Raygun Gothic

Jan 19 2012

Lamia ‘It’s been many a year since I let my infatuations manifest in some artistic way, but so powerful was my reaction to the lamia - who I first learned of in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Circus of the Damned - that I thought I’d give photomanipulation a try. This is the result - two nights of dabbling with liquify filters, blending and lighting. It’s based entirely upon stock gleaned from DeviantART, with credits as follows:’ Human: Art Nudes A7 by Marcus J. Ranum Snake: free use Background: Old Dark Room by Anne Willems

Lamia

‘It’s been many a year since I let my infatuations manifest in some artistic way, but so powerful was my reaction to the lamia - who I first learned of in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Circus of the Damned - that I thought I’d give photomanipulation a try. This is the result - two nights of dabbling with liquify filters, blending and lighting. It’s based entirely upon stock gleaned from DeviantART, with credits as follows:’

May 10 2011

A Map of Brannstadt: Completion at last! I tend to forget how long a non-digital piece can take - in this case, something like 25-30 hours in total. Most of my time was spent drawing the lineart in my brand-new, A3 sketchbook - an hour here and there, some nights spend drawing the thing until 2am… It’s been great fun, and a labour of love. As mentioned earlier, this was a commission like the map of Saren before it. It has been some time since I took on a hand-drawn project like this, and I’m certainly not accustomed to drawing maps in this fashion, but I felt it would lend to the authenticity of this medieval/fantasy game. Some notes on Brannstadt: As noted in the legend, Brannstadt is capital in the vampiric realm of Rimwald. It is positioned deep within the countryside on the island continent of Ingelvartz, comparatively near to the source of its longest river, the Ingelsfoll. Brannstadt is named after its current custodians, the ancient Brann dynasty. It is they who ensure the safe keeping of the vampires’ Maker - a powerful being who was left in Saren after the departure of the world’s Guardians. It is also home to the country’s most esteemed centres of culture and learning. Brannstadt is fortified, though not to the same extent as Rimwald’s coastal towns. Accessible only by foot through the river-side Brannstrass and Riverpoint Roads, and the hilly Zeppel and Karsten Passes - or by water up the Ingelsfoll - the city’s guardians have little cause to make more than basic defences. The city is surrounded to the north and west by the mountains of Luftridge, to the east by hills and dense forest, and to the south by rocky passes - not forgetting the river itself. Rarely amongst Saren’s settlements, Brannstadt is largely devoid of markets and farms; this is due to the unique lifestyle of the vampires, who have no need for livestock, grain or commerce in such things. As immortals of taste, they do consider a need for artisan wares; Brannstadt is also host to premium slave fairs. Many of its large manors also keep their own ‘livestock’. Much of the cities and towns of Rimwald are given over to churches, cemeteries and private crypts. As vampires bore of their lives, they may elect to return to the crypt for a set period of time; it is here that they place their trust in familiars, be they a lower caste of vampire or an enthralled family, chosen from the mortal races. Spiritual ceremonies of a sort are carried out at these churches - laying to rest those vampires who don’t own a private grave - but the churches are also heavily fortified. Indeed their custodians often sit on the verge of insanity as their eternal wards lay vulnerable, just as we might regard our hospitals or nurseries.

A Map of Brannstadt:

Completion at last! I tend to forget how long a non-digital piece can take - in this case, something like 25-30 hours in total. Most of my time was spent drawing the lineart in my brand-new, A3 sketchbook - an hour here and there, some nights spend drawing the thing until 2am… It’s been great fun, and a labour of love.

As mentioned earlier, this was a commission like the map of Saren before it. It has been some time since I took on a hand-drawn project like this, and I’m certainly not accustomed to drawing maps in this fashion, but I felt it would lend to the authenticity of this medieval/fantasy game.

Some notes on Brannstadt:

  • As noted in the legend, Brannstadt is capital in the vampiric realm of Rimwald. It is positioned deep within the countryside on the island continent of Ingelvartz, comparatively near to the source of its longest river, the Ingelsfoll.
  • Brannstadt is named after its current custodians, the ancient Brann dynasty. It is they who ensure the safe keeping of the vampires’ Maker - a powerful being who was left in Saren after the departure of the world’s Guardians. It is also home to the country’s most esteemed centres of culture and learning.
  • Brannstadt is fortified, though not to the same extent as Rimwald’s coastal towns. Accessible only by foot through the river-side Brannstrass and Riverpoint Roads, and the hilly Zeppel and Karsten Passes - or by water up the Ingelsfoll - the city’s guardians have little cause to make more than basic defences. The city is surrounded to the north and west by the mountains of Luftridge, to the east by hills and dense forest, and to the south by rocky passes - not forgetting the river itself.
  • Rarely amongst Saren’s settlements, Brannstadt is largely devoid of markets and farms; this is due to the unique lifestyle of the vampires, who have no need for livestock, grain or commerce in such things. As immortals of taste, they do consider a need for artisan wares; Brannstadt is also host to premium slave fairs. Many of its large manors also keep their own ‘livestock’.
  • Much of the cities and towns of Rimwald are given over to churches, cemeteries and private crypts. As vampires bore of their lives, they may elect to return to the crypt for a set period of time; it is here that they place their trust in familiars, be they a lower caste of vampire or an enthralled family, chosen from the mortal races. Spiritual ceremonies of a sort are carried out at these churches - laying to rest those vampires who don’t own a private grave - but the churches are also heavily fortified. Indeed their custodians often sit on the verge of insanity as their eternal wards lay vulnerable, just as we might regard our hospitals or nurseries.

May 04 2011

A Map of Saren: This half-scale preview of the Map of Saren details its political boundaries, landmasses and chief settlements. It was commissioned in order to detail a fantasy realm, fit for play in an online strategy game. I was given license to name all its geographical features, though the name ‘Saren’ was chosen by my client. The full version of the map includes county names, too small to show on this render.

A Map of Saren:

This half-scale preview of the Map of Saren details its political boundaries, landmasses and chief settlements. It was commissioned in order to detail a fantasy realm, fit for play in an online strategy game. I was given license to name all its geographical features, though the name ‘Saren’ was chosen by my client. The full version of the map includes county names, too small to show on this render.

(Source: raygun-gothic.net)