Reusable Gaming packs and storage solutions for Magic the Gathering (MtG), Cube, and TCGs.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
May Update + Artist Spotlight: Joe Slucher
almost 2 years ago
– Mon, Jun 13, 2022 at 05:46:12 PM
Hey backers!
We’ve got some new images and a production update to share with you, as well as an Artist Spotlight from Joe Slucher! Take a look!
Rewards Progress
Cubeamajigs - Prototyping is expected to be complete in about a week!
Podamajigs - Prototyping is complete! Mass production is in progress.
Tokens - Prototyping is complete! Mass production is in progress.
Playmats - Since playmats will be produced in the states and go through the process pretty quickly, they’ll begin production once the Cubeamajigs and Podamajigs are complete and on their way to us via freight.
This project began with an open question about what I would like to illustrate on the cover of this box for HPP and it's just incredibly rare that I get any say over the content of my artwork. At the time, I was creating the slug and insect token for the Magic's latest Innistrad sets and was loving it. Most of the art I do is seen at a size that fits in the palm of your hand so this project presented a great opportunity to flood a huge image with tons of details. So I pitched doing some sort of insect or arachnid horde illustration. I'm incredibly grateful that Brian steered me towards doing a demon instead! Demons are far more interesting with their vast portrayals across all media and their history within Magic the Gathering. It was subject matter that was more likely to set me up for success and I appreciated it. I jumped into sketching on this evil lawyer/nerd with a lot of pressure taken off of me thanks to the subject change.
I begin most of my projects with sketches that are little more than chicken scratch but they get my mind envisioning various outcomes. So at that stage I'm making two or three marks for a head which cause me to be able to visualize what the rest of the head would look like and then I move on to the next couple lines. It's not about creating any sort of visual for anybody else at that time.
In some of those early half-finished doodles, I kept trying to pursue this concept of the demon having a crown of horns that circled its head. It wasn't until I felt I was honing in on a pleasing arrangement that I realized that essentially I had made a red Night King from Game of Thrones with the horns turned up to 11. Nooo! Into the trash with those.
Initial directions were just about the visuals and weren't digging deeper into any other concepts or connections. It was then that I struck upon the connection in stories between missing eyes/blindness and wisdom or divination. A demonic tutor could be portrayed as a seer or oracle which I found intriguing. From there I developed my first real sketch where the horns came down the forehead and into the eyes. Afterwards I created a 3D sculpt of the head in Zbrush and Blender and made a new sketch. In retrospect I can see how the bat-like nose was far too weird but it seemed to come out naturally when thinking of the character as blind.
I'm really into Dungeons and Dragons so I had begun to think of this character as more of a devil and combined with being inspired by Demonic Tutor, I knew I had to get some documents in there. Whether these were contracts for the souls of mortals beholden to them (D&D), secrets of the planes (MtG), or scripture didn't need to be explicit. I wanted to push that with the body descending into these papers and the wings could be like paper in the way that they crumpled and created creases. So I purposefully made the folds and ridges on the wing membrane much more hard-edged and geometric.
I was averse to showing this character with rippling abs and chest muscles as strength wasn't the point of this character. They're evil, twisted, conniving and disturbing creatures and mundane clothing like robes to hide their physique spoke of a modesty that didn't make sense to me. So instead I made them lumpy with nodules, wrinkles, and worming black veins. Eventually even lips seemed too human of a trait so I removed them. The image was going to be mostly red so I tried to tone down the red in the flesh around the centers of attention but I made the most reddish part the hands as an allusion to guilt or "being caught red-handed".
Probably my favorite part of the image was the decision to have the broken halo plunged into their own chest to pin some of the writings in place. Perhaps it wards against other devils taking that bit of information? Or perhaps it's a proud declaration of evil deeds?
March Update + Artist Spotlight: Ernanda Souza
almost 2 years ago
– Tue, May 31, 2022 at 12:28:56 PM
Hey backers!
We don’t have a lot of new news on the rewards this month, but please enjoy this Artist Spotlight from Ernanda Souza in the meantime!
Rewards Progress
Cubeamajigs, Podamajigs, lifepads and playmats are still in production but they’re nearing the end! Once they are complete we can pass more information along regarding shipping to us and more accurate fulfillment dates.
Dragon Shield Sleeves and pencils have arrived at the warehouse!
Artist Spotlight - Ernanda Souza
Ernanda Souza is afreelance artist from Brazil. Currently working on illustration for games, comic covers, character concept & design.
I am really fond of some cards from each color of MTG. The counterspell card "Syncopate" from Clint Cearley is one of them. It has a really strong composition and storytelling in my opinion and I never forgot about it.
I tried to do just a simple homage to all the things I imagined doing one day for a blue card having something like Syncopate in mind.The idea was to do a viking-ish aesthetic, because I really enjoyed the concepts from Kaldheim.
I changed all over to make something more fun out of it, so I decided to call a friend who really wanted to be IN a Magic card someday, and that was one of the things I liked the most while working on this Counterspell's art.
It was also the first blue color themed art I did, even though it was not official. Coincidentally, after this I did my first blue Magic card.
April Update + Upcoming BackerKit Charge (May 16)
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, May 26, 2022 at 11:19:23 AM
Hey backers!
This month’s update doesn’t have much in terms of movement, but we have an important announcement in regards to charging any outstanding BackerKit balances and locking orders for all backers. Check it out!
Rewards Progress
Currently (eagerly!) awaiting confirmation on Cubeamajigs, Podamajigs, lifepads and playmats and their journey through the production process. We hope to provide more concrete information regarding shipping and updated fulfillment dates for backers soon! We know many of you are just as eager as we are for news.
Dragon Shield Sleeves and pencils are in warehouse.
Upcoming BackerKit Charge and Locking Orders
For backers who have an outstanding balance on BackerKit, we will be charging cards on file on May 16th. Reasons backers may have an outstanding balance are if they added add-ons, upgraded tiers, or their pledge was unsuccessfully collected through Kickstarter.
If your original pledge was collected through Kickstarter and you made no changes to your rewards in your survey, you will not see a new charge.
February Update + Artist Spotlight: Ralph Horsley
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 12:12:09 PM
Hey backers!
Here’s our update for this month, featuring an Artist Spotlight from the goblin kingmaker himself, Ralph Horsley! Check it out!
Rewards Progress
Production is occurring for the Cubeamajigs themselves, as well as the Podamajigs, lifepads and playmats
Dragon Shield sleeves and pencils have completed production and are en route to our warehouse! They're looking pretty good, we can't wait to get them into your hands!
The current estimate for production to be completed on all rewards is end of March, with an estimate of sometime in May to begin fulfillment of this project.
“I was excited to receive the brief for this piece. A Goblin King paraded aloft on his palanquin throne in a coliseum full of an enthusiastic Goblin horde. It contained a lot of elements I really enjoy working with. Crowd scenes, an interesting technical spec, and Goblins. Lots of Goblins!
The technical aspect came from the requirement to work in multiple ways, e.g. wrap around the cube, crop to be a playmat, and other functions. I was provided with a clear template of how this would work, and that was my starting point. I drew out my own, approximately 33% scaled, template onto toned board. This would be the basis for my composition studies.
The first study places the King close-up and central. We are looking up slightly to help make him appear more powerful and the curve of the arena helps keep the focus on him. The subsequent studies try out different ideas. In the second he is framed by the crowd, where we are placed as the viewer. The last has a strong tramline perspective drawing our eye to him, whilst also placing him in the middle distance to get a greater sense of the scale of the crowd and arena. The studies allow me to take the key elements, and mess around with them in different configurations. All the time checking how they work within the template. The studies are created using brushpen, sepia ink and acrylic paint. Working against the toned background, these tools allow me to focus on the value range and lighting.
The first study was chosen to go forward and I then worked this up into a full scale graphite drawing on the same toned board. Brian, the art director on the project, observed that he’d like a bit more chaos and action amongst the goblins. In the revised sketch you can see how I brought in these additional elements, pushing the anarchic humour that we all love about Goblins.
With the revised sketch approved I printed out a scaled down version. This laser print was glued onto board and primed with acrylic matte medium. I then applied acrylic paint to make a colour study. In this instance I had a clear idea of how I wanted to approach the image, and was happy to settle on my palette choices after this first iteration.
Having a colour study makes approaching the oil painting a lot easier as a large number of the decisions have been made, and I can focus on the rendering. The final sketch is prepared by inking the linework using a brushpen, then applying several coats of clear gesso. The inking helps maintain the integrity of the sketch as I paint over it.
My approach is to do a first pass blocking in all colours using a medium mix of walnut oil and drying linseed oil. I like using this combination with oils as it gives a nice fluidity to the paint as it’s applied. Leaving this overnight I then go in for a second and subsequent passes refining the blending and adding more detail. I now use Liquin as a medium. This is to accelerate the drying, which allows me to do some glazing tweaks to the colour and value range at the end.
I really enjoyed working on this piece, and I like to think it shows.. All hail the Goblin King! Or at least lob a fizzing bomb his way…"
Seeds of Decay is a new campaign setting for 5th Edition by acclaimed fantasy artist and game designer Darryl T. Jones.
Rot and decay are spreading at an alarming rate, threatening the lives of all who live there. Terrible creatures twisted by decay hunt any who call the light their friend.
Seeds of Decay features dozens of new hero options, rules for playing tiny characters, a new foraging and contraption building system, wondrous new magic items and much more!
January Update + Artist Spotlight: Milivoj Ćeran
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Jan 25, 2022 at 01:02:48 PM
Hey backers!
We hope you had a safe and happy new year and a great start to 2022! Here’s our update for January as well as another Artist Spotlight!
Production Progress
Aside from the sleeves (which are already in production!), the remainder of items will be starting production when Lunar New Year ends! (Approximately Feb 10)
We’re making some small tweaks to the files to optimize them for this process at which point we’ll be able to begin final proofing. From there, we’ll have a more detailed timeline!
Based on our estimated timeline from the last update, we anticipate all production will be completed by the end March! From there rewards will ship to us, then the team will process rewards to ship out to backers. We anticipate fulfillment to occur in May, 2022.
We know this is a change from our original projected date and we apologize for the delay! Thank you for your patience and we can’t wait to get your rewards in your hands.
I enjoyed working on this piece, because it has that melancholic and deeper mood than my other artworks, which is usually some action scene or characters in fantasy surroundings. Making it closer to the mystic or even surreal paintings is getting out of the box in some way. Especially with the inputting element of time and passing of time, and "memento mori" elements. I enjoyed the unreal dreamy fantastical landscape, with a giant ruined watch which presents time. Also the personalisation of time in 3 figures - which represent 3 stages of life (childhood, middle age and old age), and a veiled mystical eerie figure woman with a death face.
What made you decide to do it the way you did?
In a technical way, I worked on this painting the same way I work on my other paintings/illustrations. So the same principles of composition, light, colors, values, and textures which I love to put in my art. But the expression of the piece and the mood was different, and a bit closer to the 19th century artworks connected with spirituality, subconscious, dreams, and man's desire to understand the passing of time. I was excited to paint such a piece and I must say I liked it.
Was there something you enjoyed about the piece?
One detail was very special to me - the figure of the little girl is actually my daughter Leda. I took many photos of my family, as well as thousands of references wherever we went. So last year - in 2020, my son Jan and daughter Leda were playing on one small hill near the supermarket, while my wife was in the store. They were completely in the game, and I took a few fantastic photos of Leda's dress that looked fantastic on the wind (that was one of her favourite dresses). She was very happy, and for me she looked more like she was in the "Sound of Music" movie from 1965. So when I worked on this piece (after the sketch was approved),I remembered that particular photo, her "singing" pose and the dress, and searched for it in the hard drive. I used it for reference, redrew the little girl figure, and it was a perfect fit. My wife Marina posed for the woman (in one of our reenactment medieval dresses).
Seeds of Decay is a new campaign setting for 5th Edition by acclaimed fantasy artist and game designer Darryl T. Jones.
Rot and decay are spreading at an alarming rate, threatening the lives of all who live there. Terrible creatures twisted by decay hunt any who call the light their friend.
Seeds of Decay features dozens of new hero options, rules for playing tiny characters, a new foraging and contraption building system, wondrous new magic items and much more!
