Tony Steele Interview

     Another awesome artist who will be at Origins 2013 is the titanic Tony Steele! I just did an interview with him and wanted to let you know what to expect. Take it away Tony!

Your styles range from the odd to the downright weird. What triggered your love of art and all things weird?

I got down with the weird early in life. My Mom was a big reader and dabbled in art and got me started sketching simple pics. Also a love of T.V. and movies helped. I grew up reading MAD magazine, Eerie and Heavy Metal. The first time I saw Big Daddy Roth's Rat Fink stuff I fell in love. My brother and I would go through reams of yellow legal pads whilst watching saturday morning cartoons trying to emulate the styles we saw. In 1979 I was introduced to D&D and the monster manual and i knew what I wanted to do.

 

Which artist/creator do you admire most?

I have a HUGE list of artists I dig. Phil Foglio, Don Martin, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, Norman Rockwell to name a few as well as all my fantasy art friends of now. I'm surrounded by so much creativity these days it's insane.

 

You both have varying styles and, as far as I know, have played around with 3d art elements. So what is your favorite medium to work in?

I like pen and ink the most, I really groove to the likes of Frank Frazzeta, Bernie Wrightson as well as all the syndicated cartoonists I was into like Berkley Breathed, Jeff MacNelly, Sergio Aragonés, Garry Trudeau, Bill Watterson and so many others.

 

You have both done work that has been featured in games and convention program guides. Do either of you play board/card/role playing games, and if so what is your favorite?

 I like all kinds of games.  Fluxx is always a good go to for the beer and pretzel style of thing.

 

How did you two get mixed up with that Andy Hopp fella?

We had decided to leap back into the convention scene after a few year break and so we made a daytrip to Origins to scope it out and wound up in a seminar run by Andy Hopp, Jeremy McHugh and Veronica Jones about "How to get into this thing we call show" We were the most vocal asking questions and afterwards we walked with them back to the exhibitor hall and hung out with them and met others like Nigel Sade. Dinner with Andy & Co. afterwards and that was all she wrote, we were infected.

     So there you go, stop by Origins and say hello, take care everyone!

Some more great people to meet at Origins 2013

     So I mentioned Kenson and Urbach last time since they are Guests of Honor, well here are some who may not be guests, but are some fantastic individuals.

     Starting off is Jamie Chambers and Signal Fire Studios, who have brought Metamorphosis Alpha (by the inimitable Jim Ward) back to the masses. Other offerings include Building an Elder God and Pantheon. Jamie Chambers helped create the cortex system behind the Serenity rpg by Margaret Weis Productions. So definitely check out the his booth.

     Heather Kreiter will once again be in attendance, bringing her My Little Demon deliciousness along with the rest of her work which includes Legend of the 5 Rings and Vampire: the Eternal Struggle. An expert with markers, as well as oil paints, she is also an accomplished taxidermist. Well worth stopping by her booth to admire her work, you wont regret it.

     Rounding us out is the wonderfully weird, Andy Hopp. He currently has a kickstarter to update his Low Life rpg and bring it back to the masses bigger and shinier than ever. Andy's work has appeared in many places, from the Bestiary of Loerem to Alphabeast Soup. His style is off the wall at times, but is always amazing, so please stop by and say howdy.

     That is it for now, take care and have fun at the con!

Origins 2013

     So next weekend is Origins, and for the first time in awhile, I am not going. If any of you go, make sure you stop by Charles Urbach's booth and say hello. He is an award winning artist who has done work for Alderac Entertainment, Fantasy Flight Games, and Sony Online Entertainment. In addition to being a really talented artist, he is quite personable. Check out his Facebook page if you are so inclined. In addition to Mr. Urbach, Steve Kenson will be there. Steve is a game designer who has done some amazing work, including Mutants and Masterminds, True 20 Adventure Role-playing, and Icons.As well as being great at designing games, he is a big comic book aficionado (read-geek) and all around nice guy/cool cat.

     There are lots more awesome people appearing there, so check them out and let me know afterwards what you thought. Take care!

Losing my flgs

     So, I have recently discovered that my local game store will be going away soon. I wish there was something I could do, in addition to buying stuff from there. This store is a safe zone, like neutral territory where you can "audition" new players. Also, that is where I get most of my game stuff, I rarely order games online. My options are run my games at my house, the local library, or go to the game store across town. anyone else dealing with this, let me know? I have ideas about how to save the store, but ultimately it is not my decision.