Dune Buggy

Finished painting two more pages for New Wastelands this week and was lucky enough to get out of work to visit the Comic Carnival last weekend. Though I was only there for an hour, it was great to see some old faces and have a quick chat with some new people too.

This has been one of my favorite images to work on recently as it has all the best aspects of the post-apoc genre about it; insane bounty hunters, re-purposed industrial Hell-scapes and dune buggies.

Looking ahead to next weekend, Swansea Comic & Gaming Con will be thappening in Swansea funnily enough. This was a great event last year (that I sadly missed. Kev kept me up to date) but this year I've marked the day off. I'll be there to talk the ears off any soul that wanders by our stall, mostly about our existing titles, but you know that I won't miss the chance to talk about Age of Savagery  Vol2. Just to sweeten the deal, Kev has given me the green light to print out some previews of a couple of the stories we have already received. Gotta say Volume 2 is shaping up to be bigger and better than Volume 1 so if you want to be a part of the Sage of Savagery or know someone that does, just send them the previous link ;)

I hope to see some of you at Swansea.

Something Light

Following my return from my holidays it was time get back to work. The Six Nations Rugby wrapped up this weekend and I'm pleased to say that work was actually bearable. I owe thanks for this to the team I've been working with and should any of them actually see this: I'm in charge now, be afraid! MWHAHAHAHAA!

Now that's out of the way, Comics Carnival!

A small event for a lazy Sunday afternoon. come along and support some small press and indy talent if you're around Cardiff. Kev will be there with the Deadstar booth, once again calling for submissions for Age of Savagery Vol 2. (Seriously guys, share this around, it's going to be ace.) I'll hopefully be able to make a quick visit to the event myself, but work has me for most of the day, so we'll have to wait and see.

I've not been idle out of work either. (Kev will be happy) Work on New Wastelands' coloured pages continues and here's a WIP of one of my favourite panels from issue 1.

I've also decided to keep my sculpting skills sharp of late. Not sure what this will amount to yet, but for now I've taken to buying junk lots off eBay and fixing them up. I find it rather rewarding as it only takes a little time to replace missing arms or legs and these figures are good as new. Here's Gandalf the White whose steed was missing it's legs. A little rummage in the bits box and some putty work has made him whole again.

I'm in the middle of sculpting Legolas' missing arm on this next piece as well. I rather like this model, but I've no real use for it. As a result it'll likely get sold on, but I'm enjoying the practice all the same.

Until next week...

Time Away Does A Body Good

No post last week as I was on my holiday for the year. Every year I try and get away to refuel and recharge. Away from work and as far away from the possibility of getting called into work as well. So after a cheeky week away to Portugal and Spain (and lovely places they are too) it's time to get back to it.

First few submission for Age of Savagery Vol 2 have began to arrive. This bodes well in my mind and I can't wait to see what people bring to the table this time, already the suggestions and ideas I've had put to me over the last few months from interested people have been great fuel for getting the second volume underway. Here's a sneaky peek at what I've got coming up for my submission this time around.

For anyone interested in getting involved with Age of Savagery, you can find the submissions guide lines HERE. 

Whilst away I had a chance to get back to some sketching. Mainly due to having left my miniature painting case at home just to take a break. I loved some of the old Churches we visited around Lisbon that I started doodling a shrine city. No particular reason other than I like the way Lisbon was built up around the side of a hill with lots of winding streets and interesting architecture. In the end this became an experiment with chalk pencil and a severely dry black marker that finally gave up on life just as I finished.

I've also been reading Fall of Gondolin while away. A great read for any Tolkien fan and a shame to learn it will likely be the last book to ever come from the estate. That said it inspired an epic hero idea in my mind that lead to this group of Giant-slayers.

I was really happy with this one and it was even able to keep my niece and nephew entertained for a while when I was working on it. Something the rest of my family seemed eternally grateful for at the time.

That was my time away and what I got out of it artistically. Tomorrow it's back to work proper, I still have the Flash Gitz to finish and a few other projects on the horizon, so it's still a busy year a head.

Age of Savagery Volume 2

Last year Kev and brought a bunch of indy comic creators together to try and bring my deranged ramblings to life in story form. After some misfires with printers and the hectic schedules of Christmas 2017 we were able to bring Age of Savagery Volume 1 to life. Since then we've taken it to various cons up and down the country, not just speaking as Deadstar, but as one of the many contributors that have taken this community project with them to shows that Kev and I would be unable to attend. Since it's initial release, many have asked if AoS would receive a second volume and I've always responded with a hopeful "Yes".

Now I have the pleasure to announce that AoS is officially open for submissions once again. We're going to make a second volume with all the barbarian fantasy nonsense we had before and more besides. Last time the brief was left pretty open as I had set the ground rules for the world of Genodd and left the stories open to interpretation within those guidelines; We wanted to know about the people and the stories they told and how they lived in this world. The results were stories involving a lot of variety, not just fantasy violence, but rites of passage, unique cultural practices and even the development of a new faction within the Genodd that I previously had never considered.

AoS1 has grown beyond what I original wrote thanks to the in-put of the community. At it's core it is still Genodd, but now, I think it has become something a bit more fluid that people can continue to expand on with volume 2.

For a full brief, the requirements for writers, artists and submissions in general can be downloaded HERE. For any further questions or if you want to get a copy of volume 1 for a bit of reference on what has already gone before, check out DEADSTAR PUBLISHING and their posts.