A couple orthos...

Subject matter is copyright Games Workshop. No threat to their IP is intended.

Sketchy Bits:

*Fan Art all:

Space Marine vs Eldar


The land of Ulthuan


Swordmaster versus Blackguard


*Fan Art. Subject Matter is Copyright Games Workshop. No infringement of their IP is intended.

Note all are WiPs and none are completed. Unfortunately I'm driven by a number of deadlines and have little time for drawing for ME and what I want to draw. Of course, fan art doesn't pay. Still...I could draw GW stuff all day long and I'd do it for FREE (well...or almost free). I just don't have the chops to make it to THAT level.


Yet.

Online Publishing for Hacks?

March of the Illiterati in E Flat

May 27, 2009

Written by Karen D. Swim

Original article is HERE.

Two weeks ago, my Grandmother retired her old school TV Antenna for a digital converter box. If the FCC had not mandated that the US switch to digital on June 12th, my Gran would have kept using the rabbit ears.

In the world of early adopters one might say my Gran is a no bloomer. Yet, her diehard dedication to “rabbit ears” is not unlike those who hopelessly cling to the notion that social media is worthless and digital media is solely for the illiterati.

In a recent conversation with an erudite writer, I listened to what has become a familiar litany:

People who publish on the internet are not real writers. I am a noted journalist/writer/editor and accustomed to spending 6 weeks, writing 15 drafts before publishing.

My crowd is very literate and will not possibly be on Twitter. ( I pull up Twitter screen) Oh, look there’s Bill /Jane/ Buffy, they’re on Twiter?

I do not have time to waste engaging in urbane conversations with plebian strangers.

Internet publishing is for hacks.

Overlooking the fact that I had just been called a moronic hack who spends time on inane platforms talking to a motely bunch of idiots, I patiently explained this new world that has “killed newspapers” and made superstars out of the unknown. I politely declined to point out that a truly impressive insult would have described “my people” as having brains as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage.

Alas, we no longer use insults such as: “Away!, Thou art poison to my blood.” Yet, in spite of the evolution of the English language we have managed to make amazing discoveries, and advances. Who’da thunk it? (See what fun online writing can be?)

Those who view online writing as a dumbing down of provocative thoughts and ideas are missing the point entirely. It is an expansion of creative thought, discussion and collective collaboration. While other forms of publishing aim to “talk at” digital publishers “talk to.” It’s the sharing and exchange of ideas and information in real time.

Literature, and great writing are not dying, we are simply evolving in the way we communicate. Many will hold on until the bitter end, until change has steamrolled over them leaving no other choice but the truly erudite will not only embrace the change but lead the way.

What do you think? Are we diminishing the art of writing with online publishing?

My Reply:

I’m an illustrator as my day job. I draw pictures. Do I have a problem with the millions of people on Deviantart, Flickr or who have themselves published via online zine or small press?

Not At ALL.
I can’t stand “gatekeepers” who feel they have some privilege of doing what they do; whether art, writing or basket weaving.

I see it that I nave absolutely NO right to tell anyone what they can or can’t do. I can however encourage people to do what they love…whatever that is. Please…show off your stuff! Get critiques, Improve! Keep doing it every day.

Does this in any way cheapen the work of a creative? Not one bit. Actually it’s the bunghole gatekeepers who ruin it for many.

Honestly, what is the difference between published writer/ artist/ basket weaver and the home published zine person? Honestly, I give less than a damn whether you’re published or not. That doesn’t mean you’re any good. It means absolutely nothing. There’s tons of really GOOD folks out there who aren’t published or are diamonds in the rough who should be ENCOURAGED and included instead of derided as “pft, unpublished” and excluded.

1. Who gives anyone the right to deride or dismiss anyone?
2. What is the difference between published and unpublished creatives?

Seriously…I think there is a sliding scale of skill and everyone is on the road (or should be) of improvement, regardless of whether or how something is put out for the world to see.

Honestly my own scale is dependent on skill, effort, natural talent and people who are willing to learn, listen as well as be frank about what they do. Let the work speak for itself and leave the ego at the door.

“Being Published” is largely a matter of “right place and right time” multiplied by “who you know”, plus an ounce of ability, a little bit of luck, and often a lot of hustling. Note that “skill” is the smallest factor here.

Reviews on Flames Rising.

Reviews up at Flames Rising:
Mechanicum by Graham McNeill.
Shadowrealm by Paul S. Kemp.

Should be posted any day now:
Tales of Heresy, Edited by Nick Kyme and Lindsay Priestley

Links to purchase these fine novels:
Tales of Heresy
Mechanicum
Shadowrealm

Previous Reviews on Flames Rising:
Road of the Patriarch by R.A. Salvatore
Promise of the Witch King by R.A. Salvatore
The Orc King by R.A. Salvatore

Warhammer: Age of Reckoning

A review from a self-avowed non-PVP guy.

I occasionally play MMOs. I've tried several now and PVP has always been something I've loathed. Usually it ends up being players griefing players and there's no balance to it. You go out in to an unsafe area and if you're flagged for PVP, some guy way more powerful than you (or a band of players) mugs you for your lunch money. That or some high level dude wanders in to your safe zone and starts killing off all the safe area NPCs just waiting for someone dumb enough to heal an NPC (which flags you for PVP) or attacks the offending PC.

This week I got to finally (after almost a year of putting it off) try out WAR.

I admit, I was hesitant. It's just another MMO. Yes, it's Warhammer: my baby. My favorite setting of all time. It's also geared towards something called RvR: Realm vs Realm. That tells me it is Players fighting Players.

*Groan*

So I jumped in, created a few characters and got in to the spirit of it.

My assessment?

RvR ROCKS!

I get it now.
I play a lot of FPS multiplayer games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare and World at War.

RvR takes the best of the PVE MMO and the Multiplayer FPS and combines it in to something that REALLY works.

Think of it like this:
You have a Multiplayer RPG, with all the nifty trappings of the Warhammer world, then add a sort of zone combat that has clearly delineated RvR areas. In those areas you have stuff to capture and hold. Think of Headquarters or Capture the Flag games in FPS games. You take the objective and hold it.

If you die...no problem. You resurrect a safe distance away (something the Call of Duty games haven't sorted out yet) and run back in to the fray. You get a lot of XP for RvR as well as goodies. There are separate tracks for XP. Regular XP for levelling etc. and Renown. Renown gets you better gear and stuff. It's truly amazing.

I can't believe it was so hesitant about it. I think part of the difference is that RvR is divided up in to Tiers, so your newbies can fight newbies and Uber Characters can fight Uber Characters.

As far as the PVE stuff...it's pretty typical fare. If you've played WOW it's more or less the same except the setting and the look of it. WAR looks FAR better. Where WOW is very cartoony-looking, WAR has the gritty look of the Warhammer World (appropriately so). The nice thing is that PVE and RvR nicely dovetail in together. They complement each other in a way that WOW can't reproduce.

WOW does some things better. Some basic gameplay elements like collision *you tend to get hung up a bit more on enviromentals in WAR but not so much in WOW. Critter and NPC respawn times are far shorter in WAR so you can't camp an area as easily because they bad guys do come back quickly. The crafting and all that in WAR is a little unclear and some of the loot you get is not readily disposable, making it a little awkward to find out what it's actually for. WOW has a LOT of built in crafting and grinding bits (which really turned me off). WAR has a bit, but that's not what it's about at all.

WOW does PVE well. WAR does it almost as good, albeit a little differently (which is fine IMO). Crafty/ Grindy bits WOW does far better...but really I care less about that in game. PVP in WOW sucks and there's no RvR. WAR pulls far ahead in PVP/ RvR as that is a core focus in the game.

Essentially, what I see is that the developers at EA/ Mythic made a choice: stick to what you want to be important in-game, and let the rest slide. It ends up being a focused game, good at what it does (where WOW is good at some things but tries IMO to do them all.) I dig the focus.

Overall, so far I have three toons: A White Lion, a Swordmaster and a Witch Hunter. They are bad-ass. RvR rocks. To me WAR does the things right that I really disliked in WOW (and CoH/ CoV, etc). My wife is playing and she's digging it as well.