Krül images of Violence and Conquest

I've been busy since my last post at the beginning of July, wrangling concept art and illustrations for a variety of clients. In the near future I'll be discussing what I can about the Arcane Knights video game, for which I am the 2D Lead right now, but for this post I want to talk about cruelty. Or rather, Krül thoughts . . .

Punning aside, Robert Parker runs an excellent game design blog Rogues and Reavers, where he actively develops The Savage World of Krül as a campaign setting and more. While we aren't discussing the full spread of media through which Krül will grow its cancerous tendrils, Robert has green-lighted me the opportunity to discuss some of the concept work I have done for and with him.

First up: The Barbarians of Oxala!

This piece started from a combination of Popular Mechanics covers from the 40's featuring monowheels and an excellent post on the variety of lizard men floating around the gaming world, which you can find at MonsterTV's Bleaklands gaming blog here. So there's that - Robert's barbarians, absurd military vehicle design from PopMech, and Lizardfolk! Cyborg barbarians are a full go on Krül, so how could I resist meshing all this together?
(Total time: 4 hours)

Next: THAGGADOOM!!!

 A few weeks ago Robert and I were cooking away on some dev for the setting, and a grand giant figure was mentioned for a particular desert scene under work. After soaking up some inspiration from Kirby's mutant monsters, Thaggy was born. Check out this repository of giants for more. I decided to use the exaggeration of the great ape's figure as an indicator of form, then apply the craggy rock textures and turtle-backed silhouette to the figure. Knowing that the Thagster had to possess both receptive and intimidating qualities, I opted to soften the facial expression a bit and counter it with the craggy, violent peaks on his back.
(Total time: 3 hours)

And finally: The Abandoned City of Izuma!!!

The Skardi octopi beings dwell deep beneath this pipe-riddled temple city, with the upper levels often inhabited by wandering tribesmen, barbarians, and creatures less savory. This was a great opportunity to explore mixing neoclassical architecture with some subtle sci-fi rumblings and a ruined fantasy finish. I imagined the tubes functioned as two-lane streets for the Skardi to navigate the levels of their city.The bylaws of this image: scale and description.
(Total time: 6 hours)

If you dig the concept art I generate for The Savage World of Krül, or if you would like to commission some work for your blog or campaign setting, feel free to comment or drop me a line! Thanks!