Free Rpg Art

[MJ Luke]

Hey all, I'll be posting RPG related art up on my website for FREE to use for non-comercial purposes. Things like character/ archetype illsutrations, NPC character illustrations and various sundries. Comments and suggestions are very much welcome. It's been a very long time since I've done anything RPG, and I really want to pad my portfolio with some illustrations.

Right now I'd really appreciate any creative suggestions for subject matter.

THANKS
MJLuke

[bal3000]

Hey MJ Luke,

Sounds great and looks sweet.

My suggestion would be..actually , I'll explain first. I'm putting the final touches to a Fighting-Fantasy-inspired (and totally FREE) RPG called SWORD AND SPELL. I think a cover page of a warrior and a wizard back to back and ready for action would really suit.

I'm thinking of 2 "old school" characters here, the warrior with a horned helm, studded (and chipped shield) and a magic sword. The wizard is HEAVY robes with full hair and beard.

and it goes without saying I'd include a full credit to yourself and a link to your site on the pdf.

what you think?

Liam

[ErrinF]

Thanks for dropping by, MJ Luke. For a while now, I've been hoping to meet an artist who wanted to freely contribute artwork to the free pen and paper RPGs we make around here.

I am a regular here who has gotten pretty good at making RPGs from scratch. I propose that I can make any game to revolve around your artwork, whatever it may be. You make the art, I'll make a RPG to fit it. Conversely, I can make most any type of RPG imaginable, then you can add whatever artwork to it you like. We can start from scratch, with us both working on an RPG from the ground up, me covering the rules and system, you covering the artwork, plus any additional creative input you'd like.

Does that type of creative challenge appeal to you? I've provided some links to my games for you to check out. If you like my work, I am totally up for collaborating, as I find this type of thing a lot of fun. So far, all the artwork I've used in my RPGs are free clipart found on the internet. To actually work with original clipart specifically for one of my RPGs would be great. And since most all my RPGs already have artwork (or don't have the room for it), that means I'll have to make a whole new RPG to go with your artwork. That suits me just fine, though... I am known in these parts for being a prolific gamemaker, as I can't seem to stop churning these suckers out. LOL

Peace, Errin : )

[MJ Luke]

I'm not sure I'll have a ton of time for long term projects but you're free to use any images from my website for non-commercial projects. If you have any suggestions of picks you'd like to see up on my site then you can email me. It may take me some time to get to it though.

If you'd really want me to put some time and detail into a custom drawing that would be more like a commision peice and I may have to charge for my time -and would be of much better quality than what I'll be posting as I'm trying to keep those drawings down to about an hour each -or sketches I've done in the past.

On the other hand PLEASE don't hesitate to contact me wiht suggestions -I'm ALWAYS looking for ideas and inspiration!

THANKS
MJ Luke

[ErrinF]

Doesn't have to be a long term project, my man. Most of us here could probably make an RPG quicker than you could draw artwork for it. lol You put it up on your site, and I'm sure it will show up as a free pen and paper RPG after not too long of a time.

Your work is good, and the way you have it set up now is nice, and quite collaborative enough while not taking up your time with a specific project. My offer's still good that if you had a set of artwork you specifically wanted made into a free RPG, I'm up for covering the RPG making side of it. As it is, I'll keep an eye out for what you put up. If I end up making a RPg out of it, I'll definitely send you a copy of it. Thanks for dropping by here. Peace, Errin : )

[MJ Luke]

Hey Errin that sounds great. Listen, I've also checked out a couple of your RPGs.... some are quite inspiring so I wouldn't be surprised if a few pics pop outta me that are quite sutable to one or two of them in the comming weeks.

THANKs again!

MJ Luke

[ErrinF]

Great. I look forward to seeing what you put out. I like the artwork you've made available so far, which seems to mainly be fantasy artwork, but i'm awaiting other genres and a fuller picture of what you'll have available before i'll figure what kind of RPG I might be able to make out of it. I really like how you have presented this opportunity to the 1km1kt crowd, and you are going about it the right way... just draw whatever you feel like drawing (totally cool if one of my rpgs inspires something), and it will end up being the basis for some sort of pen and paper RPG. You'll notice that any game I've made that included clipart always includes a thank you to the provider of the art, a web address/link of where the clipart came from, and a suggestion that people check out whatever that web address/link may be. You of course will get the same when the time comes. That's standard protocol, i believe, for when you use somebody's artwork, but it's always good to be specific, as you have been, that you would like proper credit if your artwork is used. I would suggest you check out to see the way the Megaminis.com people share their artwork. Their artwork is good, but takes up way too much file space. That has to be considered when you share clipart as how big the file size is may end up bogging down the pdf file of a RPG the art may appear in. The one game I did make from Megaminis free clipart ended up having to be divided up into a few pdfs in order for people to download them online. If the point is to get your art out there via these free RPGs, then those free RPGs have to be easy for people to download. I haven't gotten to check yet if your artwork takes up a bunch of file space, but I just wanted to mention it ahead of time so that you keep that under consideration.

Peace, Errin : )

[ErrinF]

Here's a link to the game I made from the Megaminis.com free clipart:



Enjoy!

[MJ Luke]

Hey Errin, I just wanted to mention that I can resize and tweak resolution etc... to lower file sizes for download... I think they average about 70kb as JPG files on my website.

I should have about three or four more draings up this week and more to come as I go through my older stuf!

THANKS again!
MJ Luke

[ErrinF]

The megaminis art was spectacular, but due to being in tiff form, their file size was a little extreme. The Tiff would be about 1.3mb, but you could export it to jpg file which would be 150kb. I would recommend using whatever the smallest file size you can use without losing resolution or quality. The smaller the file size, the easier to incorporate into a RPG, as the smaller the RPG's overall file size, the better, since that makes it easier to upload and download around the net. Something you might want to consider.

Another thing you might consider is how your artwork might be used in a RPG. I kind of see all clipart being used in one of two ways when applied to a RPG:

1) General artwork which springs up throughout the RPG so as to give a mood/feel for the game and it's setting/world, such as title art, end art, and anything in between.

2) Specific artwork meant to represent a compendium of monsters, treasures, or other assorted subjects specifically found in the game, and may be found in tables, charts, or other such listings.

For instance, i could take your cat burglar artwork, and use it generally as title art to convey a game about animal-type warriors in a fantasy setting. Or, I could specifically use it in a monster compendium section of an RPG as it's own monster, a cat burglar monster you can encounter in a dungeon, let's say. It's RPG statistics would represent what is shown in it's art... it'd have a crossbow weapon, perhaps a magical cloak of protection, etc.

My point with all this is that you might want to ponder the distinction, and see if there is any preference for you. Maybe you are more keen on one or the other. Who knows?

Peace, Errin : )