Artistic Insights #1

Greetings, Patrons! 

We're starting a new series of exclusive posts to peel back the curtain on what we do. From initial concepts to finished sculpt, we hope to show you - the patrons - a deeper and exclusive look at what we're working on before we reveal each month's set of STLs. 

Today, Connor shows off a piece of concept art he's been working on for a special miniature, which we'll be talking more about at a later date. We'll be calling this series 'Artistic Insights' and it's just for patrons. We hope you like it!

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"Hi, I’m Connor Sheppard. I'm the 2D Artist in our team, and I'm responsible for concepting the designs of our models and all the 2D Media used on our social platforms."

"I wanted to take a moment to lead you through my design choices for this upcoming model to give you a bit of an insight into how we do things in production."

"In my concept, we can see the cultist is holding the book in the same or mostly the same pose as the previous model. This is a purposful design choice because it suggests that either this is the same character, though, of course, post mutation, or someone who was once just our like the previous mage, but who has now recieved the gifts of his dark patron. It hints at what the objectives of this cult might be: a pursuit of change."

"For those DMs who wish to use our models for table top gaming, I wanted a design that to give whatever stat block that is used an edge as being more than just a caster because we have already done that. Perhaps these tentacles might make this one as formidable up close as he his magics would make him from afar."

"I wanted to capture an unholy fusion of the caster and his tools, and here we can see how his fingers have fused into tentacles that snake their way up the length of the staff to form the same symbol that is shown on the first cultist model. This to me, suggests that there can be no going back now for this mage, and that they are commit body and soul to their dark patron."

"I wanted to include an area that would act as a blank canvas for our sculptors to add elements of their own design and be creatively free. The thick layers of cloth that wrap around the arms and tangle down from the wrists supply this area, and I can imagine the length of material could be home to dark runes of power or filigree designs, or anything else the team might come up with."

"You might see more subtle changes and mutations in variants of other models to come, but for this one I wanted to make a statement of the grotesque. His entire lower half has been turned into a writhing mass of tentacles that squirm and coil over each other. I am excited to think what poses our sculptors come up with, and I hope this choice will give them a sense of freedom in posing the model."

"Well, that's all from me guys, I would love to know what you think of this design. Keep a close eye on our patreon and social media, and you will see this mass of mutations come to life in the near future!"

 - Connor