Space Ranger

Here's one I did recently. I have posted it on FB and Insta but I keep forgetting to mention that it's actually a finished version of a very old sketch, posted below. Not that it matters to anyone but me. But there it is.

This is sort of in the wheelhouse of old school "men's magazine" style pinup cartoons wherein you draw a sexy lady and have some kind of pithy, funny gag written at the bottom. Just for giggles.

This was OK. I like the image fine, but it isn't thrilling me. Might just be that the composition is static. I have a bad habit of doing static figures when I really kinda want to do more dynamic scenes. And I don't mean action scenes, necessarily. You know how Frank Frazetta or Mike Ploog can have a figure just standing around and the image have movement and action? Like that. Things in motion, even when the figure isn't leaping or fighting or running. I feel stiff.

Another thing I was conscious of when drawing this was faces. A lot of artists have developed such a style that their faces are immediately recognizable. In some cases its because they seem to draw literally the same face on every figure (maybe Dan DeDcarlo comes to mind)*, or it's because their line quality and general style just shines through even though they draw a wild variety of figures (maybe Dave Cooper). So what are my faces like? I went through a phase between 2008 and 2012 where I was drawing a lot of huge eyes and cartoony faces. Which is good... I like cartoony. But I was being influenced by art that I didn't necessarily love and I backed away from that just a little bit. And it just strikes me now that I don't have "a face" that I draw. For example, I draw different noses all the time and I don't know if that's a problem or not.

Various JV West eyes and noses over the years. Trends?

*Now, I'm not suggesting that artists who draw the same girl over and over in different clothes is bad. It isn't bad. It's fine. Dan DeCarlo drew amazing girls who all looked alike. I have zero complaints about that. Hell, lots of cartoonists draw exactly the same face on almost every character for decades. Whatever works.

Pig in Space

Not sure how it came about, but I think it was Ed Heil on FB who said I should do a Miss Piggy pin up. So here she is in all her sexy glory.

Leopard Women of Venus

Another piece of art I did for Leopard Women of Venus, now on Kickstarter. Go check it out!

Sorsha Corvette

Here is spacer chick Sorsha Corvette written up for Troika! RPG. I'm diving in hard and fast to work on my game Zoa Space Fantasy!

Sorsha Corvette

Skill 6
Stamina 20
Luck 12

Advanced Skills

3 Laser Musket
2 Hand to Hand Combat
2 Hand Canon
1 Pilot
2 Nuclear Karaoke

Possessions

Zot Laser Musket (2,3,6,8,10,15,20)
2 Plasma Packs
RIG 77 Hand Canon (2,3,4,5,6,8,11)
3 Rig Rounds Cartridges
Siperion Hyper Screen (2 armor)

But what the actual fuck is Troika!?

Right. So mostly this blog has been focused on material compatible with old D&D, particularly the 1981 Basic/Expert variety. My most beloved and magical friend. Hell, the title of my blog includes the line "adventures for 1st to 14th level characters"... a direct reference to B/X D&D.

Troika! is not D&D. And yes, the "!" is in the title.

Troika! is an RPG written by Daniel Sell. I believe he had help from Jeremy Duncan, who did art for the game. Like Labyrinth Lord or Swords & Wizardry are "clones" of old D&D, Troika! is a "clone" of Fighting Fantasy, a British RPG that evolved from some choose-your-own-adventure books in the 80s.

(Here I am in unfamiliar territory. While I have become an armchair expert on classic D&D I am an armchair idiot with regards to Fighting Fantasy.)

So, the broad strokes of Troika! are as follows.

It is a very simple game. It uses d6s only. Characters have Skill, Stamina, and Luck as well as a collection of Advanced Skills and Possessions. That's pretty much it. You roll 2d6 vs. your Skill + Advanced Skill (where applicable) to do stuff, trying to roll under. When opposed, you roll vs. and try to roll higher than your opponent. When Stamina is reduced to zero you die. You are sometimes asked to Test your Luck - rolling under it to avoid some fate or another.

When you use Advanced Skills you can put a tick mark next to them on your sheet. Then, when the time seems appropriate, you can roll to see if you improve them.

There is little more to it than that. And it is quite a beautiful thing. I ran a short game of Troika! set in the Zoa Space Fantasy universe a few months ago and rather enjoyed the shit out of it. So I'm actively working on a full RPG. More later.

Bad Bunny Landing

Here's a re-colored version of an old drawing. I like this much better. More atmo!

Re-Entry is a Bitch