 January 12, 2013 - 6:04am | This time last year I was on the level of drawing that was a little bit
above stick figures and stymied that I could not beg borrow or steal
enough art for my needs in fan magazine publishing. Over 2012 I threw
myself into drawing and ressurrected 25 year old skills that had been
lost hopefully 2013 will be a year of even better improvement. This discussion is not just for me as there is a handful of artist in the community producing stuff- Malcadon has a very nice gallery of sketchs (admittedly geared toward gama world) at deviantart.com , AZ_gamer is the resident cgi artist here producing so much in that mediu, and others. I thought that it would be nice to talk about what we'd like to see come out in 2013 of Star Frontiers art or Star Frontiers-ish art. 1.) I recently saw a post (I dont think it was on this site) criticizing the fact that a lot of sci-fi art these days shows people in tactical gear carrying modern looking assault rifles. I'm not surprised that this would be a trend as a drawing reference helps and its not hard to find these subjects to work from. How does the community feel about this? Do we prefer stuff with a more golden age of sci fi look or is it ok if it has a more Gritty modernist look? 2.) In another thread someone asked a question that caused an image to pop into my head and I had to draw it.  This one is equal parts sexy, creepy, and disturbing IMO and I drew it! So how do we feel about art with a sexy subject? Yay, Nay or dont care? I suppose this question should be actually be separated into three questions- Sexy, creepy and disturbing should all be answered separately. 3. New avatar pics? would we like new avatar pics for this site? I suppose most of us have settled on an avatar pic and are not likely to change it so this is about new members, of which a large portion dont bother with getting an avatar (though many that actually post do). Would a host of new pictures of the core four be a good thing to add to the available avatars? 4. This question is separate from #3; character portraits? would a library of character portraits be a valued addition to game play? To be able to add a character portrait to your character sheet? Pose a question if you think of one. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 12, 2013 - 10:17am | 1.) I recently saw a post (I dont think it was on this site) criticizing the fact that a lot of sci-fi art these days shows people in tactical gear carrying modern looking assault rifles. I'm not surprised that this would be a trend as a drawing reference helps and its not hard to find these subjects to work from. How does the community feel about this? Do we prefer stuff with a more golden age of sci fi look or is it ok if it has a more Gritty modernist look? It really depends on the piece in question. Gritty can look great or look terrible. Same with retro. Overall I prefer a combination of the two, like we got with some of Star Frontiers. The cover of Face of the Enemy comes to mind.  2.) In another thread someone asked a question that caused an image to pop into my head and I had to draw it. This one is equal parts sexy, creepy, and disturbing IMO and I drew it! So how do we feel about art with a sexy subject? Yay, Nay or dont care? I suppose this question should be actually be separated into three questions- Sexy, creepy and disturbing should all be answered separately. Love that pic. :) I'm fine with all three. 3.) New avatar pics? would we like new avatar pics for this site? I suppose most of us have settled on an avatar pic and are not likely to change it so this is about new members, of which a large portion dont bother with getting an avatar (though many that actually post do). Would a host of new pictures of the core four be a good thing to add to the available avatars? It would be nice but not a big deal to me. 4.) This question is separate from #3; character portraits? would a library of character portraits be a valued addition to game play? To be able to add a character portrait to your character sheet? Character portraits wold be great. Anything that helps visualize the game play is usually a good thing in my opinion. |
 January 12, 2013 - 10:46am | Some of the avatars I originally presented were withheld so as not to overwhelm the new members. The purpose of the pre-chosen avatars is to be generic, not exhaustive. If someone wants unique, they can upload their own. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
 January 12, 2013 - 1:36pm | 1.) I recently saw a post (I dont think it was on this site) criticizing the fact that a lot of sci-fi art these days shows people in tactical gear carrying modern looking assault rifles. I'm not surprised that this would be a trend as a drawing reference helps and its not hard to find these subjects to work from. How does the community feel about this? Do we prefer stuff with a more golden age of sci fi look or is it ok if it has a more Gritty modernist look? Yeah, that would be me. Much of that rant is based on how shows like the new Battlestar Galactica is set on other worlds, with advanced technology, but all their weapons and gear look way too modern and identifiable to real life hardware. The issue I have with this, is that sci-fi is meant to be a work of escapism, and its hard to be pulled into that world when there are too many real life stuff in play.
Plus I like the style of sci-fi art from the '70s and '80s - namely, the type of art seen in the official SF books. 2.) In another thread someone asked a question that caused an image to pop into my head and I had to draw it. This one is equal parts sexy, creepy, and disturbing IMO and I drew it! So how do we feel about art with a sexy subject? Yay, Nay or dont care? I suppose this question should be actually be separated into three questions- Sexy, creepy and disturbing should all be answered separately. I have no issue with any of them. Each of them have a place, and are good when handled right. The works of H. R. Giger dose great work in conveying all three. I have no issue with sexual elements in SF when done tastefully. Same with creepy and disturbing elements. With modern horror, I see it in two forms: suspense and gore-porn. Suspense is about building atmosphere without the need to get bloody, while gore-porn is about violence for its own sake. 3.) New avatar pics? would we like new avatar pics for this site? I suppose most of us have settled on an avatar pic and are not likely to change it so this is about new members, of which a large portion dont bother with getting an avatar (though many that actually post do). Would a host of new pictures of the core four be a good thing to add to the available avatars? 4.) This question is separate from #3; character portraits? would a library of character portraits be a valued addition to game play? To be able to add a character portrait to your character sheet? I don't care too much about avatars, beyond size limitation - which limits what I can use from my own library. As long as they are there and big enough to be seen (like 100px squared, but ideally 150), as I hate identifying other users by handle alone.
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 January 12, 2013 - 4:11pm | It is a difficult and troublesome slope when creating art that is well done and sexy, disturbing, or creepy. I remember doing some cartoonish pin up girl images for the Frontierspace development site and received nothing but grief and criticism for it. At times it may seem to appear that I am thin skinned here when it comes to criticism but when you spend six hours on creating an image, regardless of the media it's done in, the last thing you want to see is some critical comment about something be too this or too that. Especially when you do the project for free and are basicallt giving it away. So when it comes to doing more controversial subject matter I tend to stay away from it because the tastes here at the community are a little to diverse to settle on what is "okay" by everyones standards. |
 January 12, 2013 - 5:20pm | Since the great recession began I've pretty much lost my creative drive. I'd love to get back into drawing again but I just don't have the motivation these days, and without inspiration all I can do is look at a blank sheet of paper while twiddling pens and pencils between my fingers. But I'll answer the Qs anyways: I recently saw a post (I dont think it was on this site) criticizing the fact that a lot of sci-fi art these days shows people in tactical gear carrying modern looking assault rifles. I'm not surprised that this would be a trend as a drawing reference helps and its not hard to find these subjects to work from. How does the community feel about this? Do we prefer stuff with a more golden age of sci fi look or is it ok if it has a more Gritty modernist look? My artisitic influence is comic books from the 70s, 80s, and 90s...just before my unemployment issues went into top gear I was actually putting together a website for SF and D&D that was essentuially a translation of "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" (a great resource for would-be or veteran artists alike). So I would say my weaponry leans toward old school futuro. I suppose you might say I could go so far as to emnulate the foreshortening talents of Jack Kirby while decking my characters out with early years Jim Lee weaponry. This one is equal parts sexy, creepy, and disturbing IMO and I drew it! So how do we feel about art with a sexy subject? Yay, Nay or dont care? Larry Elmore never had a problem with this, nor did his legion of fans. Nor do I, I have no problemdrawing a scantily clad gal swinging a bastard sword or blasting away with a high tech rifle. Chainmail bikini, baby!!! New avatar pics? would we like new avatar pics for this site? I suppose most of us have settled on an avatar pic and are not likely to change it so this is about new members, of which a large portion dont bother with getting an avatar (though many that actually post do). Would a host of new pictures of the core four be a good thing to add to the available avatars? My avatar is used on every and any board I visit, regardless of content. Suffice it to say if I ever change it, it will be something representative of me and not whatever site I may be on at the time. Granted my animated avatar when I first joined this site was unique to this site, but it didn't last too long before I slipped back into the classic. As for new members, my observation on this and other boards is most of them rarely have an issue finding their own. Google images can find what you're looking for. ;) This question is separate from #3; character portraits? would a library of character portraits be a valued addition to game play? To be able to add a character portrait to your character sheet? Portraits I've used in the past are usually cropped head shots of the full figure I used. I certainly would not offer any opposition to a gallery in any game I'm participating in. |
 January 12, 2013 - 7:56pm | 1) i think that in light of a lot of sci fi, including BSG, there is a trend toward a harder sci-fi trend in weapons. Ballistic weapons are where technology is going for now. The dream of ray-guns has gone away in general I think. So the shows are immulating what they see as the trend. I personally have a taste for both directions depending on my mood. I like the old school ray guns, as a kid I had my own stormtrooper laser blaster. I also like the auto rifle that we see in Aliens, BSG and others too. It makes me imagine that it could be possible for me to be in that troopers place at times. So, really it goes with my mood. 2)Jedion, that really is a disturbing picture. I do like it though. You have come a long way from what you showed me last year. I have seen some very creepy and disturbing SF pics over the last year. some of them will be in the SFman in the near future. I think that you can achieve sexy, disturbing and/or creepy without going overboard. I don't like hack and slash stuff nor do I like the over sex filled pics either. Like the old thriller movies, I want my imagination stimulated not beaten over the head. As a guy, I like the idea of a bikini clad warrior woman, but in reality no warrior would really dress like that for practical reasons. 3) I used one of the avatars when I originally found this site. But I like the one I found and posted. I think your avatar should be something of your own and reflect you somehow. I like BSG and so my avatar, plus I like cylons. 4) I love to have a picture of my character for a game. I suck at drawing so have to rely on others who have the talent and use their pics. So a gallary would be cool, but as someone said, you can google and find a pic out there. I think going forward for SF, there should be a mix of old and new. In a lot of the Ares artwork for SF, they tended to stay on the trend of golden age art, round helmets, laser guns, thing like that. It would be good to have some new stuff too. I like to think we can use our imaginations in many different ways. |
January 12, 2013 - 9:36pm | It is a difficult and troublesome slope when creating art that is well done and sexy, disturbing, or creepy. I remember doing some cartoonish pin up girl images for the Frontierspace development site and received nothing but grief and criticism for it. At times it may seem to appear that I am thin skinned here when it comes to criticism but when you spend six hours on creating an image, regardless of the media it's done in, the last thing you want to see is some critical comment about something be too this or too that. Especially when you do the project for free and are basicallt giving it away. So when it comes to doing more controversial subject matter I tend to stay away from it because the tastes here at the community are a little to diverse to settle on what is "okay" by everyones standards.
You hear that, Larry? View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
January 12, 2013 - 9:41pm | Much of that rant is based on how shows like the new Battlestar Galactica is set on other worlds, with advanced technology, but all their weapons and gear look way too modern and identifiable to real life hardware.
I'm no guru when it comes to the modern BSG series, but I saw the pilot and a few consecutive episodes. I distinctly recall mention of how their stuff was "low tech" or analog etc to prevent the cylons from hacking into their systems...hence I see no issue with their futuristic guns looking like our modern hardware. And truthfully, our modern stuff hasn't really advanced a whole lot in the past century either. I mean look at Star Wars, they used WW2 Mausers and Sterlings for laser guns:   |
January 13, 2013 - 4:42am | Just to collate some of the responses- avatars- doesnt seem to be a big deal and frankly, many people who bother with one usually come up with one they use across many sites so probably not something worth worrying about. Portraits are good, and frankly as I do character art for the FE many of those pics could be used as character portratis. Tom puts the art and maps up on the web in our on Line edition of the magazine so I think people could already track them down and snag them. When its a collage of 4 people its fairly straight forward to crop out the one you want. However that only makes available stuff that gets published in the FE. So I'm think perhaps we should think about a collective area that character portraits can be uploaded. Put a restriction that no photos from say a movie but fresh art of the SF races and possibly classic SF art from the TSR publications. I'll have to think on that a bit. Glad to see I'm not the only fan of chain mail bikinis, even if they are absolutely ridiculous as aromor. The Golden Age vs Modernish grit seems to be a mixed response and to be frank if an artist has an image in his head that he has to draw then he should just do it and not worry if he's doing it in the wrong style or if he's got some photo reference that is in one style I would say draw that- drawing should be a happy experience, take you to your happy place as Larry Elmore puts it. so on this point I dont guess we need much action although I will propably try to work in some Golden Age themes Sexy- be tasteful disturbing and creepy- gore for the sake of gore is a turn off for most people. On the other extreem I live with a woman who thinks Hello Kitty is of the devil and that freaks out if my mother buys her grandchildren pumkins and I let them draw faces on them. Yet art that affects us emotionally is good art that has done its job. Thus art that is creepy and a little disturbing accomplishes that goal of affecting the viewer, though there are other emotions besides creeping out and disturbing people. I think I'm getting a good idea of where the majority of the community is at. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 13, 2013 - 6:12am | OK for my two credits While I do find the picture disturbing it is a great picture for the context of the game. The Sathar are supposed to hypnotize beings into doing their bidding. In this case the poor Sathar has to convince the human her he is her love interest and she needs to steal the plans for him. Adding in the physical contact to make the hypnosis deeper just works. To me the key for art is it should not just be a random image of shock value but something that has a context and says something. Just looking at "The Scream" you could easily write it off as a cartoonish dark whatever. Knowing what the picture is trying to project gives it a good depth. As to the art of Star Frontiers. I like what we have but am bothered by the fact so much of it goes against what is written. While there are many mistakes my top ones are: 1) Sather have four arms and no legs. Stop putting the lower limbs on the ground. 2) Dralasites only wear clothes when they have to. More utility belts less pants. 3) Yazirians need goggles. Unless every planet is dark they should have them somewhere. 4) Vrusk are shorter then Humans and Yazirians but somehow are always looming over them. Plus they have eight legs and breathe through their sides and have an exoskeleton. How the hell they but on pants and shoes is a mystery. 5) Humans can't say much about but the lack of racial diversity is a telling factor. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
January 13, 2013 - 6:40am | And truthfully, our modern stuff hasn't really advanced a whole lot in the past century either. I mean look at Star Wars, they used WW2 Mausers and Sterlings for laser guns:
Actually, the killing power of modern weapons has improved substantially. Pistols that can fire aircraft bullets with accuracy, (Desert Eagle,) pistols that can fire shotgun shells without recoil, fully automatic pistols with no recoil, completely silent silencers, smaller bullets doing more damage than many of the WW2 rifle bullets, smart rifles, 70 mm recoiless sniper rifles, and all increasingly lighter, all came after WW2. They are continually improving modern weapons. The Mauser C-96 was very accurate and was designed for high-velocity cartridges, but that didn't make it too much more deadly than any other weapon. While having a reduced recoil, it was not recoiless. These days, some pistols can literally blow a person's head off. The Mauser can't boast that. The reason it was used in Star Wars is because it was cheap and available and Harrison Ford took a liking to it. The Sterling L34A1 submachine gun, while amazing for its time, has been far outclassed for power and reduced weight by other weapons with higher rates of fire. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
January 13, 2013 - 8:07am | 1) Sather have four arms and no legs. Stop putting the lower limbs on the ground. Quite right. If ever I draw them again, I will refrain from putting tentacles on the ground. 2) Dralasites only wear clothes when they have to. More utility belts less pants. Then so much for them benefiting from skiensuits and albeto suits. I don't think it's a mystery at all. (How would you expect them to put on EVA and environmental suits?) Their suits are simply constructed differently. Also, Star Law and other organizations require uniforms be worn to represent the organization.4) Vrusk ... have eight legs and breathe through their sides and have an exoskeleton. How the hell they but on pants and shoes is a mystery. Vrusk are shorter than Humans and Yazirians but somehow are always looming over them. I hadn't noticed that in any images, but you are right all the same. Vrusk are 1.5 m tall and humans are 1.9 m tall. Though I don't recall ever having a Vrusk stand next to a human, I would draw them shorter.3) Yazirians need goggles. Unless every planet is dark they should have them somewhere. Their description says "usually...in sunlight". Thus, they don't really need them in normal lighting and they aren't absolutely necessary in sunlight, but preferred.5) Humans can't say much about but the lack of racial diversity is a telling factor. Yeah. It says that white people draw white people more often, just like black people draw black people more often. Personally, I try to be diverse in all human settings, but when I'm mixing in aliens, I often forget to fit in human diversity. I put in a black explorer in SFman #12 based somewhat on my ex-wife, and my cover to SFman #14 was meant to be an asian, but I ended up fiddling with it too much.View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
January 13, 2013 - 10:24am | I agree skiensuits and albeto suits on Dralasites would be a necessary time. My beef is when they are in relaxed situations but dressed like small humans. Kinda same thing with Yazirians and Vrusk. Both have none human clothing needs. Particularly the Yazirian gliding skin flaps and the Vrusk need to breathe through their sides. Neither species should be shown wearing "human" clothing but items that take their physiology into context. Still working on how Vrusk tie their shoes. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
January 13, 2013 - 12:20pm | The anology of Star Wars WW2 guns stems from the comparo of modern gun stuff in sci-fi. The gripe could be applied much in the same way to SW, granted those were only a tad over 30 year old items at the time. Yes, the killing power has increased substantially, but that is attributed more on the ammunition side than the gun side. Modern firearms utilize modern production methods with higher tolerances, sure...but their innate design is still very much the same. What are we up to now, five generations of the Colt 1911? Seriously, how much different is the new one to the original? Better materials for the modern ammo, but the old ones still shoot the basic 45 ACP loads just the same...you just have to be wary of what other ammo you cycle through them (+P etc). 1) Sather have four arms and no legs. Stop putting the lower limbs on the ground. While they slither like a snake or worm, snakes and worms can not stand erect...they have to coil up to get into what might be construed as a sathar "firing position". Hence the sather use their stronger pair as a tripod support, there simply isn't enough body behind that quartet of limbs to coil up for similar support. 2) Dralasites only wear clothes when they have to. More utility belts less pants. So the proposal here is skein belts and albedo belts?  Sorry, I couldn't resist it. Already covered earlier so not much more to say.4) Vrusk ---How the hell they but on pants and shoes is a mystery. Their shoulders are double jointed, I simply presume the rest of their joints are as well. When I render a vrusk in shoes I use "mittens/gloves" much like I would with a yazirian shoe. Thorax "pants" I would say are open onthe bottom to permit breathing, as would their armor equivalents. Which begs the question: what does a vruskan gas mask look like? |
January 13, 2013 - 4:04pm | Yes Sathar have four arms/tenticle appendages but the canon illustrations do show them using the bottom two as support on the ground when they want to so this would qualify kind of as legs on the ground but should not be illustrated as human like limbs. |
January 13, 2013 - 4:03pm | 5) Humans can't say much about but the lack of racial diversity is a telling factor.[/quote]
I tired to let this one go, but sorry as an artist I find this a little insulting. Does it really matter, after all... since there is no planet Earth homeworld no one really knows what human ethnic races actuall reside in the frontier. Impossed Diversity and political correctness make me sick. |
January 13, 2013 - 4:46pm | I tired to let this one go, but sorry as an artist I find this a little insulting. Does it really matter, after all... since there is no planet Earth homeworld no one really knows what human ethnic races actuall reside in the frontier. Impossed Diversity and political correctness make me sick. Never one to force political correctness on anyone but flipping through the AD book and seeing more than 20 pictures of humans all looking like they came from western Europe when the Celts ran the place and noticing that no coloration is given for humans but only one color given for Dralasites, Vrusk and Yazirians guessing no diversity wasn't a priority. On another note we here in Alabama are going for political correctness. That is why I am getting Monday off to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. AND Robert E. Lees' birthdays. We also get Confederate Veterans Day off. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
January 13, 2013 - 4:46pm | I recalled the fallout games today and how much I enjoyed some of their retro-futuristic designs like the laser rifle. I could see that rifle looking at home in Star Frontiers. Same way with the pistol too.  Remember the plasma rifle?  So I guess I do really like a combination of retro and gritty. |
January 13, 2013 - 4:49pm | @rattraveller RE: sathar and the tentacles vs legs dispute- actually I'm pretty much constantly looking for photo or art work reference for drawing and I did do my homework on the sathar. The Alpha Dawn "autopsy" picture (p 10 original) clearly shows a foot pad not a tentacle and the suplimental picture next to it clearly shows a sathar standing on foot pads and holding a weapon at the ready with only two tentacles. Secondly I have a pretty good collection of miniatures and they are standing on foot pads, even the sathar in space suits are standing on foot pads. Not sure where the idea of 4 tentacles comes from, module cover? SF-2 Star Spawn of Volturnus shows something along those lines I guess but a quick check of my file of official art shows saurians from the dragon article battling sathar with foot pads and two tentacles. Sorry dude but I'm holding three of a kind to your module cover; artist takes all and continues drawing sathar in the same way. what I did just notice is that the legs and tentacles in the AD illustration come from sequential segments so I've been doing that wrong actually to put space in between. Also the two sathar miniatures from Player character miniatures box are standing on their foot pads while the two sathar miniatures from the Space Farers box set are actually supporting their weapons with their foot pads which sort of seem to be acting like a tentacle and they are supporting their body on a coil of segmented body. However even in the spacefarer's miniatures its still clearly the foot pad seen in other artwork. However it is easy to see how someone looking at limited art work of the sathar made the SF-2 cover with the appearence of 4 tentacles. My judgement is that it is a foot pad and that it is used sometimes as a tentacle so we are both right only one of us was righter Multi racial- I can say that with the MOOks adventure I have two latino and one african american done as NPC portaits so I hear you on that but I will in no way draw latinos and blacks exclusively to make up for white wash of the TSR artist. Come on I drew Avery Brooks as a Star Law Marshal and Eli Wallach as a space pirate! You might find Montel Williams turning up soon as a corporate butt hole just because I'm shaky drawing an afro so only bald blacks need apply for my artwork. yeah drals are going to wear clothing just not in the hot tub and I did some drals debating in togas. good point on the height of the vrusk, I too think I've seen some artwork that portrays them as tall but since I have not reach a point where I feel that I have mastered the vrusk I just have not studied them or done many of them as i find their face a pain in the butt or at least I rarely happy with the vrusk faces I draw. though the next Mooks instalment has a vrusk in a collage of 3 other pirates and he clearly looks small and thin compared to the likes of the fat hairy human he's pictured with. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 13, 2013 - 4:52pm | 5) Humans can't say much about but the lack of racial diversity is a telling factor.
I tired to let this one go, but sorry as an artist I find this a little insulting. Does it really matter, after all... since there is no planet Earth homeworld no one really knows what human ethnic races actuall reside in the frontier. Impossed Diversity and political correctness make me sick. Plus drawing ethnicity can be a real pain in the butt. I did a portrait of my stepson who is black and it kind of sucks though half of that suckiness is me being really inexperienced with conte crayons. EDIT: oh yeah Rat T that sathar is not really hypnotizing her he's sucking her blood- the thread on how they eat in the sathar project inspired that picture and there is a larger version of it there- i just was unsure on how to draw a dribble of blood at the sathar's mouth so opted for no blood. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 13, 2013 - 5:03pm | See I understand that for certain purposes the Sathar might use their lower limbs for standing or bracing. My problems comes from the statement in their description that they only use the upper limbs for fine work and the lower for heavy work. Except for your picture of the embracing Sathar we don't see them using the lower limbs for anything but standing and walking. As most of us know contracted artists may or may not have read the material and so the pictures they draw may or may not match written descriptions. We see this alot with book covers when after purchasing and reading the book you could not find the scene pictured on the cover anywhere in the book. Currently the entire Dresdin Files by Jim Butcher has taken this to an extreme. Every cover of the 15 books in the series shows the main character wearing his cowboy hat and leather duster coat. Except the character has NEVER worn a hat. The artist thought anyone wearing a leather duster would wear a cowboy hat. Apparently even if they live in Chicago. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
January 13, 2013 - 5:19pm | Dont get me wrong the book clearly indicates they slither but with so much art and miniatures showing them using their lower limbs to support body wt i went with that when developing my "sathar style" there is more in my satyhar albumn on photobucket. I'm guessing that they slither along and use the foot pad to help propel and or help them over rocks and tree roots or what every. I'm actually fine with it either way foot pad for supporting wt and or supporting heavy items like the hvy weapons the space farer miniatures are using. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 13, 2013 - 5:42pm | I've only rendered one sathar to date (what can I say, they're not really a prominent part of my game). While the four limbs were properly positioned, I made the mistake of drawing them as anatomically humanoid arms & legs instead of the tentacles that they are. I hadn't realizedit until I was done and looked at other SF sathar works afterwards, and had an Oh $#!& moment. Yep, I made it too superhero-y. Jedion --- as far as the vrusk heads/faces go, I like to sketch them out as a motorcycle tank shape before filling in the details, using the tapered end as the mouth/mandibles. Here's the basic shape for reference: Consequently, that same shape can be elongated and used as a sathar head. |
January 13, 2013 - 6:17pm | Alright, in the interest of not drawing all the humans as beautiful white people and as an olive leaf to the "sathar have 4 tentacles" folks I drew this version of a sathar abduction. Note one foot pad/tentacle is supporting wt. because lets face it this sathar has some wt. to support! Enjoy the picture, if you can.   Somehow, I'm unsure this will end well for the sathar! EDIT: and look she's in a retro jump suit but somehow that doenn't work for me. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 13, 2013 - 7:10pm | The Alpha Dawn "autopsy" picture (p 10 original) clearly shows a foot pad not a tentacle and the suplimental picture next to it clearly shows a sathar standing on foot pads and holding a weapon at the ready with only two tentacles.
There is no supplemental picture of such kind next to the autopsy image in either the original or the remastered versions of the rules. I believe you are describing the image I submitted that is in an issue of the SFman. The remastered edition shows a Sathar slithering on its tail, but the image contradicts the description by putting the thick padded arms above the short fingered arms, and makes the thick ones look humanoid. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
January 13, 2013 - 7:20pm | I've been doing that wrong actually to put space in between. Also the two sathar miniatures from Player character miniatures box are standing on their foot pads while the two sathar miniatures from the Space Farers box set are actually supporting their weapons with their foot pads which sort of seem to be acting like a tentacle and they are supporting their body on a coil of segmented body. However even in the spacefarer's miniatures its still clearly the foot pad seen in other artwork. However it is easy to see how someone looking at limited art work of the sathar made the SF-2 cover with the appearence of 4 tentacles. My judgement is that it is a foot pad and that it is used sometimes as a tentacle so we are both right only one of us was righter They do have four tentacles. Two are depicted as arms and two are depicted as leg-like. (Their having hands on one pair and pads on the other does kind of scream that the pads are feet.) The Volturnus module simply depicts them both being used as arms because they don't need to be held upright. Instead, the padded tentacles are holding on in other ways. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
January 13, 2013 - 7:23pm | The Alpha Dawn "autopsy" picture (p 10 original) clearly shows a foot pad not a tentacle and the suplimental picture next to it clearly shows a sathar standing on foot pads and holding a weapon at the ready with only two tentacles.
There is no supplemental picture of such kind next to the autopsy image in either the original or the remastered versions of the rules. I believe you are describing the image I submitted that is in an issue of the SFman. The remastered edition shows a Sathar slithering on its tail, but the image contradicts the description by putting the thick padded arms above the short fingered arms, and makes the thick ones look humanoid. Nope my original copy shows the autopsy pic and next to it is a straight on view of a sathar head, a sathar head focusing on the eye and below that a sathar standing with a gun and the tail of the autopsy specimen trailing under the guy with the gun. yes the remastered illustration is a departure from cannon artwork. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 13, 2013 - 9:06pm | Oh, you're right. I got focused on the autopsy image. My brain disregarded the rest as close-ups. Yeah, seeing as it is in the original AD book, that trumps any complaint such as Rat's. I've never seen an image of a Sathar walking, but several standing, which certainly makes sense. Standing is a bit of a heavy duty task anyway. Thus the reason our legs are so much more powerful than our arms. So I guess that only leave's Rat's #4 complaint as valid, though "always looming over humans" is inaccurate, as I've found several images where such is not the case and only one where such is the case, so "always" is not true. A couple that look like the Vrusk are larger than other characters in the image is a matter of perspective and positioning. Vrusk upper bodies are actually human-equivalent. The reason they are shorter is because of their lower bug-like abdomens being closer to the ground. So if a human and Vrusk are sitting next to each other, the Vrusk may very well be larger just because if he were human, he'd be a couple inches taller for size variance. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
January 13, 2013 - 8:54pm | I have no issue with the WWII guns used in Star Wars, as they been modified and presented as high-tech blasters. If the guns did work as normal guns, then that would have spoiled the sci-fi feel with me. I don't know if its trying to tentacle-rape her, strangle her, or give her the Heimlich maneuver. Whatever its it, its not going to end well when she loose her footing - that wormy limb is not going to support that fat ass! |
January 14, 2013 - 9:11pm | Ok, this is a bit of a hi-jack but I did get the information that I was after already, in a comment on the previous picture I stated that it would not end well for the sathar; i just had to draw one more though I was going to draw a dralasite tripping the girl and telling her sorry but that he only needed to out run her but this ended up being the picture  I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
