Ronin Round Table: The Art of Art Direction

beastfolk

By Hal Mangold

Today’s Ronin Round Table draws back the curtain on some of the behind-the-scenes parts of creating our products. Art is an essential part of the look and feel of most games, and it’s the role of the art director (that’s me) to make sure all that art gets created. To give you all a little insight into the job, we’re going to answer a few common questions about what being an art director is all about.  

What does the art director do?

As the art director, my responsibility is to make sure that all of the art that goes into Green Ronin’s games and publications is up to the standard we’ve tried to set over the years. I select the artists, assign and approve the art, and herd cats to make sure it all comes into our hands by the deadline necessary for publication.  

How does the art direction process work?

It all starts for me with scouting out the artists who have the right style to fit the project. Games like Mutants & Masterminds have a radically different art style than Dragon Age or A Song of Ice & Fire. I contact the artists I want on the project, see if they are available during the timeframe I need them, and get them contracted if they’re interested in working on the project. Ideally, this is done about 4-5 months ahead of time, but circumstances often compress this a bit.  

The art order or brief comes next. This is a description or set of descriptions for the piece of art needed for the product. These can be written either by me or, more often, by the developer of the product, with my role being more to tweak or jazz up those basic descriptions. Sometimes the descriptions are general, sometimes really specific, and different artists work well with each type. In general, I try to art direct with a light touch when I can. I’m hiring the artist for their talents and inspiration, after all. I try to give them as much room to improvise as I can.   

The next step is to take that art order transfer it to the artist or artists. For a cover piece, this part is simple. For interior work with multiple artists, it’s a bit more involved of a process. The art assignments get broken up between the artists, taking into consideration both spreading the artists throughout the book for a unified look, and assigning the right pieces to the right artists based on their relative strengths.

Next the artists submit their sketches for the assignments. I review them to make sure the composition is as strong as it should be, that the basic look is right, that any characters depicted have the correct look, and so on. If revised sketches are needed, the artist submits them, and once everyone is happy with where the piece are going, the artist takes the piece to its final state.

If the project is for a licensed property, there’s one extra step: approval by the licensor. Most licensors require us to submit all of the original art we commission to them so they can make sure it depicts their world and characters properly. Some licensors want to see sketches, and some just care about the final result.

There was a time when there was another step: the artists physically shipping their work to us for scanning. Fortunately almost all artists today (even those working in non-digital mediums) submit digital files. Considering the international nature of the artists we work with, that’s especially fortunate today, with international shipping costs being what they are.  

Once all the art is approved, the art director gives it a look to ensure it’s in the proper color and file format, and that it will reproduce properly when actually printed. After that, the image file is handed off to layout for insertion into the product. The art director’s work is done.

Where do you find artists?

Anywhere and everywhere! The Internet is a fantastic source, of course. Sites like DeviantArt, Artstation and DrawCrowd give artists a place to put their portfolios, and I browse around on them quite often. Sites like Tumblr and Pinterest are also fantastic art resources, both for finding new artists, and building “mood boards” for how I want a particular project to look. It sometimes takes a little internet detective work to find out who created an image found that way, however. Not everyone is great about tagging sources for what they post.

Conventions are another great source for artists. Whether it’s a comic, gaming, anime or just overall sci-fi show, I always keep an eye out for creators whose style might work with one of our games. If we’re actually displaying at a show (like GenCon, for instance), portfolio reviews are another great source for me.

And finally, email submissions come in all the time, and have provided me with some great people I might not have noticed before.

Can I submit my art to Green Ronin?

Absolutely! Anyone is welcome to submit their work (or a link to an online portfolio, preferably), to art@greenronin.com.

Ronin Round Table: Blue Rose Development

Blue Rose cover by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Blue Rose cover by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Welcome! In this week’s Ronin Round Table, we’re taking a look at the development of the new edition of Blue Rose Fantasy Roleplaying following last year’s successful Kickstarter, along with a preview of some of the ways Blue Rose uses and modifies material from the AGE (Adventure Game Engine) System rules found in Fantasy AGE.

Right now, Blue Rose is poised between the development and editing stages of the process: draft text is in, with AGE System Developer Jack Norris and I going over our respective sections of the book: Jack primarily on the game system material and me primarily on the setting and story material, although there’s some crossover on both our parts. The drafts we have include all of the stretch goals funded by the Kickstarter and the hero and villain submissions by our Kickstarter backers for inclusion in the world of Aldea.

We have Lynne Hardy on-board as editor (or “benevolent editorial tyrant” as we have chosen to call it), empowered to smooth the sometimes rough road of our text so you can enjoy your journey through Aldea. She’s working with the setting material that makes up the first third or so of the book, detailing the world, it’s history, mythology, and the current state of its nations and peoples, roughly a decade since the time described in the original edition of Blue Rose.

There have been some changes! Queen Jaellin of Aldis is married (and not all are in favor of her choice of consort) and has won a stunning victory over the dark kingdom of Kern. Aldis is regaining its equilibrium following that recent conflict, and hopes are high for renewed peace and prosperity, but there are still many challenges for the Sovereign’s Finest throughout the land. The forces of Shadow do not rest and their reach is wide and deep. The nation is still very much in need of heroes to aid the cause of the Light.

Preview: Personas

We also have a special preview of the Blue Rose material in the works (hopefully the first of several such previews).

In this case, it is a draft of the Persona section of the game rules, discussing the qualitative traits of characters: their good and bad qualities (embodied in their Destiny and Fate), their goals and overarching place in the world, the looming specter of corruption and its effects on the spirit, and—most especially—their relationships, the deep emotional bonds that define the characters and help to drive them, not only in the context of the story, but providing clear game system effects when the players focus on those relationships and how they motivate their characters.

Download the preview PDF and take a look! Keep in mind that this is fairly raw text, still going through the development process. Nonetheless, we think if offers a pretty good look at where we’re going. If you have feedback for us, visit the Fantasy AGE forum on Roninarmy.com and let us know!

 

 

Green Ronin in 2016

By Chris Pramas

Happy New Year, gaming comrades! I hope you all had a good holiday, and got some quality gaming in with friends and family. As has become a tradition here at GR, I’m here to spill the beans on our plans for the coming year. Last year was a bit awkward because in January I could not yet announce Titansgrave or the fact that we were designing D&D books for Wizards of the Coast. This year will be much less cryptic! So what’s have we got in store for you? Rather a lot, actually!

Read more

Ronin Round Table: GaymerX (GX3)

Steve's Icons players

Steve’s Icons players

As I write this, members of Team Ronin (Joseph Carriker, Donna Prior, and I) are finishing up the weekend in San Jose, CA, at GaymerX (or GX3). It’s our first time at the insurgent game convention, initially funded on Kickstarter to provide a dedicated space for LGBTQ gamers to do what we do: get together, geek out, and play games. It has since expanded to encompass this year’s theme, “Everyone Games,” welcoming all gamers to the table.

It has been a terrific con. I ran two games for the tabletop program: In “Shadows of the Singer and the Star,” for Blue Rose, a small group of Aldin envoys of the Sovereign’s Finest investigated the disappearance of two young men from a town and uncovers a far greater threat.

Donna's Titansgrave players

Donna’s Titansgrave players

In “Whatever Happened to Stonewall?” for Icons Superpowered Roleplaying, a team of randomly generated heroes (Lineage, Heavyweight, Insectoid, Insight, and Mantis) helped save the legendary lesbian hero Stonewall from the armored Invictus and protect some of New York City’s queer monuments from his destroyer robots. Both groups of players were enthusiastic and really threw themselves into the games.

It was my second time running Blue Rose using the Adventure Game Engine rules system at a convention, and it underlined just how well the system will work in the forthcoming edition. There were also games of Titansgrave and A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying on-offer from Donna and Joe, along with a room of Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons tables.

Queer as a Three-Sided Die panel

Queer as a Three-Sided Die panel

GaymerX offered a robust panel and seminar selection. We were able to bring the popular “Queer as a Three-Sided Die” panel we started at GenCon a few years ago to this con, where it found an enthusiastic audience. “Queer Divinities” talked about real world and fantasy mythology and theology and even got quoted in online coverage of the con. Sunday morning, Joe Carriker, Paizo’s Wes Schneider, and I ran a three-hour workshop on game-mastering skills, tips, and techniques, covering a wide range of topics, fielding questions, and sharing experiences along with our audience. The time flew by! GaymerX has a YouTube channel where they plan to share recordings of many of the seminars and panels.

Tim Mottishaw runs Star Wars for the game guests

Tim Mottishaw runs Star Wars for the game guests

Of course, the con wasn’t all about work. Our host, tabletop coordinator Tim Mottishaw, treated us to a game of Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars: Force & Destiny RPG and there were parties galore, from a VIP get-together to the cosplay prom and a drag show. By all reports, tabletop events and offerings did well at GaymerX. I certainly hope so, as I’d like to see them continue to grow and remain part of the vibrant, inclusive, fun-loving, creative community where everyone has a place at the table.

Looking forward to plans for next year’s GaymerX!

Ronin Round Table: Green Ronin at Gen Con 2015

Titansgrave​ is coming to Gen Con! Make sure to login to your Gen Con account and look for SEM1582558 to reserve your spot! Presented by Green Ronin Publishing and Geek and Sundry

Titansgrave​ is coming to Gen Con! Make sure to login to your Gen Con account and look for SEM1582558 to reserve your spot! Presented by Green Ronin Publishing and Geek and Sundry.

 

This year is going to be an exceptionally strange and exciting time for us at Gen Con. Not only is Team Ronin headed out in force, but we’re sharing space with Geek & Sundry, highlighting Fantasy Age and Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana! We’re so excited to have such great games for Gen Con.

Before I get into the fun things happening, I want to kindly let you know what our Customer Service & Sales responses will be slow, as we’ll be dependent on whatever internet we can find while traveling and while we’re all working the show. Online orders for in-stock items (or PDFs of course) will continue to go out on the usual schedule.

For those of you lucky enough to be attending Gen Con, stop on by and say hello at Booth #1509! We’ll be running demos of Walk the Plank, Love 2 Hate, Icons Superpowered Roleplaying, Dragon Age, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, Mutants & Masterminds, Ork!, and of course, Fantasy Age and Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana. Geek & Sundry will be featuring a photo booth, along with some great merchandise and surprises!

We also have volunteers running games at Gen Con, and we have some Seminars you don’t want to miss. If you didn’t get into a game, be sure to bring Generic Tickets to see if a spot opens up! There are quite a few sessions of games run by various GMs & Gaming Groups, and we have a list of the officially submitted games run by myself or our Freebooter Volunteer GMs! For the Seminars, there are currently spaces, but you’ll definitely need to pick up free tickets to attend!

Thursday:

  • RPG1575877 Blood in the Streets – DC Adventures/Mutants & Masterminds
  • RPG1575473 An Arl’s Ransom – Dragon Age RPG (at ConTessa!)
  • RPG1573267 Hell Comes to Squishy Man Town! – Ork! 2.0 The Roleplaying Game
  • RPG1576447 Fate in Freeport; The 1000 Year Storm – Fate System
  • RPG1575933 Shadows of Tanglewood – Blue Rose/True 20
  • RPG1576439 Titansgrave: The Rust Wastes – Fantasy Age
  • RPG1576440 Titansgrave: The Rust Wastes – Fantasy Age
  • SEM1578318 News & Updates on Green Ronin Publishing’s AGE System

Friday:

  • RPG1575878 Blood in the Streets – DC Adventures/Mutants & Masterminds
  • RPG1573275 Hell Comes to Squishy Man Town! – Ork! 2.0 The Roleplaying Game
  • RPG1576446 The Truth of the Fifth Blight – Dragon Age RPG
  • RPG1576441 Titansgrave: The Rust Wastes – Fantasy Age
  • RPG1576442 Titansgrave: The Rust Wastes – Fantasy Age
  • RPG1578320 Titansgrave: The Rust Wastes – Fantasy Age
  • SEM1578319 What’s New With Green Ronin Publishing!
  • SEM1582558 Titansgrave Q&A with Wil!

Saturday:

  • RPG1575905 Operation: Zandia – DC Adventures/Mutants & Masterminds
  • RPG1573282 Hell Comes to Squishy Man – Town!Ork! 2.0
  • RPG1575934 Shadows of Tanglewood – Blue Rose/True 20
  • RPG1576443 Titansgrave: The Rust Wastes – Fantasy Age
  • RPG1576445 Titansgrave: The Rust Wastes – Fantasy Age
  • RPG1578321 Titansgrave: The Rust Wastes – Fantasy Age

Sunday:

  • RPG1575906 Operation: Zandia – DC Adventures/Mutants & Masterminds

Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you at Gen Con!

Blue Rose Kickstarter and Dragon Age Pre-Order Both Ending

Blue Rose RPG

Blue Rose on Kickstarter: Last Chance!

If you have been waiting to back Blue Rose: The RPG of Romantic Fantasy on Kickstarter, you’re almost out of time. We’ve been knocking down stretch goals left and right, and there are only about six hours left as of this post. The next stretch goal, unlocked at $82,500, is a second side on the poster map, which we really hope we get to do.

Please back Blue Rose while you can. (And thank you so much if you already did!)

In other time-sensitive news, on Tuesday at Midnight (the very end of day on Tuesday, Seattle Time) the Dragon Age RPG Core Rulebook pre-order deal will end.

Note: After a very inconveniently-timed technical issue, the pre-order deals in our store (pre-order selected books, get a deal on the PDF version) are working again. We are sorry about the problems. If you pre-ordered and didn’t get the deal please write custserv@greenronin.com to report the problem. If you have already done so, we will get you sorted out as soon as we can. Thanks for your patience!

Now Pre-Ordering: Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook

Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook (Pre-Order & PDF)

Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook (Pre-Order & PDF)

You can now Pre-Order the Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook and get the PDF version for just $5, or buy the PDF on its own. Fantasy AGE is the rules set that powers Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana, as well as the award-winning Dragon Age RPG and Blue Rose: The RPG of Romantic Fantasy (now Kickstarting).

Blue Rose AGE is now on Kickstarter!

Yesterday, Nicole launched the Kickstarter project, Blue Rose: The AGE Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy. Not only were we fully funded the same day, but we have already surpassed some of our stretch goals! We have been so excited to see the response to Blue Rose AGE. And in our excitement, we forgot to write a news post for it. Truly, this is a labor of love for the whole company and all the fantastic folks involved with the project.

gamers

 

 

From our Kickstarter Project page:

The AGE of Blue Rose

Our new edition of Blue Rose looks to match its fantastic world with the critically acclaimed Adventure Game Engine or “AGE” System used to power Green Ronin’s Dragon Age tabletop RPG adaptation, also seen in the Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook and Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana on Geek & Sundry’s web series of the same name. The new edition of Blue Rose will contain all of the rules you need to play the game, along with all of the key information about the world of Aldea, its nations, characters, and conflicts―everything you need to create your own stories and adventures.

Why Now?

So why Kickstart a new edition of Blue Rose now? When Green Ronin began the process of turning AGE into a stand-alone game system for supporting multiple settings, one of the first we thought of was Blue Rose, a fantasy world that had something different to offer, that could in turn expand the options available in the game system to include psychic powers and a focus on character motivations and inner struggles, among other things.

We also felt that we could improve Blue Rose. A lot has changed in gaming―and society―in the ten years since the original edition of the game was published. A new edition for the AGE system offers us a great opportunity to carry forward the setting’s ideas with the advantage of a decade of hindsight and new understanding, as well as player feedback.

Most important, we feel that games like Blue Rose are needed. Awareness of the importance of representation and inclusion in the hobby and the industry has grown in recent years. Now publishers need to follow-through on that increased awareness and deliver games that help to fulfill its promise. That’s what we’re looking to do with this Kickstarter so, if you agree, we would really appreciate your support.

Stretch Goal Details

The setting material our freelance designers have pitched to us is detailed on our Kickstarter Project page. Each one of these would be roughly 2000 words long, and expand the World of Aldea in a new way. The micro settings are regions reachable through shadow gates that can provide new places to explore. We would really love to break our $100,000 Stretch Goal, so we can produce a Fate Blue Rose Companion by Brian Engard and Clark Valentine, the authors of our popular Fate Freeport Companion.

Thanks to so many generous backers, we have hit the following stretch goals:

brks_stretch_u13000brks_stretch_u16000brks_stretch_u20000brks_stretch_u22500

We are super close to unlocking the next stretch goal! 

brks_stretch_25000

While we’re talking Blue Rose RPG, we’d love to remind you that we have a Blue Rose T-shirt Design Contest running and we have a Blue Rose Facebook Page.

Enter the Blue Rose T­-Shirt Contest!

We’re extremely excited to announce our very first t­-shirt contest, to help promote both the Blue Rose RPG and the forthcoming Blue Rose RPG Kickstarter campaign. Our community of players is made up of some extremely talented and skilled folks, and we’re always amazed by the artwork created by so many of them.

As Nicole mentioned in her Blue Rose Ronin Roundtable, we’re also super pumped to be bringing the game back with a fresh new system and new stories. Stories of inclusion, of representation of marginalized voices. Stories created by marginalized voices.

“Relationships and community, finding your own authenticity in the face of bigotry, presenting your best self and working for a better world? Those issues are in my news feed every day. Heroes fighting for the greater good are not the sole providence of comic books and they’re going to be taking their place in the new Blue Rose release. My abiding concern as we move ahead is to make sure we improve on our prior presentation. Happily, I can say that our working relationship with BioWare over the evolution of the Dragon Age property has been educational and inspiring and has definitely affected my attitude towards the Blue Rose reboot. The evolution from Dragon Age 2, where we saw trans characters as elven prostitutes played for laughs to Dragon Age: Inquisition where a significant NPC is revealed as transgender in a much more sensitive, and more importantly organic, manner was not only the right way to address a prior misstep but a deft handling of the issue that rippled through the development of the culture of the Qunari and resulted in a much richer background for the world of Thedas as a whole. That is what I hope to see from a Blue Rose reboot as well.”

Which brings us to our new t-­shirt contest! We’re offering a chance for you to design our latest t­shirt, specifically for the Blue Rose RPG. First place will receive $250 USD, along with a copy of the new Blue Rose RPG. And of course, will receive one Blue Rose RPG shirt, featuring the winning design! 2nd and 3rd place winners will also receive one free Blue Rose RPG t­-shirt.

So, are you ready to enter? Of course, we have some rules for you. Whilst we would love to allow people of all ages and nations to enter, we cannot due to contest laws outside the USA. We are a super small company, and don’t have the resources to manage an international contest. We would also love for our younger fans to participate, but as you have to sign a legal agreement to enter & win, we can only accept entries for folks 18+.

You can read our Blue Rose RPG T-shirt Contest Rules here. Once you have read the rules, you can email your entries or questions to me at donna@greenronin.com.

Note: By submitting you agree to the rules, so you might as well read them. They’re not that long. Honest.