Artist Spotlight and Patreon Swag - Florian Mellies aka SpOoKy777

Cross posting from Renegade HPG...here is an artist spotlight featuring another idea I had to help support artists in the BattleTech community.

My recent giveaway for a custom Warhammer WHM-6R card for the BattleTech CCG featured Florian Mellies 'Blast from the Past' illustration, a modern take on the classic BattleDroids/BattleTech box art. Florian asked if I wouldn't mind sending some extras his way to pass along to his high level Patrons, which seemed like a no brainer. Then it occurred to me, why don't I make a custom card special for Florian to give out as an artist exclusive! Even better, it will feature a full art version on one side, and the classic version on the other!

From that was born the Timber Wolf V.

Now, the Mad Cat/Timber Wolf seen in most early (and even some recent) illustrations is not actually a canon build and has never been given an "official" designation. Using Bishop Steiner as a sounding board, we came up with the V variant (for Venters, the original artist) which is spec'd out to perfectly match the art we see so often in and on the various official products.

This custom loadout features 2 LRM 15s, 2 ER Large Lasers, 4 ER Medium Lasers, and 4 Machine Guns. By a happy strike of fortune this loadout translates very well into the old CCG, resulting in a quick, support killing striker that can deal a lot of extra pain if ignored. I even created a little tongue in cheek, meta level fluff for it :)

"Most common in the Ghost Bear touman, the V variant of the Timber Wolf was the first to be recorded by Inner Sphere media. It is often mistaken for the Prime due to the visual similarity between the two configurations."

I have a batch of these custom Timber Wolf V cards for the old BattleTech CCG heading off to the printer shortly and wanted to let everyone know about them in case it could drive a little extra support Florian's way. Once they are done he'll be including them in his own giveaways.

Please consider heading on over to Florian's Patreon and see if it's something you'd want to support. It's a great way to encourage a talented BattleTech artist and as an added bonus, you can enjoy some cool swag like this custom card :)

https://www.patreon.com/spooky777/

On the subject of custom cards, the Warhammer WHM-6R I gave away last month should be arriving in mailboxes this week. I can't wait to hear what those receiving them think about the physical copy. If you are fans of these definitely let me know if you want more giveaways like it through the Renegade HPG Patreon moving forward (and what 'Mechs you'd want to see)

And keep your eye out for more artist exclusives like this one. Florian is the first but definitely won't be the last!