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20 Minute Monsters – Adapted for Your Publication

You may have seen my 20 Minute Monster series on reddit or facebook or indeed my youtube channel.

Some small publishers have asked me to provide slightly adapted (sometimes just converted to black and white) versions for their publications, which I was happy to do for a nominal fee!

If this is something you think you might like, here are the samples:

ABOLETH – original:

Aboleth adjusted:

STIRGE – original:

Adjusted black and white:

YETI – original

Yeti adjusted:

ACHAIERI – original

Achaieria adjusted

BEHIR – original

Behir adjusted:

CARRION CRAWLER original:

Carrion crawler adjusted:

ETTERCAP – original:

Ettercap adjusted:

I also have some stock art on drivethrurpg, hoping to add more at some point:

 https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/4575/toren-atkinson

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Overdue Who Review: The Keeper of Traken

Fourth Doctor, Season 18, 1981

So they took Doctor Who off Tubi but thanks to my good friend and occasional Caustic Soda Podcast guest Allan I was able to continue my journey on DVD. And so:

The Fourth Doctor and Adric are visited on the TARDIS by the wizened Keeper of Traken, who warns that a great evil has come to his planet in the form of a Melkur – a calcified statue. The Keeper is nearing the end of his reign and seeks the Doctor’s help in preventing the evil from taking control of the bio-electronic Source that is the keystone of the Traken Union‘s civilization.

The planet Traken is described as a place of such good and niceness that evil cannot exist there. This isn’t explained, and indeed the opposite is shown as some of the people are greedy and manipulative, though this could be explained by the Keeper about to expire causing a time of tumult. Anyway, the Melkur landed in a garden some time ago and one of the leading body on Traken (Kassia) has tended to its paralyzed, inert form (thanks to the goodness) for years, but in that time she has become twisted by it and now seeks to put it in place of the Keeper. She manipulates the council, and the rising evil is blamed on the Doctor, who is imprisoned, but finds an ally in the science-minded consul Tremas (also the husband of Kassia, and the father of the young lady Nyssa). I thought for sure Nyssa was going to leave the planet at the end of the story and join as a second companion, but I was wrong (but not for long, it seems).

Anyway, spoilers – the eye-laser-shooting Melkur is a vessel for the return of Doctor Who’s version of Moriarty – The Master – and for a time his plan succeeds and he becomes the Keeper. However Adric saves the day by sabotaging the bio-electronic Source. But at the very end The Master takes possession of Tremas (notice what that name is an anagram for) and further evilness is teased in upcoming episodes.

All in all this is a skippable, by-the-numbers episode, The Doctor doesn’t actually do much and there’s not much of interest to look at.

Next: Logopolis – the last Tom Baker episode.

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Okayama – Okayama Castle, Korakuen Garden, Omotechi Shopping Center

We will start this entry with me wandering around Okayama in the morning, before most shops have opened, as is my wont.

View from the hotel

A lovely canal

Everyday scenes and objects

It’s just how they park cars here!

I came across a nice lady who was just opening her shop on the streetside. I purchased a donut for breakfast

Scenes from a train ride:

Rural!

NIGHT SCENES

This is the bridge between Korakuen Gardens and Okayama Castle

The Asahi Rivers, as viewed from Tsurumi bridge to Korakuen Garden

The Asahi Rivers, as viewed from Tsurumi bridge to Korakuen Garden

COMING UP NEXT: OMOTECHO SHOPPING CENTER…

(and then, Korakuen Garden, and then, Okayama Castle)

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It’s the Most Discounty Time of the Year – Original D&D & other TTRPG Art! Hexmas Sale

These original pencil drawings (and a couple of inks) were produced for various D&D and other RPG books and are marked down from now until Christmas.

Everything listed here is on offer for $45 USD (unless you’re in Vancouver and we can arrange in person, then $45 CAD)

CONTACT ME at :

You can see more D&D art going all the way back to AD&D/2nd edition at https://torenatkinson.com/dungeons-and-dragons-original-art/ and I’ll be giving discounts on offsale stuff too if you buy two or more pieces!

Oh, you wanted Cthulhu art instead? Ok: https://torenatkinson.com/artwork/original-art-for-sale/

Shipping to the US is typically $20 and that includes tracking and stiffening boards for maximum protection.

Arbalest

From Terror in Freeport – Reikert

From If Thoughts Could Kill (Monte Cook/Malhavoc Press) – crystal consciousness amulet

From Egyptian Adventures: Hamunaptra (3.5 edition, Green Ronin)

Skull & Bones (Green Ronin)

From BONDS OF MAGIC (Malhavoc Press)

From THIEVES WORLD GAZETEER (Green Ronin)

Demonologist (slight blemish from ink bleed through on left edge)

BOOK OF ELDRITCH MIGHT

From MINDSCAPES: BEASTS OF THE ID (Malhavoc Press)

From CAVALIER HANDBOOK (Green Ronin)

Cults of Freeport (Green Ronin)

From Temple Quarter (Game Mechanics/Green Ronin)

From Advanced Players Manual (Green Ronin)

From Advanced Bestiary (Green Ronin 2004)

From Minions (Chaosium, Call of Cthulhu)

From Monte Cook Presents: Year’s Best d20 (Malhavoc Press)

From Shaman’s Handbook (Green Ronin)

From Wrath and Rage: A Guidebook to Orcs, published by Green Ronin

From Spaceship Zero: The Roleplaying Game (2001 Green Ronin)

From Liber Bestarius (Eden Studios 2003)

From Black Sails Over Freeport (Green Ronin)

From MONSTERS OF THE MIND (Green Ronin)

From Book of the Righteous (Green Ronin)

From Monte Cook’s Arcana Unearthed D&D 3rd edition pencil on paper

From Bastards & Bloodlines D&D 3rd edition (Green Ronin Publishing) pencil on paper:

From Black Company (Green Ronin Publishing):

Book of Fiends (Green Ronin Publishing)

Aasimar and Tiefling: A Guidebook to the Planetouched (Green Ronin)

Mindshadows (Green Ronin)

Noble’s Handbook (Green Ronin)

From ORK! The Roleplaying Game (Green Ronin)

From Chaositech (Malhavoc Press)

From Creature Collection (White Wolf)

From Jade Dragons and Hungry Ghosts (Green Ronin)

From Creatures of Freeport (Green Ronin)

From Denizens of Freeport (Green Ronin)

from Touched by the Gods (Atlas Games)

From Thieves World (Green Ronin)

From THIEVES QUARTER (Game Mechanics)

from Unholy Warrior’s Handbook (Green Ronin)

From HARP (High Adventure Roleplaying Game – Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE)

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How to Draw: Atmospheric Perspective

Hey if you don’t want to read the text – watch the video!

From wikipedia: Aerial perspective, or atmospheric perspective, is the effect the atmosphere has on the appearance of an object as viewed from a distance. As the distance between an object and a viewer increases, the contrast between the object and its background decreases, and the contrast of any markings or details within the object also decreases. The colours of the object also become less saturated and shift toward the background colour, which is usually bluish, but may be some other colour under certain conditions (for instance, reddish around sunrise or sunset).

So, how do you do this with your drawing/painting? Here’s my techniques:

METHOD ONE – This applies particularly with black and white line art.

Imagine your composition has 3 layers (it might have more, but let’s pretend) – the foreground, the middle ground and the background.

– Give the foreground layer the MOST DETAIL and THICKER STROKES
– Make background layer with MINIMAL DETAIL and THINNEST STROKES
– The middle layer (or layers) can have degrees in between.

EXAMPLES: Henry Justice Ford

METHOD TWO – particularly for greyscale art with tones

Let’s say you’re drawing with different pencils, or different colored markers, paints…whatever. Digital also applies of course.

– The foreground layer is the DARKEST ink/tone (or colors)
– The background layer is the LIGHTEST ink/tone (or colors)
– The middle laer (or layers) again has varying degrees between the lightest and darkest brush strokes.

Examples:

W. Heath Robinson:

Howard Pyle – the man in the foreground with the hat has some of the darkest lines and tones in the image:

Henry Justice Ford – notice how the soldiers in the midground have much less detail and the colors are washed out. The castle in the very back has very thin linework and almost no color:

Rando Internet samples: