TheRPGSite

Hey, I posted a few times here absolutely ages ago, and now mostly lurk.

I felt like posting this piece of painting I did this week, since as I was making it I envisaged the main fighter/paladin character yelling "Forward! To Adventure!" and I thought that might tickle you good burghers of the rpgsite. :pundit:

(http://img469.imageshack.us/img469/3369/dragoncropxe0.jpg)

I hope I haven't posted this terribly out of place.  I think I saw some of Rick Hershey's fine pen and ink work here a while back, so I hope its ok.

This is too fucking cool :)

Nice work.
Although what is the Kilted/skirted man wielding? Its got an odd head for a staff, but it seems a bit odd for an axe as well.

:) Thanks!

The barbarian fella is weilding a slightly fantastical variant on a duck's bill or "anchor" axe. Pretty much a bronze age piece of kit.  Oook - edit - its also loosely based on the Warring states period "ge" or dagger axe. Can't beleive I forgot that, having painted about 40 million of them for "Art of War" for Warhammer Historical!

Wow!  Very nice work.  You should post more of your stuff if you have the inclination.

A few questions:  What mediums do you use?  Do you only do fantasy subjects?

Just curious.


TGA

Those are good questions...in fact, I was wondering if you had a website as well where we can look at your stuff and find out things like rates and any credits you have:)

Awesome work, Jon! I've been an admirer of your work for a long time. :D

ancientgamer - that'd be Jon Hodgson. Here's his site (http://www.jonhodgson.net/).

-clash

I always thought those were "rounder" and less spadelike head-- but it is a "fantasy" piece so no worries it is cool anyway.

Quote from: flyingmiceAwesome work, Jon! I've been an admirer of your work for a long time. :D

ancientgamer - that'd be Jon Hodgson. Here's his site (http://www.jonhodgson.net/).

-clash

Thanks for the link, clash.  And I agree, you do awesome work, Jon!


TGA

Thanks Clash,

Awesome work indeed!

AWESOME!

New style without the Punk!
Booohhh WAR
YAY Hodgson!

Quote from: SettembriniAWESOME!

New style without the Punk!
Booohhh WAR
YAY Hodgson!

Ha ha I'm friends with Wayne and now he'll punch me in the face if he reads that. ;)  To be fair to the good Mr Reynolds his work for Osprey Publishing doesn't include any dungeonpunk elements, so I guess he knows where it lies in the commercial arena - ie: as a commercial illustrator you do what you are asked to do. And he does it so very well. Of course, you can't please all the people all the time. :pundit:

Thanks for the kind words folks, glad you liked it!

Yup, that's my site, linked up there. I mostly work in digital media - so Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter.  There's (some) more recent stuff here: http://jonhodgson.deviantart.com/ (http://jonhodgson.deviantart.com/) since its easier for me to update on a whim, whereas my actual site takes work!

Probably most of my work is actually historical stuff for Games Workshop's Warhammer Historical line.

SilverLion - oh yeah, its a fantasy thing for definite. Its a funny line to walk really - I like my armour to be realistic and at least mostly historical, but then I painted a massive winged, fire breathing lizard. Go figure. ;) :)

ancientgamer - just drop me an email via my site for rates if you would like to.

Thanks for looking! :)

Oh yes, I have seen some of WAR´s tremendous Osprey stuff, now as you say it.
WAR truly is a very fine craftsmen.

Still, non-retro-non-Dungeonpunk is still a very refreshing and uplifting thing to see.

Very nice stuff. :)

Jon, excellent stuff.  Did you just post this up at Concept Art/Finally Finished? I really like the style.

Thanks folks!

Xanther - aye this went up the other day at ConceptArt.   Received some solid crit, as ever. :)

I have a bunch of commissions that need to be finished, but I have another piece in similar vein almost finished, which I'll be sure to post here. Thanks for the kind words all! :)

Ok, since some were kind enough to ask to see more, here's one I just finished - more classic adventuring fare:

(http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/7395/snake700xa9.jpg)

And here's a big version:
(http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7716/snake1500lu6.th.jpg) (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snake1500lu6.jpg)

C´est fantastique!
Unglaublich!
Awesome!
Nogyon Jo!
Splendid!
bonus maximus
fantastico!

What price range are we talking with this stuff? Three,four or more digit?

Quote from: SettembriniWhat price range are we talking with this stuff? Three,four or more digit?

Thanks! Glad you like it Sett.

Price depends on what one wants to buy really.  If I were to do this kind of thing for a publisher, on an All Rights/Work For Hire basis, to their art direction, then it would  run into 4 figures, in US$.  

I offer non-exclusive licenses for work like this which I own the copyright on for lower end 3 figures, in US$.

I sell prints for UK£10 for A4, or various other options like canvas via my DA gallery (http://jonhodgson.deviantart.com/). This particular piece isn't on sale as a print yet as I am negotiating a rights sale just now, and it seems polite to stay my hand on selling prints until that's concluded.

:)

Both pieces remind me of good old-fashioned White Dwarf covers (~issues 50-80 range).

I'm in nostalgia heaven.

Fantastic!  I love the details such as the drip of fiery syliva on the stair (which whispers "magic item!"), and the 2 menancing shadows in the sky (with tails included!).   It really tells a story, not just capture a moment.   What will become of our heroes?  Will the flying dragons pass by, or are they coming to the attack as well?  This is what makes for truly fabulous art!  Oh and of course the wonderfully skillful renderings of the castles, characters and dragon.  What a scene!  Thanks!!  Tis grand!

Thanks Dirk and VBW! Very kind of you both!

Hey if any small press publishers are reading, I am offering some graphics work suitable for covers at small press prices just now over on my LJ. (http://jonhodgson.livejournal.com/38111.html)

Hey all.

Just released from NDA comes the cover I painted for the forthcoming new edition of British RPG Dragon Warriors. A personal favourite game of mine, it was a total blast to get to paint the cover.

(http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2329/dwcovpu2.jpg)
(C)2007 Magnum Opus Press

Many thanks to James Wallis for letting me show this off! :)

Beautiful work, Jon! I love the faces of the troupe!

-clash

AWESOME work -- I really, really like these.  Now I know what I'd like for Christmas. :D

Wonderful work indeed. love that cover.

I got the first 2 DW paperbacks when they came out and never tracked down the other 4. I'm looking forward to the new book! Oh, and Mystics rock. :cool:

Continued amazing work.  What's the media on these?  They have almost a watercolor like quality but not completely, so I'd guess acrylic.  On what I have no idea.

It has a completely different tone than the original cover(s) but it is at the same time a great hommage.
(You are evil - killing that great knight that was supposed to be the hero and the inspiration for any beginning DW player!)

(But then - "where life and death are only a dice-roll away...")

Arise ye from the depths thread of old!  

Thanks for all those kind words folks, and sincere apologies for not responding sooner.  I've since painted another cover to a further Dragon Warriors release, but that's firmly under wraps - the only print in existence was auctioned at Conpulsion in the UK, so I want to keep it hidden to add value to the generous purchaser.

But hey, here's one I finished today, and is uncharacteristically free from NDA, so I can post it right away.  And it has some more of that old school adventuring feel hopefully. Well it has a party fighting beasts at least!

Done for Reality Deviant Publications (http://realitydeviants.net/)
(http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/3732/realdevs1forumsdv0.jpg)

Quote from: HodgsonBut hey, here's one I finished today, and is uncharacteristically free from NDA, so I can post it right away.  And it has some more of that old school adventuring feel hopefully. Well it has a party fighting beasts at least!

Whoa, Jon! I love those menacing giant hedgehogs!

-clash

The Earth Against Us!

Nice. Love that piece.
(Rock giant, and spikey elemental things is what it looks like.)

Quote from: flyingmiceBeautiful work, Jon! I love the faces of the troupe!

That says 'serious business', doesn't it.

Checked your site out John. Nice. I particularly like this one. (http://www.jonhodgson.com/art/historical/legendsofthehighseas.jpg) I really feel the action there.  :yarr:


P.S. I also checked your About, and I've got a question for you about that. My wife's a hobby-painter/artist but she's recently been picking up the seriousness of it, illustrating her own children's book. I've been considering dragging her into the 21st century in the form of a Wacom 3 for Mother's Day, if only to reduce the number of evenings I have to watch over all the kids myself. :keke:  Did you personally start out in physical medium and later switch to electronic? If so how did you find the change over? If you can relate any tips/pitfalls from your experience, or that of others you know, that would be helpful.

Thanks guys!

Blakkie- thanks for checking out the site! Indeed I started out with traditional media and moved across. Its not necessarily an easy thing to do, but some people find it easier than others. I've always mucked about making images on computers right back to my ZX Spectrum. I "trained" with acrylics and oils though.  The main pitfall is the temptation to just give up on new things and stick to what you know.  I had found however that since publishers increasingly wanted digital files I had to learn some of the skills. And slowly it seemed I was doing more and more digitally.

One of the major pitfalls with digital media is the sheer volume of choice.  All those cheesy effects can be very tempting when you're new to it, but the level of discipline needed is the same.  Stay away from those lens flares!

I think a solid foundation in trade media is a very very good place to start from.  If there's any questions you or your wife have just ask and I'll try to help.

I like your work a lot, Jon. The three things I appreciated most:

-Your characters have... character. They don't have the "this is a pretty and generic model with a blank expression" vibe that can grow tiring. They look like adventurers, not people afraid to break a nail.

-The larger pieces showing landscapes are epic and inspiring. Usually, that's how I separate the good artists from the great. Not that doing close-ups is easy but I find many people can't do anything else.

-Finally, I find myself agreeing with Sett: I like that your work has both a modern yet classical style.

I don't buy as many products as I used to but wouldn't mind at all if your art graced the cover of a product I acquire one day!

Quote from: Consonant DudeI like your work a lot, Jon. The three things I appreciated most:

Thanks, that's really nice to hear.  A lot of what I've shown here is stuff I like, and mostly conicidentally things that weren't really tightly art directed.  Sometimes you just have to do exactly what the client wants though.

Personally my own interests when it comes to fantasy are well rooted in "gritty", one foot-in-realism stuff.  I love Dragon Warriors for that, for example.  And I love worlds that are really close to history or real world myths.  I can appreciate more flamboyant settings for sure, and really colourful, lush concepts like Final Fantasy X for example can certainly be a blast to do.  But I think my heart belongs to the lower end of the fantasy spectrum.  I guess I just find it easier to get into.  I was brought up on LOTR, Robin Hood, the Mabinogion, the Chronicles of Prydain and so on.

With regard to landscapes I am extremely lucky to have the Ochil Hills (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~gco/jpgs/wallace.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cs.stir.ac.uk/~gco/gallery.html&h=507&w=760&sz=62&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=69tFsEJu6LMFtM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=142&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dochil%2Bhills%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN) right at the back of my house, so there's no end of inspiration looking out over Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument.  The light and clouds are constantly changing providing a constantly updated visual reference.

Look at me waffling on.  Cheers again!

Wow, it's a beauty. What medium is it in?

Quote from: Rob LangWow, it's a beauty. What medium is it in?

Thanks!  Its digital - Painter 9 mostly, with some Photoshop too.

Damn, these are all incredible!  The overall lighting, in the midst of action, the realistic rendering, the cool monsters, the detailed background - it all screams fun roleplaying.

Quote from: HodgsonThanks!  Its digital - Painter 9 mostly, with some Photoshop too.

You had me fooled. I thought it was oil and then scanned.

Great, nonetheless!

Quote from: HodgsonI think a solid foundation in trade media is a very very good place to start from.  If there's any questions you or your wife have just ask and I'll try to help.

Thanks, I'll take you up on that now. :) Techish question, size vs. screen. How important is it to get close to a 1:1 pad to screen ratio? The monitor likely to be used is an aging Gateway 2185 widescreen with 1680x1050 native resolution. Not "professional" quality but decent (I think it was listed about $900 CND retail when we got it on a warranty exchange nearly 3 years ago, it has fairly good colour, not a bargin-bin dithered display). Am I going to want to go with a Wacom 11"x6" to keep close to the same screen and pad aspect ratio? (so drawing a circle nets a circle)?  Or should I give serious consideration to tracking down a smaller 1600x1200 display and pairing that with a 12"x9" for an exact match? 12"x9" is pretty close to 1:1 with a 19" monitor.

P.S I've got a 20" 1600x1200 LCD in work office but I wouldn't get the same model as I found it pretty low quality on colour reproduction. It has a low enough viewing angle that you can't get the same colour at the top and bottom. :(   EDIT: Although I can't say I'm ready to drop 4-digits (http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=22802&vpn=LS20EDBEB%2FXAA&manufacture=Samsung) on a upper tier monitor, certainly not till I know the wife is going to be good with the transition. It seems tough finding something middle of the road, all the lower resolution 4:3 monitors LCD I've looked at in person are complete crud. Although I haven't seen those super pricy NEC 19" that are suppose to be close to CRT.

Ok, tech hat on... generally speaking best for colour are CRT monitors.  I love my Apple screen, but the cost can be prohibitive. A good art buddy and generally knowledgable chap (who I'm not sure would want a name drop, so I won't. He does a lot of art for White Wolf and Privateer Press, amongst other awesome gigs outside of gaming) tells me that Dell use the same components in their screens as Apple, and don't charge the extra for beret wearing, chin stroking rights that us Apple swine demand! ;)

What I will say is initially don't worry toooooo much about colour reproduction on your monitor.  Provided its sensibly calibrated - and that doens't need to be anything terribly scary.  Just try some images on a few friends monitors and make sure what you see is pretty reasonable.  No surprises and you should be ok.

No one needs the pressure of spending a fortune on equipment they might hate using, or feel obliged to struggle with.

As to tablet/screen ratios it depends on your working methods.  By and large its not critical - I certainly don't have a 1:1 ratio, and my arm would get very tired if I did.  I have a 17 inch Apple display and a 6x8 inch Wacom Intuos 3,
but I built up to both of those, and will continue to improve my equipment forever I imagine.  Its not necessary to start with a full fledged "pro" set up.



If you make really large sweeping gestures when you work then a big tablet will help your transition to digital.  If you make very small stipply marks it'd be a waste of money.  I used a 5x4 graphire for a long time, and made cover art using it for Mongoose (Hey no sniggering! I was in good company back then, Ralph Horsley and Anne Stokes also did covers for them at that time :))

I've always been quite a loose painter, so pin point accuracy on a huge tablet was never an issue for me.  And to be honest working digitally you spend a lot of time zoomed in on one area or another, so a 1:1 ratio doesn't really matter.  Eventually I found the tiny tablet was giving me wrist strain from so many repeated small movements, so I upgraded to a larger one. Probably only a problem if you're doing 10 hour days at it though.

The tablet will scale to the screen 0f they are wildly different aspect ratios you may loose a little working area on the tablet, but it won't do ovals for circles.

Hope that helps! I'm due at the pub, so must dash!

Thanks to Nicephorus too!

And Rob - its all tricks these days, eh? Bloody computers! ;)

Thanks Jon!

Verily shall we gird our loins, take up sword and spear and sally forth, delve into the darke, risk life and limb in perile most foule, baffle traps with 10 foot wooden poles, leap crevasses and abseil down chasms, we shall make our saves vs death and rods, we shall layeth ye critical hits upon the heads of our enemies.  Potions shall we quaff, scrolls shall we reade and rest for 2d6 turns shall we take whilst munching on our iron vittles.

And finally, our hour shall come, once ye dread beasts are laid low with fell handed blows, heads stoven and smote arrayed in disarray before us, then shall we find at last ye chests of treasure type P, and gain XPs uncounted!!!

Onward brave companions! Onward on our quest for ADVENTURE!
Hang on, is it just me or are those weird leaves freaking anyone else out?

(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/2720/adventure13tl3.jpg)

Hey all, don't want to spam up the forum too much, since the last image didn't get much traffic, but...
Just finished, a cover for David F Berens forthcoming novel, Dragon's Reign.
Here's a thumbnail of the full image, which will be available soon as a poster from yours truly:
(http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/6474/dragonsreign1000le8.th.jpg) (http://img180.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dragonsreign1000le8.jpg)

Here's a crop of the central elements:
(http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/6994/dragonsreigncrop700wi3.jpg)

And the main dude:
(http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7623/wizard600km0.jpg)
All images are (C)2008 Jon Hodgson, and was made in the UK, under UK copyright law.

Thanks for looking!

Magnificent!   What imagination!   Love the Dragon helmet!  :)

Quote from: HodgsonHey all, don't want to spam up the forum too much, since the last image didn't get much traffic, but...

Not much traffic? Then consider yourself my private dancer and keep posting on! :haw: But remember this is a slower forum on a smaller board so don't expect huge amounts of traffic. If you want traffic maybe a "Post Art Here" thread in the Role-Playing Games forum would be more appropriate?

Whoa I thought I posted a comment in reply to that descending to the crypt picture? Time to adjust the meds because I would have swore I did and could even tell you what was in the post. :(  Anyway, the leaves didn't freak me out but the angle of the perspective on them going down gave sort of a dreamlike quality to it. It is "correct" physically but the choice is sort of jarring emotionally. In a good way that is.

Oh, and another thumbs up on the dragon armour. That's cool.

Hey hey, here's a couple of recent pieces. These are somewhere between speed paints and finished work, due to the time constraints of personal work.

The idea for one came about whilst I was working on a Euromoney magazine cover (http://jonhodgson.livejournal.com/#item47639), and was drifting off to sleep. The character is saying "I'm here to feed the pig". I don't know why.  I had been drinking at the time, I must confess.  It was such a strong image in my head I wanted to paint it.
(http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1968/feedthepigjl9.jpg)
(C)2008 Jon Hodgson

This one I painted for my mate Martin for the cover of the LRP rules he and some other stout fellows wrote many years back, entitled Britannia Rex.  Many years back I used to play, before I became somewhat disenchanted with dressing up as a Romano Briton and whacking people in the face/getting whacked in the face with a rubber sword.  This year they are having a reunion I'm taking part by way of painting this. Easier on the ole face:
(http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6555/britrexdn2.jpg)
(C)2008 Jon Hodgson

Cheers!

Those are both solid pieces.
Very nice.

Thanks Tim! (it is Tim right?)

Ok here's one for June:

(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3958/64208887fb2.jpg)
(C)2008 Jon Hodgson. Made in Scotland.

Quote from: HodgsonThanks Tim! (it is Tim right?)

Ok here's one for June:

(C)2008 Jon Hodgson. Made in Scotland.

Very nice. This that it is very nicely done. The depth and textures are fantastic (especially considering the somewhat limited range of hues.)

As for me, yes I am Tim :D

That's grand!  Thanks for sharing these!!  :)

Whoa! Fantastic thread.

Would it be fair to say that your palette and lighting is heavily influenced by living in Scotland? Gives the outdoor scenes a moody feel vastly superior to the bubblegum look of generic digital fantasy art.

Hey thanks!

I would say yes I am incredibly influenced by living in Scotland.  I have an amazing view from the back of my house, which I am very very grateful for.  Close access to some epic scenery is a massive boon.  I must have a couple of thousand photos of Scottish scenery that I've been lucky enough to take myself, and my personal version of fantasy is very rooted in that.

Cheers!

Edit:
I have stuff like this just ten minutes down the road. You can't beat it.
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7408/houseea0.jpg)

I hadn't revisited this thread since May. The new stuff is great!

But really, the June entry with the horse riders and the fantastic background is just too awesome. First thing I thought was how I'd like to play the badass rider on the front/right.

Thanks for sharing, Jon!

Thanks!  I try to put in characters that I like, and hopefully that have some...character.  S'not always easy to get it right though, since you can get too self conscious about it.

Back to my UK gaming roots, here's the next cover for Dragon Warriors which I did earlier in the year, but is now on show to the public (you can find out more about it here: http://www.magnumopuspress.com/?page_id=10)

This one is for the reissue of the seminal Elven Crystals campaign:
(http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/255/tecwebdb9.jpg)
(C)2008 Magnum Opus Press and Jon Hodgson

That first June image triggers so many great ideas. Thanks for sharing. I like the others too, but that particular June image is fantastic. It melds some great eras together in a nice gloomy cauldron. Keep up the great work.

Crikey! That's beautiful. It is packed with atmosphere and movement. I like the way the magic user is reeling from the beast. Superb work!

Ah, love your art. It's fantastic.

Arise ye corrupted and neglected thread! Cast off your rainment of sod and er...hat of turf! Glut no more the bellies of worms! Arise and live again!

Yes its that time of the month again when I have something to show that I figure the goodly denizens of therpgsite.com might enjoy.  Like a needy hobo stealing an attention pie from your design forum window, only the hobo is a flesh eating zombie and the pie is YOUR HEAD!

Chasm Fighters:
(http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4973/chasmfightersfinxq2.jpg)

Cheers!

That kicks ass.

I am in awe.

Hey thanks guys! :)

Ok, just received confirmation that I am allowed to post this!  Here's the cover for HeroQuest 2.0.

(http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/779/hq12cb9.jpg)
(C)2008 Jon Hodgson

Again, awesome.
Is that digital or paint?

The thing that I really like about this art is that much of it shows adventuring parties doing adventuring party things.  That, to me, is one of the hallmarks of great RPG art.

Quote from: Aos;235477Again, awesome.
Is that digital or paint?

Thanks! Its all digital.  There's a couple of programs that really simulate real paint quite well (to a degree). The best known is probably Painter, but I've really switched on to ArtRage2 recently.  It does some fantastic oil paint - here's a close up of a section:
(http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1746/detailyt1.jpg)

It still amazes me!

Quote from: John MorrowThe thing that I really like about this art is that much of it shows adventuring parties doing adventuring party things. That, to me, is one of the hallmarks of great RPG art.

I think its really important. A lot of cover art I see on games doesn't necessarily reflect what you can actually do in the game, or would be likely to do.  And that can become a problem if the image is really exciting or sparks ideas, but not things you can do with the game.  Or else the situation/image presented isn't keyed into an understanding of exciting moments of game activity.

Of course there is a balance to be struck and room for many different approaches.  But I think actually (oddly?) "Adventurers doing adventuring" is really quite under-represented in rpg art.  Doing my best to correct that one painting at a time! :)



HeroQuest 2 is multigenre, with Glorantha stripped right out, and presented with a number of other suggested settings.  Doing a cover for such a game is notoriously difficult (witness Gurps 4E, BRP, Jags) and we thought long and hard about how to tackle this one.  

The setting of the image was something I designed separately to the rest of the it, just to get it right and hopefully have some appreciable depth to it.  Usually I would just formulate the whole thing together, but for this one the background place was worked up to quite a high degree separately.    I love the idea of this crumbling but vast bridge made of red sandstone. Overtones of Peake, Moorcock and Banks - a kind of singularity setting with nowhere else but this huge bridge. Probably dominated by the black robed priests, and their hideous robot minions (or enemies?).  Who probably have monkey brains stowed in their chest sections that control them.  (Wizard of Oz?)

Our adventurers drawn from across the universes have probably been flung into the midst of this Byzantine world, much to their disgust (Moorcock - The Vanishing Tower?) in search of some Macguffin. Its all gone horribly wrong (as it always does as part of an rpg scenario) and now they have to fight their way out.  Meanwhile the Magesterium zeppelin is closing in to finish it all off!

I really wanted to show on of those "Oh crap! We're fighting two groups now. We really messed this up didn't we?"

But also importantly that's just one version of the story - there's no official version.

Inspirational stuff, hodge. Makes me want to pick up the tablet and leave the 3D alone for awhile. :) Do you have a deviantArt account? I'd like to stay abreast of your works.

I do indeed:http://jonhodgson.deviantart.com/ (http://jonhodgson.deviantart.com/)

Oh no here he comes again with a picture!

I saw this one previewed over at Mongoose's site, so I thought I would show it here too.  The cover for the forthcoming Dragon Warriors Bestiary (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1610&qsSeries=#):

You can see a bigger version over on my LJ (http://jonhodgson.livejournal.com/60668.html#cutid1).

Cheers for dropping by! :)

Hey guys! Here's the next cover for Dragon Warriors.  This one is for a book of scenarios called Sleeping Gods.  This one gathers all the adventures from the original releases, and adds a bridging section so that they make sense as one continuous campaign:

(http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/1226/sgcoverfinaljd0.jpg)
(c)2008 Jon Hodgson and Magnum Opus Press

Cheers!

Hodge, another fab piece of work. I always admire the details in your work. In this one, I particularly like the gentle celtic shapes at the hem of the spectre's cloak. Also the standing stone, right hand side near the door looks a bit like a toothy grinning face to me. But that's probably just me. it normally is.

Great work, sir! A triumph.

Upside is, it's moody and atmospheric. Downside is, it looks like a painting, not real.

I prefer the painted style. It leaves a little to the imagination and conveys feeling much better than art that strives for reality. Obviously, this is coming from someone who has been doing just that for years! (http://www.icar.co.uk) If I could paint like Hodge, I would. A lot.

I have looked at this thread many times and I must say you have a beautiful talent Hodge.  My favorite so far is the green dragon piece just before this one, but I love this one as well.  Thank you for posting your artwork, and I can't wait to see more in the future.

Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

That wasn't a criticism; it's just not to my taste.

Thanks guys!  Apologies for the lateness of response - busy busy busy - I'm mid way through moving my studio to a new location - down stairs to what was the garage, but is now my swish new art room. Oooh La!

All comments greatly appreciated though, in spite of appearances!  I totally aim for a painterly appearance to my work, so guilty as charged, and I'm happy to accept that it won't please everyone. But that's cool, such is artwork. :)


Hey, since I'm here, this is a new(ish) one, which I just released at my poster shop (http://stores.lulu.com/monstrosgiganticos) on lulu.

(http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/4946/dragonfirewideql0.jpg)

Jon, your work kicks ass! As usual. :)

Congratulations, Hodgson, on the publication of your art as the cover to Dragon Warriors (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1609&qsSeries=43&PHPSESSID=a2d19ad0318e9fdb7e3462d74978b07a)!

(http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/product_images/thumbnail/fcdwarriors.jpg)

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;268095Congratulations, Hodgson, on the publication of your art as the cover to Dragon Warriors (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1609&qsSeries=43&PHPSESSID=a2d19ad0318e9fdb7e3462d74978b07a)!

(http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/product_images/thumbnail/fcdwarriors.jpg)

Cheers guy! I'm having a blast with these DW covers.  Four in the bag so far, one on the drawing board as I type!

So the DW Bestiary sold out in 45 minutes at Dragonmeet. I had a ball meeting up with lots of familiar faces as well as some new ones.  Really great to get to chat to Oliver Johnson, one of the original DW authors.

Since both the core book and the Bestiary are out here's a selection of interior art I did for them:
(http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/1348/trollso7.jpg)

(http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8812/whiteladyid0.jpg)

(http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/4931/innhr7.jpg)

(http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/4264/hagos5.jpg)

(http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/5604/adventurernewtl7.jpg)

(http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/7260/dwbest001yt1.jpg)

Cheers!

So I just stepped out of the thread for like 2 years, but I'm back now.

Here's a personal piece I did whilst hard at work on art for Cubicle 7's The One Ring LOTR rpg:
(http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/583/hobbitsfin.jpg)
My entry to Jon Schindehette (head of art on DnD)'s "Discover a Muse" contest:
(http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/3711/muse08.jpg)

Legends of Anglerre cover. Was originally for the core book, then the Companion, now back on the core:
(http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2324/anglerrenew.jpg)

That's probably enough for now.  Cheers!

Holy McGreeble!  Thanks for the update, or I never would have known about this thread.

Great work.  I agree with earlier posters that it's evocative, modern and exciting, and you've chosen not to go down the dungeonpunk road.

I'll be keeping an eye out for books with your art.


EDIT: I notice the Froudian influence in post #82.  Very nice.

Wonderful wonderful stuff.

I really do love your work. I actually think I like the watercolor esque styles for some of it. The black and white works are really great.

Awesome stuff. :)

There is plenty of WIN to see here.  You have great talent.

Fantastic!  I can't even pick a favorite, they're all so great.  Thanks!

Thanks everyone! I'm blushing.

Hey I realise having been slack about updating this thread I never showed a couple of my personal fave b/w pieces. These are both from Dragon Warriors, Friends or Foes supplement.

(http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4628/merchants02.jpg)

(http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/813/nobles02.jpg)

Gosh it's been a long time! Thought I'd drop by and share some of the art I've made over the last 2 years for The One Ring.  An incredibly daunting project to work on, and it's always a toss up whether it's better to take these big things on and risk everything or just play it safe and pass it up.  But you know. Tolkien?  Those projects don't come along every day.

I'm hoping Imageshack pictures are ok once more, as all my other images seem to be showing up ok.

Playable races:
Barding:
(http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/578/barding.jpg)
So these fellows are broadly based around a hopefully credible mixture of late Romano British and vikings. All the mannish cultures within The One Ring have a hefty dose of first to eleventh century Northern European feel to them, as is appropriate to the material. You won't find any plate armour in what I produced for example.  Which I'm sure will upset as many as it delights. What can you do? ;)

So given the nature of the Bardings as a wealthy and expanding trading culture, and that they are, within the scope of territory this first release, the foremost culture with the strongest bloodlines, it felt right to give them that slight feeling of distant Roman-ness. But it's limited to Romano Britain, rather than a truly mediterranean/classical feel. Their closeness to the dwarfs gives that norse feel, and whilst the two cultures don't ever really merge in this way in real history I felt it was something that could be pulled off. And this is about as fantastical as I allow myself to get in designing the mannish races. If I recall correctly the idea of using the Romano British influence came about due to the mail of the Bardings being noted for its strength, and using that shoulder reinforcement in the style of the Romano British seemed to fit, and then things flowed from there.

Dwarf:
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2561/dwarficonic.jpg)
So the dwarfs to me are almost straight vikings. Short, grumpy, especially rich vikings, but vikings. So this one is highly influenced by norse culture. Early on the game's designer Francesco sent me a little pen and ink illustration of a dwarf which he liked, which keyed pretty precisely into how I imagine the dwarves of Middle Earth. Which was nice.

Woodwoman of Mirkwood:
(http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/9611/slayer.jpg)
The woodmen were probably the culture we struggled with the most, and didn't gel until right at the end of the creation process, where we found a kind of Frankish, Merovingian feel for them, which seemed to suit. The point at which the character below was created we were still working to more directly Germanic themes, which do fit, but are not quite as fully developed as the ideas came to be later in the process. We also played with Welsh and Finnish influences.

These are a mighty tough people living within the shadow of Mirkwood. But I didn't want them to feel primitive.  For one that is more the domain of the Beornings, (in some sense, more chat about those when the art is released) and for two I tend to see a lot of simple sophistication in cultures that inhabit inhospitable places. And so whilst their resources are limited and under constant threat they are a proud and crafty people, able to use what comes to hand with great skill. Finding these kinds of strands of character was an essential part of the process. Whilst we shied away from massive stereotyping of each playable culture, you do need some hooks to hang a character on, whether your character is typical of their origins or atypical, you need something to grab onto. And it's the same for the visual look.

Monsters so far released:
Misty Mountain Goblin.
(http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/102/goblin500.jpg)
I chat about this design in a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s_bJmxdBCA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s_bJmxdBCA)

In short I was very keen to try and recreate some of the horror I felt as a little kid watching the Bakshi animation. Those rotoscoped orcs terrified me.  Orcs have lost their bite somewhat over the years.  Orcs/goblins in Tolkien are unique, often ancient, spiteful, merciless and cruel creatures. I really wanted the illustrations to reflect that.  This image received an Editor's Choice award over at cghub.com, a swanky site for illustrators, which was very nice.

Smaug
(http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/1929/smaugwidefinal.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/42/smaugwidefinal.jpg/)
Like much of the art I have made for The One Ring, the design of Smaug is taken directly from Tolkien's own paintings, with a hopefully appropriate update to match the times and the style of the other game art I have made. It was very important to me that Smaug show his (highly dubious) character, and be clearly capable of speech. The idea of him somewhat gleefully hosing fire into Erebor through pursed lips seemed to fit that idea.

Places:
Dol Guldur:
(http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/6775/dolguldur1500.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/862/dolguldur1500.jpg/)
This was an interesting one to tackle. The game as you may have read is set in a very specific time period, between the events of The Hobbit and before Lord of the Rings. So Dol Guldur lies broken.  This image was also intended to run across two pages, so needed two elements, each to be placed on one side of the spread. Showing those broken in doors seemed like a no brainer, but designing the main fortress itself was fraught with challenges. Working with Tolkien's material you really have to dig into the names of places and things to find the description, since that's where it's all hidden.  There has been some fan commentary on this one that Dol Guldur should be a single tower (though nowhere is that written).  But since two great armies embark from this place in a very short space of time I figured something grander was appropriate.  Personally I think the empty Dol Guldur could make an exceptionally spooky place to explore in the game - in some senses actually much more atmospheric than visiting it when The Necromancer's operations were in full swing.

So that's it so far. Hopefully some more art will get previewed soon and I will come back and post that. xox.

Quote from: Hodgson;466709Gosh it's been a long time! Thought I'd drop by and share some of the art I've made over the last 2 years for The One Ring....
So that's it so far. Hopefully some more art will get previewed soon and I will come back and post that. xox.

Great Work!  Thanks for posting!  I'm very impressed with the dwarf.  Just how I imagine them too.  Solid.  I also love the picture of Smaug.  Fantastic.   Anyway, thanks again for posting these.  They're awesome!   :)

That really is some of the best adventuring party art I've ever seen. Great stuff.

Thanks guys.  Fingers crossed for some more TOR stuff soon.

Just worked my way through the entire thread. Bonus when I came to the HeroQuest 2 cover and realised why your style seemed familiar! Looking forward to the next update!

Just wanted to say I think you are a fantastic artist!