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Hello from Nicole from "Tuesdays with Nicole"
Hello Everyone on Obsidian Portal! This is Nicole from the new "Tuesdays with Nicole" segment from Obsidian Portal. If you haven't seen it, please check it out at: http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=541 . I'm basically using content from OP users (with permission of course) and doing a quick sketch of that character, item, monster, encounter, etc. The video airs every 2 weeks (the next one will be Tues. May 18th). I've received wonderful responses, suggestions and new content from users; but for a future installment, I'm really looking for an item to draw: something very personalized to your character like a weapon, vehicle, magic item, pet, etc. Please post a link below if you have an item you want drawn.
A little about my gaming history: I've played only for 2 years and I haven't DMed anything, but I'm working on that ;) I've played a couple one shots in the Scion, Exalted and a 4E Shards of Alara setting. My first experience with playing a long-term campaign was a 3.5 Accordlands game as a Deverenian paladin. When 4E launched, I started playing it right away. I'm currently in an Eberron campaign, playing a human artificer named Leonora D'Cannith--and I love playing an artificer. She's only level 2, but I'm hoping to get her to epic level.
I look forward to being more involved with the online gaming community here at Obsidian Portal.
A little about my gaming history: I've played only for 2 years and I haven't DMed anything, but I'm working on that ;) I've played a couple one shots in the Scion, Exalted and a 4E Shards of Alara setting. My first experience with playing a long-term campaign was a 3.5 Accordlands game as a Deverenian paladin. When 4E launched, I started playing it right away. I'm currently in an Eberron campaign, playing a human artificer named Leonora D'Cannith--and I love playing an artificer. She's only level 2, but I'm hoping to get her to epic level.
I look forward to being more involved with the online gaming community here at Obsidian Portal.
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Cheers,
-Arsheesh
They are known as Virtue and The Void. They are sentient artifacts that can change their shape to any weapon to suit their chosen champions. I realize that would be kind of hard to draw, so the last time they appeared in my world, Virtue was a greatsword with a platinum blade, and a pair of golden intertwining angel wings forming the crossguard, pommel, and hilt. The Void on the other hand was a scimitar with an obsidian blade, and the crossguard is in the shape of demons wings, and the curved handle was in the shape of a demon's horn. The former was wielded by a paladin named Siegfried, and the latter by the infamous dread pirate... "Steve" (last time I let a player come up with a name...). They defeated Steve upon the high seas but were unable to recover his sword before it was washed overboard. At the end of the "campaign":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/melekar/wikis/godspike-campaign , a Slarecian dragon with the breath of Mordekainen's Disjunction destroyed Virtue, forcing it's sentience into the mind of Siegfried. It has been several hundred years since the death of Siegfried, so who knows just when or where Virtue and the Void could resurface.
Thanks for your consideration, and I look forward to see whatever it is that you decide to create :).
That's awesome Nicole, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with! And I saw a couple trailers for games on the official wizards forums, so i thought I would whip up a little something myself, to make the page stand out a bit.
"The Daughters of Twilight":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sotfa/wikis/the-daughters-of-twilight - A pair of dueling artifact dueling pistols, crafted in the high first age from orichalcum and ivory.
"The Maker's Drafting Board":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sotfa/wikis/makers-drafting-board - A desk and work bench, with the ability to bring a craftsman's vision to life in three dimensions.
First of all: your art is awesome!
I would also like to thank you for giving your support to this community by drawing content from user's campaings.
I don't have unique magic items in my campaign right now, but I would love if you could draw a statue that's at the top of a river fall, if you are ever interested in doing something like that.
This is my campaign: "Las Cr
Ok, with that background laid, I have for some time been thinking of what this lost city of ice might look like. It was hailed as one of the seven great ancient wonders of the world. Likewise, I have been toying with ideas for the structure of the gateway buried in the fae forest. My initial idea was to have a semi keltic meets art nuevo looking portal all covered in vines. But I'm open. I haven't yet written about either of these on my portal site, as the players don't know what is ahead of them, but if you are interested, I would love to divulge more.
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
Jim: Well I was going to wait to tell your until my schedules more filled out, but what the hell :D , I'm drawing your dwarves and Mall Santa and the whole shebang for a 'Christmas in July' type segment. Still haven't decided if I will put Christmas carols in the background...
ChainsawXIV: Okay, I gotcha. So a person can interact with the drafting board in the same way as in Ironman but won't necessarily look tech-y. Cool!
Arsheesh: Well I definitely love art nouveau inspired artwork. I like the description you have and I'll be in contact with you if you have more ideas about how it looks.
This is awesome everyone: so much creative content, so many different ideas from different people. It's so cool, and one of the big reasons I love gaming so much-just like art-I get to use my imagination. Oh, and I'll be out of town tomorrow through the weekend, so if I don't respond right away to your comments, it's because I'm in good ol' Idaho.
Thanks Everyone!
-Nicole
If you are still accumulating fodder for your segment, I had a couple ideas for potential drawing subjects to throw at you. I would love to see a skyline image for the city of "Panthium":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-westerlands/wikis/panthium in my 3.5 campaign. The city is where my players will be headed next. It is sort of a cross between the city of Chyrellos from David Eddings' Elenium series and the White Tower from the Wheel of Time... x12.
The other idea was from a group of NPCs my players faced last night. Three words: Kobold. Mariachi. Band.
Hahahaha, I would definitely like to see that, hahaha.
Gnunn: For all my illustrating nonsense, I use Photoshop CS4 with my Intuos 3 tablet. Some of the times, I start a sketch in a sketchbook and then scan it and retrace over the lines digitally. I haven't used GIMP but I've heard good things about it; and like you said, both Fireworks and Flash have their own uses for different projects. I'm happy to answer more art questions if you or anyone else have them especially if you're interested in creating art of your own. What kind of art do you like to make?
Unfortunately, I have all my planned video segments filled up for the moment, but I have to agree with sandman and gaaran that a Kobold Mariachi Band is setting off some interesting artistic ideas. So should I be given more videos to do (I think I'm doing them till August for right now), I definitely want to illustrate that group!
Also look for sometime this week: I'll be combining my blog with the videos I've produced to make an ultra-blog with fantasy/rpg art-related references and links. I'll make sure to post it on here.
Happy Gaming!
-Nicole
I used to be a prolific sketcher, mostly in a more comic/cartoony style. I have recently been trying to get back in the saddle while simultaneously shifting to work more in a digital format.
I have done a number of drawings for my campaign, including my own "avatar,":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-westerlands/wikis/sporkchop a submission for the "Giraffelich contest":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-westerlands/wikis/giraffelich and a couple character portraits for "NPCs":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/the-westerlands/characters/ashii-npc
Anyway, I'm just now getting to a place where I feel happy with my technique using my mouse tablet. I'm currently working on a 3-panel comic in Gimp. I was particularly happy to figure out that doing final line-work at 4x the magnification of your intended finished product helps smooth out the lines, and that the "grow-selection" tool is invaluable for applying color without gaps along the lines. I still have a LOT to learn, but hope to ramp up my original creations.
I want to try a tablet. I can draw OK, but not on the computer and stuff always looks odd when I take pics of them or try to find a scanner.
What's a cheap one that would be decent for drawing line art?
Like this I drew with a pen in 20 minutes at work the other day (very bored)
"Cell Phone Pic, sorry!":http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad347/intothebreach_album/ThroalCop.jpg
"This one's a hair better. I need to hook up my scanner.":http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad347/intothebreach_album/ThroalCop2.jpg
The biggest trick I like to use when working on a digital drawing, especially one with a person or animal, is to find an existing picture (either online or scanned in) to act as a sort of virtual model for my drawing. It is MUCH easier to start on a mouse tablet by tracing over an existing image or combination of images than it is to just start drawing from scratch. Once I've roughed in the basics of my drawing using the model, I do the final version freehand to make it my own.
For example, I am currently working on a character portrait for my GF's sorcerer. I found an image of someone in a dynamic pose that I liked and used that for her basic stance. Then, I was having trouble with her eyes, so I went and found an image of eyes that I liked and used that as a template when drawing her face.
In the drawings I linked in my previous post, I used the technique I just mentioned when drawing the giraffelich, traced my avatar from one of my sketchbooks, and drew the kobold NPC freehand straight from the tablet.
Cheers,
-Arsheesh
Ironically, it took me WAY longer to color it than to sketch it.
"Needs more soot on the walls":http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad347/intothebreach_album/ThroalCopDone.png
I recommend a layer of rendered clouds with a bit of gaussian blur masked to match the shape of the walls as a quick way to generate a nice grungy effect.