Ranarh's Art Blog

I almost never do anything that's funny out of my own volition. Which is weird. But I have the theory that cool images, impactful images, the kind I want to put into the world, are not typically the funny kind. Obviously funny memes and images are memorable, but they're not what I seek out. That doesn't mean I can't do funny! A D&D game master asked me in 2018 to illustrate a bunch of weird beholders, not with the classic dozens of eyestalks but with ears or mouths, and here we are. They are absolutely disgusting. Following those, we also created a bunch of other illustrations for the role-playing campaign the client was mastering at the time where the mechanical pet mouse Hubert of one character ran off with some psychopomp named Jim, and sent the player postcards of their exploits as they stole on parties or met the gods. I used a rather different style with selections and layers effects rather than my usual painterly way of making images for this to speed things ...

This is a card template for a Dungeon Master presenting his players with magic items in play. There are several colour options for the frames and corners.

[english] ... is a visual novel by Sapphire Dragon Productions, a pirate comdey with cool minigames, I'm told. I provided the backgrounds for the story, and they have now launched their Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sapphdragon/captain-firebeard-and-the-bay-of-crows Go take a look, and find more of their games on steam http://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Sapphire%20Dragon%20Productions [deutsch] Dieses Visual Novel hat jetzt seine Kickstarter-Kampagne begonnen. Produzent Sapphire Dragon Productions hat sich damit eine Piratenkomödie ausgedacht, die wie ich höre auch noch coole Minigames enthält. Falls Ihr nicht so gerne auf Englisch spielt, werden als weitere Finanzierungsziele auch zusätzliche Sprachen angeboten, also sagt auch allen Euren Freunden Bescheid :) Die Kampagne gibt es hier: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sapphdragon/captain-firebeard-and-the-bay-of-crows und Ihr könnte bisher erschienene Spiele von Sapphire Dragon...

Outer Colony, Voyager Games' scifi sim game, has launched its greenlight campaign on Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=865803469 I have been with the project from its early days, and have permission to call myself its art director (even if developer/company owner Samuel Ruggieri actually made most of the decisions). The game is also avaliable for beta testing on the Voyager Games' website. We all would love to get your support for an incredibly intricate, smart, and fun game, that in its massive detail is a rare gem in the world of indie games.

We set out for a session of the pen&paper RPG of Dragon Age, and I felt the need for tarot cards for the player characters, like those for the companions in Inquisition. It came in handy that those are small, and I could try a technique I wanted - painting over printed sketches before finishing digitally. I made pencil sketches in original size at 7×12cm in my sketchbook, cleaned them up and printed them on Canson 1557 180g/m² paper, broke out my worst watercolours for gritty effects and gave them some washes (gouache and watercolour pencils were also involved), scanned them back in and finished them digitally. It then turned out that despite using a printing template, it was quite difficult to align the fronts and backs in the print shop, but it was finally managed more or less, and laminated for endurance. Regrets: I would have liked them to be more art nouveau-ish, and, despite my massive use of digital masks, I'm note sure that the decoratively textured but clean look ...

Maps done for the last issue of Cthulhus Ruf , a fan publication for the Call of Cthulhu RPG.

Illustrations for the German RPG Splittermond by Uhrwerk Verlag, for their fairy sourcebook. http://www.uhrwerk-verlag.de/ --- Ilustrationen für den Feenband des Splittermond-Rollenspiels vom Uhrwerk Verlag. http://www.uhrwerk-verlag.de/

Image for the RPG adventure " Theaterritter " for The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. The wealthy city of Festum high in the north. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Abenteuer " Theaterritter " für Das Schwarze Auge von Ulisses Spiele. Die wohlhabende Stadt Festum im hohen Norden. Festum| © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. A path through the deep forests of Aventuria. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Ein Pfad durch die dichten Wälder Aventuriens. Waldweg | © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. One of the ancient temples in the Selemian Swamps. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Einer der uralten Tempel in den Selemer Sümpfen. Echsensümpfe | © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. The vast swamps of the South. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Die ausgedehnten Sümpfe des Südens. Südlicher Sumpf | © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. The great Middlerealmian port city Perricum. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Die große mittelreichische Hafenstadt Perricum. Perricum| © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. It is not uncommon to find fairies in Albernia's forests. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. In Albernias Wäldern findet nicht selten Feen. Albernia | © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. A town in the cold north bordering the Niveselands. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Ein Städtchen im kalten Norden, am Rande der Nivesenlande. Golf von Riva und Nivesenlande| © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. The city states of the South. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Die Stadtstaaten des Südens. Fasar | © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. The cold high North, in the middle of nowhere, around Paavi. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Der kalte hohe Norden, irgendwo im Nichts bei Paavi. Hoher Norden | © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. These are the Shield Lands of the Middenrealm. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Dies sind die Schildlande des Mittelreiches. Schildlande | © Ulisses Spiele

  Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. A view of one of the Southern Aventuria cities of the Al'Anfan Empire. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Hier ein Blick auf eine südaventurische Stadt im al'anfanischen Imperium. Südaventurische Stadt | © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. This gives us a glimpse of the Shadowlands. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Ein Blick in die Schattenlande. Schattenlande |  © Ulisses Spiele

Image for the world guide " Aventurischer Almanach " for the 5th Edition of The Dark Eye, by Ulisses Spiele. This are the Northlands, where the free cities of the North lie. --- deutsch --- Illustration für das Weltenbuch " Aventurischer Almanach " der 5ten Edition des Schwarzen Auges von Ulisses Spiele. Dies sind die Nordlande, wo die freien Städte des Nordens liegen. Nordland | © Ulisses Spiele