBta-FIpQ_jnmGB32biekd67LMATpx8QIXpHdw8hx3SY8IlHY_BIEamB2pVxhc5YuhsdV" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="1184" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_p2LB7oz0jlH_LB6K74c_oCvCvCYlTUmlBMVqMUgv_AwSXvHDbw2CRrmxtrIo-LXDQ0Tvc_hM-KpzgyRm3Y1yOBxI3TGaTw5paCxQMnRFG2ZfUruwhGJmmyjDBta-FIpQ_jnmGB32biekd67LMATpx8QIXpHdw8hx3SY8IlHY_BIEamB2pVxhc5YuhsdV=w387-h169" width="387" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sailor Profit Brush Pen</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sailor Profit: I'm not sure how popular this one is, but I see it reviewed a lot next to the Pentel. So I think it's fairly widely popular but not nearly as easy to find as the Pentel. I love this pen. The body is thicker than a typical pen body, being based on the "profit" pen body style: a cigar shape that is a bit thicker and feels better in the hand. The tip is a very nice synthetic brush, very responsive and easy to get a fat line out of. I don't think it holds the super fine tip as long as the Pentel, but honestly I prefer the Sailor over the Pentel. This one is about $20 or so. Worth it, I think.<p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJ8oNQLINuhBUF0LQhEjnGtBb0XVWY10Xa8iTmh1c_iw694gwgxnFWkYDIej_-eymEn2W5n2-2OkcbZt4DxrlYRfNcNBhLMAm367Y5SCacsY5-ML5hTniK3qa4gkLd_6w86jpgqxrCt7j8a8fqt-2TuYpCSsdSXhx-vX5ojdkBTYQMMSMm-MFTDS2wlTu1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="1565" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJ8oNQLINuhBUF0LQhEjnGtBb0XVWY10Xa8iTmh1c_iw694gwgxnFWkYDIej_-eymEn2W5n2-2OkcbZt4DxrlYRfNcNBhLMAm367Y5SCacsY5-ML5hTniK3qa4gkLd_6w86jpgqxrCt7j8a8fqt-2TuYpCSsdSXhx-vX5ojdkBTYQMMSMm-MFTDS2wlTu1" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuretake 50</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_K5OYTICdryJ8AexmaTNEjOC66S6lLcxBxEcgcVnStHAGxOW1O78FiAKLfqmSgwFm6AdTwlZug9zFVNe5e7waWJU4AK6EpwVxLW-K6l_RAyv8Gpzzm1SSqEj7OxS8J1mNGdqmgfWIA4zQfDNEvWwYSwfs9COBFv4AjlNrLCMCuwD_JRzIYvgCCQfIUbpV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="1270" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_K5OYTICdryJ8AexmaTNEjOC66S6lLcxBxEcgcVnStHAGxOW1O78FiAKLfqmSgwFm6AdTwlZug9zFVNe5e7waWJU4AK6EpwVxLW-K6l_RAyv8Gpzzm1SSqEj7OxS8J1mNGdqmgfWIA4zQfDNEvWwYSwfs9COBFv4AjlNrLCMCuwD_JRzIYvgCCQfIUbpV" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3BFUhmF6PVXS186iXnui2tX-B_LNYQUFOztBqJ9AolGUlfevsUS8f28QBPDIU4RU7_inZi5nhAVmlAokq5mLXW21GOC_rYZtn4llEMMkSex9H5m692jKfCUpVHXvkJWvjIra82xUS1rMwjho5etNpbo-9j2sRjYu3bHtu4-j-7XOqy8eVpHfXx0hFse3-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="1285" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3BFUhmF6PVXS186iXnui2tX-B_LNYQUFOztBqJ9AolGUlfevsUS8f28QBPDIU4RU7_inZi5nhAVmlAokq5mLXW21GOC_rYZtn4llEMMkSex9H5m692jKfCUpVHXvkJWvjIra82xUS1rMwjho5etNpbo-9j2sRjYu3bHtu4-j-7XOqy8eVpHfXx0hFse3-" width="320" /></a></div><br />Kuretake 40 and 50: Kuretake makes a lot of cool stuff. The 40 is a synthetic hair brush pen while the 50 is a natural sable hair brush pen. Both are functionally the same. The 50 has a metal body, which is very nice. The 40, I think, might also have a metal body but of a different color and feel. I don't have a 40. What I noticed about the 50 is that when you post the cap it can/does scratch the coating off the body. Not a good feature. The brush tip is fantastic. It's a natural hair, so it is feels and IS just a sable brush tip. If you like a good sable brush, this is one. The flow is good. It can take an ink converter so if you don't want to use the Kuretake disposable ink cartridges you can use whatever ink you like. I had a bad experience with mine because I think the ink I was using didn't agree with the pen. I'm not sure but that sable tip is still not in good shape. I replaced it with the synthetic fiber (you can buy replacement tips). Good tool, but finicky. Price is high (like $40-$50 range). I'm not sure it's worth it. Very good tool, pleasure to draw with. If you have disposable cash, then go for it. But honestly the use of this tool is not much better than a Pentel.<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrIU1_V1pdn_wUVW-bBJMyIRcjFsbZ5sgFndgggidWBNQplz6qsC90Tloppe7_S0ho1BJ9slaGQNDiirwUzJ3k8YNt_Cl_wTWOlyF_W6fGd5rj9Pe9wZP60LLclNb_72X2OksO9oLaHxCpfXfl602NkcZQDViI80rkKhmVkRw_ZUcZKp4S9WI01VfSYnRL" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="1541" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrIU1_V1pdn_wUVW-bBJMyIRcjFsbZ5sgFndgggidWBNQplz6qsC90Tloppe7_S0ho1BJ9slaGQNDiirwUzJ3k8YNt_Cl_wTWOlyF_W6fGd5rj9Pe9wZP60LLclNb_72X2OksO9oLaHxCpfXfl602NkcZQDViI80rkKhmVkRw_ZUcZKp4S9WI01VfSYnRL=w457-h130" width="457" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pentel Fude</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Pentel Fude: This is a simpler brush pen with a disposable ink body (you can buy replacements or you can refill them with a little simple ingenuity). It's the type that you can squeeze in order to get more ink into the brush. It has a longer brush tip than the others, slightly narrower. Gives a very fine line. It's fun to play with. Price point is around $7, so not too bad. Well worth picking one up. When the ink runs out, either buy a new ink barrel or pry off the top of the barrel with a knife and squirt some ink into it.<p></p><p>So... out of these, the big dogs of brush pens, I gotta say I love the Sailor best. And it's really down to the feel. It just feels better in the hand. But popular opinion is that Pentel kicks ass. And that is not wrong. You can't fail with any of these. If you're on a tight budget, get yourself a Pentel Pocket if you can. Barring that, get the Pentel Fude and just refill it on your own.</p><p>But there's more to this story. Next up: some alternates. One of them being even less expensive and more useful than the Pentel Fude.</p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-31892283113360074812024-01-06T00:05:00.000-05:002024-01-06T00:05:22.085-05:00Doomslakers Zine<p>Just before I started creating the Black Pudding zine, I fiddled with different names and ideas for the project. One was Claw, Claw Bite!, which I love. But there was already a zine by that name (I think it was Pathfinder-based, if I remember correctly). I thought I went straight to Black Pudding after that, but then I just discovered a hidden, dusty folder from 2016 called "Doomslakers Zine". Had a couple of files in it, including this cover concept.</p><p>Of course, this art was used for Black Pudding #2. But I guess I had the idea to call it Doomslakers first. Not sure why I didn't go with that, since it would have aligned nicely with this blog. But I guess I always felt like the name "Doomslakers" wasn't epic enough. I think it's a grand ole name, and kind of funny. But that's just me.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi92QPnzxrVbV5Xm95Egm8YoOkyROSycMlbXiMrWXTJVrdLRIy12ul_L-3WoQB8slqgD1WFRTbYQnLnUMijBOqRB2enTwOhcyRpYJhjTdirKPKXLwLX_RgvWG66S5Vg0NbO-jN1ewm8NEYRp64HOExDx1HLp4qw3PVwf-8iwsgJxlJ5e3kNacuqW4a1sLf3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="661" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi92QPnzxrVbV5Xm95Egm8YoOkyROSycMlbXiMrWXTJVrdLRIy12ul_L-3WoQB8slqgD1WFRTbYQnLnUMijBOqRB2enTwOhcyRpYJhjTdirKPKXLwLX_RgvWG66S5Vg0NbO-jN1ewm8NEYRp64HOExDx1HLp4qw3PVwf-8iwsgJxlJ5e3kNacuqW4a1sLf3=w314-h409" width="314" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-11457132762934100602023-12-30T06:42:00.002-05:002023-12-30T06:42:15.523-05:00Black Pudding 8<p><b>Black Pudding</b> #8 is now live on <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/465427/Black-Pudding-8">DTRPG</a> and <a href="http://itch.io">itch.io</a>!</p><p>This moist issue features new classes (death witch, feral knight, goon royal, among others), spells, magic swords, adventures, and weirdo monsters such as the troglozyte. Glorp your copy today!</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/465427/Black-Pudding-8" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJn7MfXzDiEoET2I76o1l2bihM7IJMaknZl40_gfDcBCAu8C1ZOYi4sQi5lPSIbI0BhPCDdxED0kNg9Zllj_8r5rFoVtzjBNqwqVKRnirhIF8r2o-YH9vl9XD3LKKW1pg1R9TswDLst5MNPqNnzoEcTsKb8tSigtz00dXPWsZFetHjAdnC3qFGwyz5GYP/w309-h400/BP08-Cover.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hymla the Horn vs. the Eye Am cult</td></tr></tbody></table><br />PDF available now. Stay tuned for announcements about print copies, once those details are decided.<br /> </p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-67483212588069834882023-12-16T19:58:00.003-05:002023-12-16T19:58:32.691-05:00Loom Character Class<p>From my Witch Valley B/X campaign, the Loom.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RS_HyZ38j51KRNyfWVg_qB0zbQWSsdyM1ejvspKZ71sCGrdSNDUBjr1S0JWLXXPTOHTOwpRKPNJJCdDgNdeqZ5Wss0nHxaQ18v_mjl6ZWZWW9mdo_FdASw8dQBNHUB-DcEAoOSBC7Mmdho7fbbEyDFWvGaYK2bN91cKMUWHTgy1rU-cdj7v8SJc9JRbw/s784/loom-color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="784" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-RS_HyZ38j51KRNyfWVg_qB0zbQWSsdyM1ejvspKZ71sCGrdSNDUBjr1S0JWLXXPTOHTOwpRKPNJJCdDgNdeqZ5Wss0nHxaQ18v_mjl6ZWZWW9mdo_FdASw8dQBNHUB-DcEAoOSBC7Mmdho7fbbEyDFWvGaYK2bN91cKMUWHTgy1rU-cdj7v8SJc9JRbw/w379-h329/loom-color.jpg" width="379" /></a></div><br /><p><b>LOOM</b></p><p>The Great Loom have said nothing should be done except in its own time and by its own way. The Low Loom have said having four hands to do the work doesn’t hurt.</p><p><b>RESTRICTIONS</b></p><p>You attack as a Fighter. You can use any weapon and wear any armor created for Loom (cost is quadruple and plate mail is exceedingly rare, costing ten times the normal amount). You can use magic items usable by Fighters. Your Prime Requisite is Strength, which must be at least 13. You are 8’ tall and quite intimidating. Non-Loom reactions to you are at -2.</p><p><b>SPECIAL ABILITIES</b></p><p>Armed & Dangerous: You have four powerful arms. You can choose to make 2 melee attacks per round at a penalty of -3 per attack. At level 7 you can make 3 attacks at -3 each, or 2 at -2 each. Upon reaching level 10 you can attempt 4 melee attacks per round at -3 each, 3 attacks at -2 each, or 2 attacks at -1 each. During any round in which you attack more than once you can take no other actions, including movement. You can use two shields at the same time, gaining the -1 AC benefit of each. If you make 2 successful unarmed attacks against an opponent you can grab them. A grabbed enemy takes 1d6 points of damage per round from head butts, punches, bites, or strangulation. Only by passing a saving throw vs. paralysis can they break free.</p><p>Moon Curse: Your people tell a story about falling to earth from the Moon. When the Moon is full you are filled with strength, gaining +2 to saving throws and +1 to melee attack and damage. When the Moon is new you suffer -1 to all such rolls.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwC7eeWejHlENs_ESr-8f2pt0IMMW1VIYuz7bDCeLaGyc_UJPjUocYMms-6Vy1cvNRHPsJfyL-YTZnPkBcefN5NvsjUzMn-DBrfR7VUzWZvnQUxcGxa4ifMJzBwTIZI_kP5dOPyUFnKelPFQy5v4rwAfQrKOTEJRE2RxhggfweIs9poit14zcf6BK7WH82" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="1204" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwC7eeWejHlENs_ESr-8f2pt0IMMW1VIYuz7bDCeLaGyc_UJPjUocYMms-6Vy1cvNRHPsJfyL-YTZnPkBcefN5NvsjUzMn-DBrfR7VUzWZvnQUxcGxa4ifMJzBwTIZI_kP5dOPyUFnKelPFQy5v4rwAfQrKOTEJRE2RxhggfweIs9poit14zcf6BK7WH82=w577-h220" width="577" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-23762783353741093602023-12-16T19:54:00.002-05:002023-12-16T19:54:45.751-05:00State of the Creator<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzCZDGV6PDn0ZSmadt4PAHtwkQZ-vCC4kogViSSZXDQL7pVbwdbovQQnlS372klbnfkgh66y48v-iCp-3R-XBWJ8dApGmluRkpbqsnXWHohrDY6SuP4Swgrt4JqqNVsVNG4rOz9KNBG76sdgC5e_iO8PWoWHkyP-HYFdUW8dTmig0xXBrnCLQTWUzNpqPd" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzCZDGV6PDn0ZSmadt4PAHtwkQZ-vCC4kogViSSZXDQL7pVbwdbovQQnlS372klbnfkgh66y48v-iCp-3R-XBWJ8dApGmluRkpbqsnXWHohrDY6SuP4Swgrt4JqqNVsVNG4rOz9KNBG76sdgC5e_iO8PWoWHkyP-HYFdUW8dTmig0xXBrnCLQTWUzNpqPd=w504-h284" width="504" /></a></div><br />Lately I've been scattered, disorganized, and chaotic. But I'm still drawing and still creating. I never stop. For this I am grateful. The image above is a scattershot of things I've drawn in the past month or two. Maybe a couple are from a few months ago.<p></p><p>One thing that is becoming increasingly clear to me, on the whole creative front, is that I need to stop thinking about doing stuff and just do stuff. One of my big problems was, after GOZR, I didn't want to devote myself to such an intense project again for a while. I was like... y'know... just do traditional fucking layouts with text and fonts.</p><p>But I haven't been doing those. So it kind of stands to reason that I should just lean into what I know how to do best and stop fucking around. Meaning: Draw more pages and make little books. It's the one thing I love to do more than anything else and the only reason I don't do it more is because I'm constantly second-guessing myself.</p><p>No, this is not a New Year's resolution. I don't do those.</p><p>Ideas on the table that already have some progress and that I could/should finish:</p><p><b>Black Pudding 8: </b>Mostly finished.</p><p><b>ZSF: </b>Tons of work put into it, but depending on final form it is either half done or barely started.</p><p><b>Blood Red Pinup Book: </b>This one is done. I have a 64 page book all fixed up. I just need to get it printed and offer it up for sale.</p><p><b>Rock Hardy Book of Dwarfs: </b>Literally finished, including layout, other than doing maybe 3 additional drawings. I just can't muster the energy to do it. I fear it is just a meh book.</p><p><b>GOZR Adventure Book: </b>This is an idea for which I have a few pages. I know people have asked for some GOZR adventures and I just haven't been able to return to that game with the same passion. I think because I poured so much time and effort into it I'm just finished, for now. I gave it my all. I made a complete game book. The idea was that you'd make your own adventures.</p><p>Sorry, this is a bit of a random and slightly bitchy post. I'm honestly not in a bad mood. I'm just not focused, which is becoming more and more troubling.</p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-83825125868606079032023-11-18T13:39:00.001-05:002023-11-18T13:39:42.381-05:00GOZR: Threat Dice<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJG-NEYaDiZJKZwiQZKXywe404zfmX2cgPkeSUXwlofSpiKFzu_wJPOv6XcpfVxiufyGdr4lH9-rqqHL_jVpv765XMg7Fq58BDQD4RNg7y5GHyL7wdSp8gx5bFK5L_cUgnquw8w-KvhXudzB1Y24C7wqACggCAa-5Nmarpd-3tYYJqTkdaCeJxRoXAqSHj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="800" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJG-NEYaDiZJKZwiQZKXywe404zfmX2cgPkeSUXwlofSpiKFzu_wJPOv6XcpfVxiufyGdr4lH9-rqqHL_jVpv765XMg7Fq58BDQD4RNg7y5GHyL7wdSp8gx5bFK5L_cUgnquw8w-KvhXudzB1Y24C7wqACggCAa-5Nmarpd-3tYYJqTkdaCeJxRoXAqSHj=w452-h157" width="452" /></a></div><br />I just listened to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9dXI3_rsoA&ab_channel=MythicMountainsRPG">an actual play of GOZR here</a> and it was a hoot, a blast, and a lot of fun. The GM was quick-thinking and had a nice old-west voice going on. He made some good choices too, such as when a player used the vulgar spell Doubt. He had the player make a Magic Roll and if successful he was able to declare what happened.<p></p><p>Anyway, one thing they did kind of surprised me. The GM said that NPCs and monsters basically can't attack or anything unless it is indicated on the Threat Dice. I am not sure if this was a house rule or just a misinterpretation of the game rules.</p><p>I went back and re-read page 41 (Creatures). My intention for Threat Dice was that they represent <b>extra</b> things a creature might do. In a sense, this is like GOOZ points for monsters but isn't a limited resource and is less potent. Examples given: Take half damage, take instant action, resist vulgar magic.</p><p>But creatures are actors in a scene, just like PCs, and should be able to attack and move and use items normally, regardless of Threat Dice rolls. If your crew is attacked by water-dwelling krolguin, which they were in the actual play, the creatures would get to make attacks each round. They have 2d6 Threat Dice. So the GM would roll 2d6 each round an if a 1-2 is indicated, then one or more of the creatures would do an extra thing, such as shake off half damage on an attack or something unexpected like whip out its own vulgar magic spell.</p><p>Also, the special abilities listed for each creature are not limited to Threat. For example, the ickmuck's claws cause sickness. This is not a Threat action, it's just what happens. Any time a gooz is clawed by an ickmuck, they player should probably make a Prowess check to avoid falling sick. If they fail, then they should roll on the Sickness table on page 8 to see how bad it is.</p><p>One thing I noticed in this actual play was that the PCs were slaughtering singular enemies with ease. This is because I wanted combat to go quickly! I wanted to have one-shot-kills. The balancing factor is that creatures, especially in numbers, can quickly destroy the PCs via Threat and by high damage rolls.</p><p>Let's look at the krolguin again.</p><p>You encounter them. GM rolls 3d6 for pack size and gets 12. Each one has 4 HP (or 1d8). If you're using a 1d6 damage weapon, you're going to be doing about 7 to 10 points of damage per hit, on average. You're probably going to kill a krolguin with each strike.</p><p>But there are 12 of them. Each round the GM rolls 2d6 for Threat, so very frequently a Threat will occur. Maybe a few of them grab the boat and capsize it. Maybe one of them is a wizard and casts something nasty like Lightning Strike. Things can go wrong very quickly!</p><p>But PCs are resilient and have GOOZ to spend. Also, monsters may fail a Morale Check and run away (this happened in the actual play). There are many ways a GM can leverage the rules to make encounters more brutal or less brutal, as the game-story needs.</p><p>Anyway, just some quick thoughts. I should start considering a revision of the rules with a few clarifying bits. What is in my head doesn't always come across on the page as clearly as I think it does.</p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-69127711992302924532023-11-13T12:13:00.001-05:002023-11-13T12:13:40.970-05:00My RPG Folder is a Mole Rat and It Is Naked<p>A continuation of the fine, fine tradition of randomly opening PDFs in my massive library of RPG PDFs and dashing out my off-the-cuff first impressions. I do this every so often, such as <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2022/07/i-married-my-rpg-folder-but-it-aint.html">here</a>, <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2021/10/i-shot-my-rpg-folder.html">here</a>, <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-rpg-folder-from-heck.html">here</a>, and <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-rpg-folder-was-too-hot.html">maybe even here</a>. And <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-rpg-folder-i-caught-in-act.html">other</a> <a href="https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-rpg-folder-in-outer-space.html">places</a> too.</p><p>Today's method: Open the folder marked "new", close eyes, click on something.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlPfQg6fBowo5crSELm36IzmfxzbXOPBHD5eA-uaREI7Z9Ty10YWSEzfnNdsRUFqCOFcjIG6f2bu-eWvJirCO0MA_XtN9CIyNgAGj37YQWbuzRMQkWXC9NqDZldhXey1oF8L98tVHWgP6ZLsvR7CbOKhPVIKGkkhtXIu2bcLBbInV9pYAN4pMdKoGufsTh" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="798" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlPfQg6fBowo5crSELm36IzmfxzbXOPBHD5eA-uaREI7Z9Ty10YWSEzfnNdsRUFqCOFcjIG6f2bu-eWvJirCO0MA_XtN9CIyNgAGj37YQWbuzRMQkWXC9NqDZldhXey1oF8L98tVHWgP6ZLsvR7CbOKhPVIKGkkhtXIu2bcLBbInV9pYAN4pMdKoGufsTh" width="308" /></a></div>The first random file I opened is a Modiphius 2d20 book called Shadow of the Sorcerer.<p></p><p>Even though I actually own physical copies of the first six Conan books in this series, I'm not terribly familiar with it. I don't know the system at all. But it's a BIG DENSE MEATY looking game and I'm intimidated.</p><p>Even though there's at least one Simon Bisley cover on this series, the thing overall just isn't barbaric enough for my blood. It looks too much like a vanilla D&D 4e or 5e fantasy game. I want blood, dammit! This feels slightly softened for some reason.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirOJb09REdb4uPBLrR9gdxViXPn69S1j4Y-d5xgcRHKa15tafoUipEd9ByRoEEBsH_1ynv9r_B_KqI9XIDkcWt7wn3DqyfLX2LAQaoDA_DVrXe6AxW53ZAB11Hx8gNKCj1RqhPBHdvcR4QofP22dMo8KhNKlKiswJzmw2xiEeDkg9zZJj1ZCQbdl4E3z-8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="946" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirOJb09REdb4uPBLrR9gdxViXPn69S1j4Y-d5xgcRHKa15tafoUipEd9ByRoEEBsH_1ynv9r_B_KqI9XIDkcWt7wn3DqyfLX2LAQaoDA_DVrXe6AxW53ZAB11Hx8gNKCj1RqhPBHdvcR4QofP22dMo8KhNKlKiswJzmw2xiEeDkg9zZJj1ZCQbdl4E3z-8=w445-h164" width="445" /></a></div><br />Next up... this looks positively fantastic. I think I probably made a post about this when I first picked it up, maybe on FB or something. Anyway, the design is like an old comic book, which I truly appreciate. The fact that the art and layout is attributed to "R. Dumb" is delicious.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCXNVKp6CBKW23NLUEBRwc0GSBOTqtITzVyRjz0tzhcFWqBzyEsRl1CwFHJJIl7Oy7CThNMNIX7RFaS_3rfTxgY8_kGlTLXTWSeekMOOMXt2hhvNa_LVbN5pU2wAplmph4my7IdO6PY9dwDO2RRzuFRk-lZUbEJ8LJkiUv_akcZEB81REU7jB6ZGc5FLcd" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="469" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCXNVKp6CBKW23NLUEBRwc0GSBOTqtITzVyRjz0tzhcFWqBzyEsRl1CwFHJJIl7Oy7CThNMNIX7RFaS_3rfTxgY8_kGlTLXTWSeekMOOMXt2hhvNa_LVbN5pU2wAplmph4my7IdO6PY9dwDO2RRzuFRk-lZUbEJ8LJkiUv_akcZEB81REU7jB6ZGc5FLcd=w216-h198" width="216" /></a></div><p></p><p><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/366458/Sermon-of-Sludge"><b>Call of Cthulhu Cosmically Horrific Comix</b> #1</a> "Sermon of Sludge" is an adventure scenario for use with the classic <b>Call of Cthulhu</b> horror RPG. Like most CoC books, this one richly outlines a situation and presents environs and characters to interact with, all leading to some nasty outcomes. In this case, a comet set to deliver some nasty stuff.</p><p>The book has a lot of pre-generated characters, plenty of maps and other handouts, and lots of fun cool art.</p><p>Definitely worth having, just to look at if nothing else.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhF7eYR4CsyKbbxyvI08o84yy7mfwPB_5vN3jPTSTc-Rh85SZuReZ5qAyMy0W0jtbvpAtVubqT2DZg5kzDWMubJfdFTsgnWfUZG15YftgGduiFh-d04Bg7T3_BKwrQYzqkBo-k-3vso79lH2tFbeVcqog2_VoYLlLR2n4tleeHL6s5Du-mm8dOMN9SmGMKQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="772" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhF7eYR4CsyKbbxyvI08o84yy7mfwPB_5vN3jPTSTc-Rh85SZuReZ5qAyMy0W0jtbvpAtVubqT2DZg5kzDWMubJfdFTsgnWfUZG15YftgGduiFh-d04Bg7T3_BKwrQYzqkBo-k-3vso79lH2tFbeVcqog2_VoYLlLR2n4tleeHL6s5Du-mm8dOMN9SmGMKQ" width="296" /></a></div><b>Goose-Gold & Goblins </b>by Patrick Stewart is in my folder. I don't remember ever seeing this or downloading it or anything. But here it is. I opened it and the first pages are just plain text. Most of this is just plain text, I think. Sans the image I posted above. Starts off by letting us know the design goals:<p></p><p></p><blockquote><p>A game you can play across generations.</p><p>Violence as a last resort</p><p>Challenge matters, threats are real</p><p>If in doubt, do it like BX</p><p>Use oral culture techniques</p><p>Avoid 3rd person, try to use ‘I’ and ‘We’</p><p>Geese are treasure</p><p>No weapons</p><p>Courtesy instead of Charisma</p><p>XP for Friends and Food</p></blockquote><p></p><p>Pretty good list. Let's you know up front what you are NOT getting into. This will not be a game of dungeon-crawling and monster-slaying. This will be a fairytale type of game, possibly kid-friendly, definitely violence-averse. Cool.</p><p>So basically this is a game with a very specific setup. You and all the other players are from the same village or family and your mom is sick. Also, the goose is missing. This is bad because geese are super important and valuable. You must help your mom and get that goose back!</p><p>And if you resort to violence anywhere near a goose you're in big trouble because those bastards have a demonic berserker rage mode.</p><p>Interesting game concept. I don't know if Patrick developed it beyond this "proto-design" doc from 2020. <a href="https://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2020/07/goose-gold-goblins.html">Here's a blog post he made about it</a>.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhR_iMPhnFpOfq9idsOI8INOKmu3D75sYDH51knSBMHljT1tJT62Q00kKr-IwE2fgeMYUOcK1vui_xYDnwhYOetDqL4_vIHR7_d1KjZmiqr-Qw8HkUi564ahc24qr83dwqizjBBuRlgdP-C7wuL18l16U_CUgDRe-CYXK8S6bkau5aol19S62AGnWIWO25o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="518" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhR_iMPhnFpOfq9idsOI8INOKmu3D75sYDH51knSBMHljT1tJT62Q00kKr-IwE2fgeMYUOcK1vui_xYDnwhYOetDqL4_vIHR7_d1KjZmiqr-Qw8HkUi564ahc24qr83dwqizjBBuRlgdP-C7wuL18l16U_CUgDRe-CYXK8S6bkau5aol19S62AGnWIWO25o" width="320" /></a></div><p><b style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/301475/Oldskull-Game-Expansions-Book-I--Character-Creation">Oldskull Game Epansions I: Character Creation</a> </b>by Kent David Kelly is a big fat book of character creation optional rules, tables, and clarifications of existing rules for Old School Essentials, or really any B/X style game. It's got lots of ability score rolling methods, exceptional ability score rules, tables for appearance, alignment and deities, personality, skills, etc. The list goes on.</p><p></p><p>The book looks fine. It might suffer a little from over-production, IMHO. It has a slight tinge of that early desktop publishing era mania where you felt like you had to use all the buttons on the program. But maybe that's unfair of me. It does not have a garish watermark and the font is easy to read. So I'll back off that a bit. It looks fine. I just don't like the header and footer very much. Something about them is too busy for what the book is and is trying to do.</p><p>It has a lot of art, which seems to be a mix of public domain and clip art. And it's all good stuff. I think this is a nice little resource to have in your back pocket if you're gonna run some straight-up D&D type shit.<br /><br /><br /></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-53745736970952855182023-11-12T11:00:00.001-05:002023-11-12T11:00:00.132-05:00Tool Talk<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsDzESRqccMuD_3cZXQzuY95flb4H970VTh16NIfScOdtsXmrvlge_OmBi_sfJD1yKBsJ9Th-Lh3iFsY_iQMyb41Z-tDfdBYtEpD0tswn7pFDv06WNlB-mNjQeZwvmE6DpPLmmobM_clFcHUF8_qZyQgXJ4NqQ6iH-vcldtwaIiUTTlokIDAaW_qnVQ4k/s1046/hoof-cov-posing.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsDzESRqccMuD_3cZXQzuY95flb4H970VTh16NIfScOdtsXmrvlge_OmBi_sfJD1yKBsJ9Th-Lh3iFsY_iQMyb41Z-tDfdBYtEpD0tswn7pFDv06WNlB-mNjQeZwvmE6DpPLmmobM_clFcHUF8_qZyQgXJ4NqQ6iH-vcldtwaIiUTTlokIDAaW_qnVQ4k/s320/hoof-cov-posing.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Digital drawing I like.</td></tr></tbody></table>In 2009 I got my first pen tablet. It was a Wacom Bamboo, very small. I loved it so much I upgraded to a Wacom Intuos 4 medium tablet about a year later. I loved that one so much it's still on my desk right now, still in use, still working hard. What a god damn beautiful piece of equipment.<p></p><p>Anyway, prior to going digital I was deeply invested in my art tools. I obsessed over pens and brushes and brush pens and papers. In the 2000s I found that my favorite combination was a mechanical pencil (HB) + PITT brush pen + PITT or Micron .05 pen + Prismacolor markers + Paris Paper for Pens. This was the winning combo on which I drew all of my Pan-Gea art.</p><p>I went digital and found it to be so convenient and forgiving I just couldn't bring myself to draw on paper again for years. I mean YEARS. I had a brief period in the 2010s when I was drawing on paper quite a bit, doing stuff for Goodman Games and what-not (they had a no-digital art policy). After that, I switch back and forth but mostly drew digitally. The entirety of GOZR and about 50% of Black Pudding was created using my tablet.</p><p>But in late 2022 I suddenly started drawing on paper again. I can't even remember what happened to<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJRL1qi9bwoISHHDOlc4OUaz7WTDFZO4NAVdMcCTuMaiHmhODTu6DY3_95SgxmnHDunD6aa848F49IchXHDsQls1h1RCGxrC1FqfIpucJagpymJICOR_3h2Emrogz2e-5EvmDf4Y2dhZa7hGJe5sZ7azPzo0du-WRKfrPgeuKLoladGiJMVwBZFd8AAlI/s1018/SnotSlug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJRL1qi9bwoISHHDOlc4OUaz7WTDFZO4NAVdMcCTuMaiHmhODTu6DY3_95SgxmnHDunD6aa848F49IchXHDsQls1h1RCGxrC1FqfIpucJagpymJICOR_3h2Emrogz2e-5EvmDf4Y2dhZa7hGJe5sZ7azPzo0du-WRKfrPgeuKLoladGiJMVwBZFd8AAlI/s320/SnotSlug.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snot slug with Pentel brush.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> make me switch. But since then, probably 95% of my art has been done traditionally. Almost all of the art I've created for ZSF (my space fantasy game) is on paper.</p><p>In the past week or two I've been sorting all my tools. I have a LOT OF TOOLS. Like, copious numbers of markers, pens, and brush pens. Nibs and brushes. Inks and papers. Some of these had to go away because they were dried out. But others were fine, some just needed a little TLC.</p><p>The tools on my desk right now that I'm favoring:</p><p><a href="https://www.pentel.com/products/pocket-brush-pen-with-2-black-refills">Pentel Pocket Brush Pen</a></p><p><a href="https://www.faber-castell.com/products/art-and-graphic/pitt-artist-pens">PITT Brush Pens</a></p><p><a href="https://www.jetpens.com/Sailor-Profit-Brush-Pen-Medium/pd/8822">Sailor Profit Brush Pen</a></p><p>And I just revitalized an old fountain pen by Sensa and it has a deliciously smooth line... but it is unreliable as hell. In fact... it stopped working entirely and I can't seem to fix the damn thing.</p><p>I picked up a <a href="https://www.jetpens.com/Kuretake-No.-50-Fountain-Brush-Pen-Bristles-Tortoiseshell-Gold/pd/3960">Kuratake brush pen (#50)</a> and it's a dream too. Though, honestly, the line quality isn't any better than the much less expensive Pentel. The main difference is the Kuratake can take an ink converter so you don't have to rely on disposable refills. And it has a metal tube, which feels good.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUfN_EhbSrzq3NX0EcoGeeIlfhrotcFXeXGvI_EaVyw8_wlc-JTYawva49dT8e2_PyKyKEoSU7Nsbn2Ofg1f8TZ-JDFNl73McwmOGEZTNEr9H-p1uDuiHMZ2y2QAR0G0oo5XIdZlf6GerxRkxyr65mIf3NmtC4H3bEsrqJiVvwqVw5RB_JlPXIfB7vwdll" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUfN_EhbSrzq3NX0EcoGeeIlfhrotcFXeXGvI_EaVyw8_wlc-JTYawva49dT8e2_PyKyKEoSU7Nsbn2Ofg1f8TZ-JDFNl73McwmOGEZTNEr9H-p1uDuiHMZ2y2QAR0G0oo5XIdZlf6GerxRkxyr65mIf3NmtC4H3bEsrqJiVvwqVw5RB_JlPXIfB7vwdll" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuretake #50 brush pen (not my art or pic).</td></tr></tbody></table><br />But I really do love that Sailor Profit brush pen's feel. Though it is a plastic tube, it has the shape and thickness that feels best in my hand. The only issue I have with that one is that the brush tip itself isn't as fine and precise as the Pentel or the Kuratake. It's very strange how much variation there is between these common brush pens, even though, speaking honestly, you can't go wrong with any of them.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3w0LbUu8LrMF-d7NYBYCkPEj3CDkLIBULzdRgSk9tX_4PTxq8KmEEVV39IK4VODyPgmM7OMQ4pTG4ExoKlWAsEpgatjK0988lqyTKOBESf2FzrOGUN_iscfzcDCbHM27mWor_suTCIgsHZQarG_oPUvBla2EOFuLDzO1nIwKWuJ_VNQfOSXF1Ve-asxU-" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="640" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3w0LbUu8LrMF-d7NYBYCkPEj3CDkLIBULzdRgSk9tX_4PTxq8KmEEVV39IK4VODyPgmM7OMQ4pTG4ExoKlWAsEpgatjK0988lqyTKOBESf2FzrOGUN_iscfzcDCbHM27mWor_suTCIgsHZQarG_oPUvBla2EOFuLDzO1nIwKWuJ_VNQfOSXF1Ve-asxU-" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sailor Profit brush pen feels very nice.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In my opinion, if you are interested in trying a brush pen, you absolutely <b>cannot go wrong</b> with a Pentel Pocket Brush. They are very inexpensive and have wonderful tips. However, keep in mind that the Pentel does not take an ink converter. What this means is you'll have to rely on the Pentel ink cartridges.</p><p>But there are workarounds. You can refill those empty cartridges using a syringe. There is also a cool tutorial you can find that teaches you how to modify an ink converter to fit into a Pentel body, so you can just use that instead.</p><p>An ink converter is just a refillable ink cartridge. Typically you twist the top to suck up ink into the cartridge so you can put it into your pen or brush pen.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_b6AVR8vpcXugEOgln1e0ImhGi_wsZFZ9wMx5QE5VZpT0bcwQsVm7ycHCCJdFmhJKsxzDRBL-PM2_JjFQ2lNfe_xze1OzOj83HFIqpAsYmXNHnLddhEKiOf5ZaC1O9Y5fUdeJyHMvZV5cn-tuL781LrdcmqkVcIKmEdQdJm2LsZ9Fi6nlzNnULQx0uPLU" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="1637" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_b6AVR8vpcXugEOgln1e0ImhGi_wsZFZ9wMx5QE5VZpT0bcwQsVm7ycHCCJdFmhJKsxzDRBL-PM2_JjFQ2lNfe_xze1OzOj83HFIqpAsYmXNHnLddhEKiOf5ZaC1O9Y5fUdeJyHMvZV5cn-tuL781LrdcmqkVcIKmEdQdJm2LsZ9Fi6nlzNnULQx0uPLU" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very popular ink converter from Platinum.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-31327979928251812272023-11-12T08:00:00.001-05:002023-11-12T08:00:00.136-05:00You Can Just Play It Once<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5fTgBfBAzbFlFJifuBgWk4Hh5xP5NKbP7Jp6zYrZ45XaBr32LRECfMs72xK62FDAm-a7YKrlYxN1V8SRPJwLETNJ0aeo_4kwcBWKsU7sMdPUnFHwahSMCNfly89PM0BEy9Kr-23ZlgRFZ7VvE8bYAmCZbHKKoYv-1qCJxCulNdsyA2jOpyqB1CoH4Kleg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5fTgBfBAzbFlFJifuBgWk4Hh5xP5NKbP7Jp6zYrZ45XaBr32LRECfMs72xK62FDAm-a7YKrlYxN1V8SRPJwLETNJ0aeo_4kwcBWKsU7sMdPUnFHwahSMCNfly89PM0BEy9Kr-23ZlgRFZ7VvE8bYAmCZbHKKoYv-1qCJxCulNdsyA2jOpyqB1CoH4Kleg=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br />The title of this post kind of says it all. You don't have to play the same game forever. Shit, there's a lot of games out there! You <b>cannot</b> play them all. But you can play a bunch. Vary it up, try different things. Hell, even if you just commit to doing one game per year that isn't your mainstay, that's a start.<p></p><p>Creators often make a game that is a one-off. They cerate it out of passion, then move on to something else. I do this all the time. Why haven't I created a follow-up to GOZR yet? Because my passion lies elsewhere. I have no commitment to "supporting" that game by producing more material. Every fucking thing you need to play it is in the book, warts and all. Play it once, then put it away if that's what you like. Play it twice, three times, whatever.</p><p>But play other games. Play weird games you never heard of. Play games that make you uncomfortable, at least once. Play something you swear you'll hate. Make it a pact with your group: We will play <i>at minimum</i>, one <b>completely different game</b> per year or per six months or whatever feels right.</p><p>I started an online gaming group in 2014 that has been meeting every Monday ever since. We've played a shit ton of Labyrinth Lord, but also a shit ton of other games. We played Psi World, My Life With Master, Warhammer, Star Frontiers, The Black Hack, Into the Odd, Fiasco, GOZR, Quantum Lunch, Top Secret, and Bean! for pete's sake. And more.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEH8S031jSPZ0MjanugKxPGEcNsRyaw_Z2kfqnRf3aH4_Ce-3cQFiG2fZe2cXxj5cPn-LBcEhODJkyoGROc6bNb4_lS56ksW307EDQLnJge5OrK-h5jyThI2077FUvEA-rBRxAihDaE9viyQ3zB8ktRMlbsQrm777EntKZCTeDo4TcayvoUf9ue1AsVP9P" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEH8S031jSPZ0MjanugKxPGEcNsRyaw_Z2kfqnRf3aH4_Ce-3cQFiG2fZe2cXxj5cPn-LBcEhODJkyoGROc6bNb4_lS56ksW307EDQLnJge5OrK-h5jyThI2077FUvEA-rBRxAihDaE9viyQ3zB8ktRMlbsQrm777EntKZCTeDo4TcayvoUf9ue1AsVP9P=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-74419628785959751362023-11-12T02:53:00.001-05:002023-11-12T02:53:38.979-05:00Richmond Comic & Toy Show<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYjKouizLcCZPH-UOf8-6M29zlHjGSdl1TlkuE6N5HfN7b0epVuFKhHPZiOSilMMZnykctBwIjj_Rd5yJe2FzzNjmyF1at1YP7rVp6TvRnMHXlwPrcq1kvtIHp_wL5ccAyPRmQQatXEyUAl_c_z2FuohD8cH5Y8e_Cwuq4EYplt9fYZ7-Z2LCJ_O9KHGq0" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="365" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYjKouizLcCZPH-UOf8-6M29zlHjGSdl1TlkuE6N5HfN7b0epVuFKhHPZiOSilMMZnykctBwIjj_Rd5yJe2FzzNjmyF1at1YP7rVp6TvRnMHXlwPrcq1kvtIHp_wL5ccAyPRmQQatXEyUAl_c_z2FuohD8cH5Y8e_Cwuq4EYplt9fYZ7-Z2LCJ_O9KHGq0" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kenn Minter</td></tr></tbody></table>Today I went to a comic book show. I don't do that very often. I don't go to cons or shows, pretty much ever. But this was only an hour or less from my house and it was small.</p><p>I don't have a ton of experience with comic shows so I can't say the <a href="https://richmondcomicshow.com/">Richmond Comic & Toy Show</a> was fantastic. But I had a good time hanging out with a couple of friends, met some cool artists, and picked up a stack of books. So I call that a success.</p><p>Oh, and there were nerds walking around in Star Wars and Sailor Moon uniforms, so that was cool.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here are the creators I met and interacted with. I spent pretty much all my pocket money on these folks.</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/nearmintpress">Kenn Minter</a> of Near Mint Press with Country Creatures comic.</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bmad100s">Bryce Oquaye</a> of Mad Hundreds.</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tressabowling/">Tressa Bowling</a>, who has some amazing sketch zines.</p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/osiris.smiles/">Ken Kirk</a> doing fun sketches on skateboards and writing comics.</p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/thehoundofcoldhollow?l=fr">J. D. Thompson</a> with The Hound of Cold Hollow: Vengeance comic.</p><p><a href="https://blackwillcomics.square.site/">William Leslie</a> of Blackwill Comics.</p><p><a href="https://www.joeslucher.com/">Joe Slucher</a> doing fantasy art for Magic: the Gathering.</p><p><br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfqKUgpFGSJlEjTsfQALMs0D_D2zgQJ8nG7Ri2EVfYAbb44hnCgZkQR9JEr_n4s2cuXDmLgV2DUOqfQkuPz9dktsJWSk_xId4WVtxzFXXuxJ8DhuOyHMCxBNOQkCAXwAVOdAHNJjdMcPkYrnFuDxVFTZIiSXspzRdw8-wiqIZjHjnZYQFNN_YVhW_TxjQG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="1276" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfqKUgpFGSJlEjTsfQALMs0D_D2zgQJ8nG7Ri2EVfYAbb44hnCgZkQR9JEr_n4s2cuXDmLgV2DUOqfQkuPz9dktsJWSk_xId4WVtxzFXXuxJ8DhuOyHMCxBNOQkCAXwAVOdAHNJjdMcPkYrnFuDxVFTZIiSXspzRdw8-wiqIZjHjnZYQFNN_YVhW_TxjQG=w486-h363" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard Justice, by Wes Gift, Bryce Oquaye, and Taylor Esposito.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUwu1Go_KYO34xYDZ59stoqyHYz6fKTsCGPvBLQAIjwHcK_7j5ORbHAvtwOEYBqUnpb_UwJhVgHwtdhyGZ-SxPFpHLSPcze31kvGKxCiPq6I2xPVTRUgSJQHJombjm2h0r1SOnGlafQFGkkLPY4Ukjk5wa_0dGzpXigd4LiU4-WpKMzi6sf-4pAgDZy8eU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUwu1Go_KYO34xYDZ59stoqyHYz6fKTsCGPvBLQAIjwHcK_7j5ORbHAvtwOEYBqUnpb_UwJhVgHwtdhyGZ-SxPFpHLSPcze31kvGKxCiPq6I2xPVTRUgSJQHJombjm2h0r1SOnGlafQFGkkLPY4Ukjk5wa_0dGzpXigd4LiU4-WpKMzi6sf-4pAgDZy8eU" width="240" /></a></div><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-bkaEJlxLSuj70YyE-FVjoFGMK61DxUjA2pCHkVVvit-VyVdubVQLqv-BBllCcWtug5CuACYCfmXMJa9Vg3OkvZR3lLA5TvcIHgakrBJcD0SLGSCR_ylx4M_P-IwTOXpmlePhNVxl7zoqiZk_m0lz0SALuMP8qdoMmM2W1kqHqRT0yRaYsRPykVYIx1UY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1294" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-bkaEJlxLSuj70YyE-FVjoFGMK61DxUjA2pCHkVVvit-VyVdubVQLqv-BBllCcWtug5CuACYCfmXMJa9Vg3OkvZR3lLA5TvcIHgakrBJcD0SLGSCR_ylx4M_P-IwTOXpmlePhNVxl7zoqiZk_m0lz0SALuMP8qdoMmM2W1kqHqRT0yRaYsRPykVYIx1UY=w462-h234" width="462" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tressa Bowling's cool art books.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-27512961844254117642023-11-05T10:30:00.001-05:002023-11-05T10:30:00.151-05:00OSR Character Sheet Doodle<p>While drawing in this wee sketchbook I just decided to do a very simple OSR sheet. No room for extras, dammit! This game is about the basics, you losers. Go play 5e if you want squishy drama and backstories, you pieces of shit. If it doesn't fit on an index card you don't need it, you rubes!</p><p>Ok, that's enough of my sarcasm. Play your games the way you want, you're valid, etc. Blah blah. And artful character sheets RULE!</p><p>Crits or <b>DIE</b>!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5Wzlzl9I4MsG3kddyvvnoWvJFRNk9eJPJxRc8R_YV7wymlyORPqrPoVRAJKnuhQkF64HwFBsRApEjINn1u07jmf2Ef1eh5sRMO7Fz5UbhZRaDIqzV23njkwh_Bm5PvnIHoSdIYYnUOToa2PdR8HIRW0e6jAvdTGzrbM5B9vC1hyphenhyphen4ZGLoIrh14AWBSYh8/s939/Charsheet-OSR-mini.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="739" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5Wzlzl9I4MsG3kddyvvnoWvJFRNk9eJPJxRc8R_YV7wymlyORPqrPoVRAJKnuhQkF64HwFBsRApEjINn1u07jmf2Ef1eh5sRMO7Fz5UbhZRaDIqzV23njkwh_Bm5PvnIHoSdIYYnUOToa2PdR8HIRW0e6jAvdTGzrbM5B9vC1hyphenhyphen4ZGLoIrh14AWBSYh8/w397-h504/Charsheet-OSR-mini.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2860682263886693757.post-13863935498525503512023-11-05T08:53:00.001-05:002023-11-05T08:53:29.903-05:00Lugs and Snow<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZqQjLWSZN9lrOQ7JscCsfz24SB-PUSBdel7wqiTBNmNVpdZTMHrolY51E4S01Wvd88ACvOlBsBztquFqEAnP7ANTsSwvCya6KCziGK-SOODpAZnPu1owdQwEUC6LUPOOdXvHJEG0iFJJc4KjFN3xHCtpbcjKv3zPMq3G1WLIJqcxBmnnjjL3huTandC25" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="1068" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZqQjLWSZN9lrOQ7JscCsfz24SB-PUSBdel7wqiTBNmNVpdZTMHrolY51E4S01Wvd88ACvOlBsBztquFqEAnP7ANTsSwvCya6KCziGK-SOODpAZnPu1owdQwEUC6LUPOOdXvHJEG0iFJJc4KjFN3xHCtpbcjKv3zPMq3G1WLIJqcxBmnnjjL3huTandC25=w459-h305" width="459" /></a></div><br />When I got back into gaming and dived into doing OSR stuff around 2012, I leaned into it pretty hard. I wrote <i style="font-weight: bold;">Howler</i> and <i style="font-weight: bold;">Winds of the Ice Forest</i> and other bits with a nod to old school modules and a careful eye toward the rules written in <i style="font-weight: bold;">Labyrinth Lord</i>. I started a series in <i style="font-weight: bold;">Black Pudding</i> called "Adventures in the North", which started in issue 5 and has a bit in issue 6. But it is incomplete and try as I might I cannot bring myself to finish it.<p></p><p>Why?</p><p>There's a character class I wrote and turned into a mini-zine for a Gary Con I attended. It was called The Lug. It's basically a big, dumb brute of a guy who has a heart of gold. Essentially Fezzik from Princess Bride. You know the trope. I have often thought I should give The Lug a rendering in <i style="font-weight: bold;">Black Pudding</i>, but I can't seem to do it.</p><p>Why?</p><p>It seems to be because these are relics of a decade ago when I was in a very different mindset. I was just discovering the beauty of revisiting old school D&D and it was shiny and new again. And I wanted to put on the aesthetics of that era. I did work. Then I changed and moved on. I have other ideas now and my approach is very different. I can't put myself back into that mindset.</p><p>It was a mistake to start Adventures in the North as a multi-part series. I've never been good at maintaining that sort of thing because my inspirations drift over time. It would have been wise of me to do it as a one-shot adventure location instead of an 11-point mini-setting.</p><p>The Lug has the same problem. It was a cool idea at the time, but now I think about it... it feels very liming. Your character would be a one trick pony. You bop people on the head and smash things. </p>James V. Westhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07941310158122225850noreply@blogger.com0