[Artwork & Stuff] March 2024

[jordangreywolf]

Pottery Experiments
During our winter company meeting (back in January) we had some "creative excursions" in Santa Fe, and my group went to Green River Pottery (https://www.greenriverpottery.com) to learn how to work clay on a pottery wheel. My attempts were ... less-than-optimal. I had more fun making goofy faces with the clay and getting my coworkers to laugh. I made some very simple "dish" shapes, which somewhat to my surprise all ended up being glazed and fired and shipped off to me. (Well, I guess we were already paying for it....) One I suppose could work as a shallow paintbrush dish. The other, a candle pedestal? It was a fun experience, and nice to see finally how that sort of thing works.




Cherry Bomb
A 3D-printed Chryslus "Cherry Bomb" or "Rocket 69" (naming is a bit inconsistent in the lore), along with a slightly modified in-game billboard I adapted for a modular frame. The plastic billboard frame (it lights up!) is a puzzle-frame novelty meant to tie in with "Finding Dory," and I grunged it up a little and tried my hand at printing off some custom billboard designs (8"x4") pasted against mat board backing (and double-sided, because why not?). My idea is that for a campaign I could reuse the same prop and put in different billboard designs for variety, but also to foreshadow elements for the campaign (e.g., future spots to visit, hints of future threats) -- either through the message on the ad itself, or graffiti across the surface.



Kezanian Lasagna
Another recipe article illustration for a fictitious World of Warcraft newspaper. A tray of lasagna ... which doesn't exist in-game, but probably should. And who would MAKE lasagna? Well, I have no idea, but ... hmm. I'm going to take a wild leap and say that if anyone would make pizza, lasagna, etc., it would have to be goblins. Why? Because if nobody else makes it, they would. (I blame goblins for the in-game Pineapple Pizza.) We have a cameo appearance in the background by a comic strip about a famous sabercat who loves lasagna and hates Moondays ... Snarlfield! He frequently frustrates his owner, Peon Farbuckle, and randomly boots Odious the worg off tables.



Marogg's Jambalaya
Marogg, Horde chef, sends you to swipe Darkspear rice from trolls so he can make jambalaya. Well, that jambalaya had better be worth it! Here's my artistic interpretation, in some nondescript tavern in Orgrimmar.



Dalaran Magic Cake
It's magic cake, so of course it's in Dalaran! This one's flavored with mageroyal powder (for the chocolate-substitute flavor that won't make your friendly local worgen fall ill). I used the Legerdemain Lounge in old Dalaran as a model for the backdrop.




Night Elf Scones
Portrait of a night elf chef (i.e., the persona of the person writing these recipe articles) making maple-pecan scones (and apparently doing so while in full armor, because cooking is dangerous XD ).




Restaurant Staff
Another staff-member at that pink rose-themed "cafe."




HeroQuest Fireplace
Do you remember HeroQuest by any chance? That was an odd board game that came out in the early 1990s through a collaboration between Milton Bradley and the creators of Games Workshop. The original game had a slew of plastic minis for the heroes and monsters and some combo "furniture" pieces that were part plastic, part printed die-cut cardboard. It was a significant contributor to my original collection of gaming miniatures back in the day, because I learned that I could write to Milton Bradley and order just the plastic sprues as spare parts "for purposes of expansion," even after the game itself was no longer to be found in stores. Anyway, it made a comeback, though all Games Workshop/Warhammer-specific details have been scrubbed (no more forces of "Chaos" or hints of a Bloodthirster for the "gargoyle"), with much higher-quality minis and furniture pieces.



HeroQuest Furniture
The various new HeroQuest furniture pieces painted up with craft acrylics (Apple Barrel, Top Notch) and Army Painter Speedpaints, shown posed with some Hirst Arts Castlemolds tiles and wall segments. This is from the newer 2021 version released by Avalon Hill (vs. the old plastic-and-cardboard pieces from the original 1989 Milton Bradley / Games Workshop game).

I considered building a semi-3D board with Hirst Arts Castlemolds tiles in something approximating the original HQ layout, though there were some practical concerns regarding the size of the squares, how to handle the walls, etc. I've had my hands full with other things in the meantime, but I managed to get the basic HeroQuest set painted up to "good enough for the tabletop" minimums so Digital_Rampage could run store demos (though, typing this in November, THAT hasn't ever come about, either).