Shadow Chronicles RPG artwork - who are the artists?

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:12 pm

That is a great question. Hopefully someone will fill in the detail. Of course they may want to keep it a secret until just before release.

AuroraKet · Unread post by **AuroraKet** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 2:00 pm

I know that Apollo Okamura is working on part of it. There's a preview at His website, only the one image so far though. Just as a show of him working on it. I'm assuming we'll see far more, when the book comes.

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:28 pm

Thank you for the information! Cool! Nice picture!

AuroraKet · Unread post by **AuroraKet** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:42 pm

Zerebus wrote:
AuroraKet wrote:I know that Apollo Okamura is working on part of it. There's a preview at His website

Optimus Prime?!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

As a Transformers fan, I will say, that's a damned cool pic of Prime.

Apollo Okamura · Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:44 pm

Hey thanks guys!
Glad you like the pic of Optimus Prime! Although, I hope you didn't miss the picture of Janice at the bottom, hehe.

Just thought I'd chime in with a link to the new Robotech RPG press release: http://palladiumbooks.com/press/press2007-09b.html

Alas, I won't be able to post any more Robotech pics on my site until the book's gone to press. Mostly because I just don't have the time. Meeting that November release date is going to be crazy!

As to who's doing art for the book, I'm kinda' waiting on Kevin to announce it officially, don't know if I can say anything until then. :-?

But at least now you know who's doing the cover (see link above). :-D

AuroraKet · Unread post by **AuroraKet** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 7:49 pm

Apollo Okamura wrote:Hey thanks guys!
Glad you like the pic of Optimus Prime! Although, I hope you didn't miss the picture of Janice at the bottom, hehe.

Just thought I'd chime in with a link to the new Robotech RPG press release: http://palladiumbooks.com/press/press2007-09b.html

Alas, I won't be able to post any more Robotech pics on my site until the book's gone to press. Mostly because I just don't have the time. Meeting that November release date is going to be crazy!

As to who's doing art for the book, I'm kinda' waiting on Kevin to announce it officially, don't know if I can say anything until then.
But at least now you know who's doing the cover (see link above).

Thanks, Apollo! Great stuff, love the press release. And I'm glad that Shadow Chronicles will be followed up with New Gen/Invid sourcebook before Macross, since they're so directly related and important to one another.

And no, I didn't miss the pic of Janice.

Just had to respond to Zerberus

Rabid Southern Cross Fan · Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:40 pm

Apollo Okamura wrote:As to who's doing art for the book, I'm kinda' waiting on Kevin to announce it officially, don't know if I can say anything until then. But at least now you know who's doing the cover (see link above).

Can I make one suggestion on the artwork for the Southern Cross book (assuming you are doing any of it)? One of the problems with the last edition of the RPG is that there really wasn't much in the way of 'battle art' for the Southern Cross mecha. There were a few pieces (done mostly by Wayne Breaux IIRC), but that seemed to mostly go with the Macross or Mospeada stuff.

Apollo Okamura · Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:49 pm

Southern Cross? That's a bit a ways away. I couldn't even guess who might be working on it down the road. I'm sure Kevin has a few people in mind I'm sure.

Colonel Wolfe · Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:58 pm

Apollo Okamura wrote:Southern Cross? That's a bit a ways away. I couldn't even guess who might be working on it down the road. I'm sure Kevin has a few people in mind I'm sure.

[Sarcasm]or Kevin is just gonna re-use the Old Art Work because it was SOOOO GOOD! [/sarcasm]
Man, I hated origonally Southren Cross not only because the Ball was Droped on the UEG's Performance and Mecha Abilities, but the Art work made me wanna Gouge my Eyes out...
Please God let someone decent do the Master's Era Art-work. Maybe that Wayne Breaux Guy, or that guy who makes all the Insane Deamon pics in the Coalition wars series... where everythig looks like Melted wax.

Colonel Wolfe · Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:07 pm

Zerebus wrote:Easy, Wolfe. The press release is pretty clear about most of the old artwork getting tossed. Harmony Gold seems to be watching things closely this time around.

opps, for got my [sarcasm][/sarcasm] tags...

Rabid Southern Cross Fan · Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:43 pm

Zerebus wrote:Anyway, we're missing the point:

Okamurasan, how much trouble would you get into if you snuck Optimus Prime into the book?

::snicker::

Kinda like how Darth Maul ended up as one of the zombified humans in Systems Failure? Easy, just show the 'remains' of Optimus in the mecha junkpile for the Laako City (The Lost City).

Apollo Okamura · Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:53 pm

I don't know how things will be for future books, but I can say this much about Shadow Chronicles. Any art used for the RPG has to go through both Palladium and Harmony Gold, so you can be rest assured that some good art is coming your way.

That said, I think the folks at Harmony Gold might notice that Prime's not a standard issue veritech. :-P

I did sneak Optimus into a couple of Rifters though

Apollo Okamura · Sun Sep 30, 2007 11:54 am

WOOT!

MikeM · Unread post by **MikeM** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 9:46 pm

When can we get a sneek peak at the cover? ;-)

MikeM

Colonel Wolfe · Sun Sep 30, 2007 9:47 pm

I've Submitted some Stick-figure Art for Robotech, Sadly It wont make it... so I'm wokring on some ACSII art now...

Apollo Okamura · Sun Sep 30, 2007 10:03 pm

I'm still working on the cover, but that's top priority at the moment, especially with the possibity of revisions and such.
I can almost guarantee that an Alpha Shadow Fighter in battloid mode will be a prominent feature of the illustration. :-D

Also, like the cover I did of the Hammer of the Forge, this will also be fully digitally painted; although, it will have a more cel-shaded look to it rather than a rendered one.

I'm sure Palladium will have it posted up here as soon as it's done! :-)

Colonel Wolfe · Sun Sep 30, 2007 11:10 pm

Apollo Okamura wrote:I'm still working on the cover, but that's top priority at the moment, especially with the possibity of revisions and such.
I can almost guarantee that an Alpha Shadow Fighter in battloid mode will be a prominent feature of the illustration.

so... Basically This with an Alpha?

Rabid Southern Cross Fan · Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:06 am

Apollo Okamura wrote:I'm still working on the cover, but that's top priority at the moment, especially with the possibity of revisions and such.
I can almost guarantee that an Alpha Shadow Fighter in battloid mode will be a prominent feature of the illustration.

Just please remember the shoulder missile pods on the Shadow Fighter look different from the standard model ones. Both the Fighter and Drone are noted for the design differences (however minor one thinks they are) from the standard.

Tiree · Unread post by **Tiree** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:54 am

Mephisto wrote:
Rabid Southern Cross Fan wrote:
Apollo Okamura wrote:I'm still working on the cover, but that's top priority at the moment, especially with the possibity of revisions and such.
I can almost guarantee that an Alpha Shadow Fighter in battloid mode will be a prominent feature of the illustration.

Just please remember the shoulder missile pods on the Shadow Fighter look different from the standard model ones. Both the Fighter and Drone are noted for the design differences (however minor one thinks they are) from the standard.

It's Apollo Okamura, I'm sure he's well aware of the differences...let the man draw!

Actually I didn't notice the difference. So I am glad that RSCF is around to nitpick for accuracy. This has been something us Fan's have nitpicked for years in wanting accuracy on everything.

Others don't care, or could care less. But this is a new RPG - and if you can get it done as accurately as you can - less nitpickers and everyone's happy.

Apollo Okamura · Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:22 pm

Not to worry. I actually own the Masterpiece Edition of the Shadow Fighter (action figure), but I like the overall design of the standard version more - unfortunately it doesn't come in cool shadowy colours. :wink:

Rabid Southern Cross Fan · Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:05 pm

Apollo Okamura wrote:Not to worry. I actually own the Masterpiece Edition of the Shadow Fighter (action figure), but I like the overall design of the standard version more - unfortunately it doesn't come in cool shadowy colours.

But the Masterpiece Shadow version doesn't have the same shoulders as the one in the series.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ptn/images/shadowfighter.gif

Not trying to be a shmuck, trust me. Just thorough. :lol:

Edit: I just thought of something. Perhaps you could show one Shadow/Alpha in the VTOL mode? (You know, the Alpha's 4th mode)

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m77/ ... Mode15.jpg

Apollo Okamura · Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:09 am

I noticed the shoulders on my toy after I made the post, hehe, my bad. I do also have a ton of reference material as well, from both Harmony Gold and Palladium, but I'll make special note not to mess up the shoulders, thanks Rabid SC fan. :ok:

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:04 am

It sounds like the art is going to be AWESOME! I can't wait to see the cover Apollo! Hopefully they'll show a preview of it before the RPG comes out. I know I'm hungry for new Robotech!

Kryzbyn · Unread post by **Kryzbyn** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:02 pm

Apollo is doin the...
Well hell's bells, I'm pre-ordering now.

You truly bring the anime feel to your work Apollo, I can't wait to see this RPG!!

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:08 pm

It's going to be great no matter what size it comes in. :ok:

Apollo Okamura · Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:40 pm

While you should probably be getting your first glimpses of the cover in a week or two, I figure I can share some pre-production info.

When I started planning out the cover for the Shadow Chronicles RPG it took a bit to decide just what or whom was going to be featured. Ariel, Scott, and Vince might have been an easy choice since those three grace the cover of almost all of the Shadow Chronicles merchandise. The more rough layouts I worked on, the more it dawned on me that they didn't belong on the cover of the RPG - none of the characters did; after all, the players were supposed to be the heroes, not the NPCs. I've already mentioned that I featured a Shadow fighter in Battloid mode, but Invid and Haydonite are also represented on the cover, showcasing all three major factions featured in the movie.

There was also some talk about how to colour the cover, make it look CG like the movie, airbrush (like you might see from John Zeleznik or Kevin Long), or painted style (classic old Robotech type art). It didn't take long before I ultimately chose to colour the cover in an anime-styled colouring scheme. I toyed with various colouring and inking techniques used in both comics and anime. Some effects looked really cool, but I kept going back and stripping it down - keeping it simple. I decided on detailed flat tone work, with very rich colours. I wanted the cover to scream animated cel art, as if the mechs could transform at any second.

As for the actual layout, I hope I was able to put together something that felt like a core book, and not just a pretty picture. I also wanted the cover, while drawn and coloured differently from the Shadow Chronicles' artwork, to feel like it belonged on the shelf right next to the original source material. In fact, being the only one so far that's seen both the full-sized and manga-sized versions of the cover, I've got to say that having the full-colour manga-sized book cover sitting next to the Shadow Chronicles DVD case just looks absolutely amazing! It's as if the cover was just begging to be manga-sized!!

Anyway, there's still some steps left in production before it all gets finalised, so here's hoping everything else goes smoothly and you all like the finished artwork!

Cheers,

Apollo

P.S. - As much as I hate to say it, I think this pic blows away my old Optimus Prime pin-up!

Colonel Wolfe · Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:04 pm

i sure hope we get to se it soon 8-)

devillin · Unread post by **devillin** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:57 pm

Apollo Okamura wrote:That said, I think the folks at Harmony Gold might notice that Prime's not a standard issue veritech.
I did sneak Optimus into a couple of Rifters though

Which issues? :-D

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 2:39 pm

Sounds very cool Apollo! thank you for sharing the description! I know we are waiting to seeing your finished cover!

Apollo Okamura · Thu Nov 22, 2007 1:36 am

Okay, so still no preview for the cover, but here's another small art sample for Shadow Chronicles. Mind you, I coloured this pic of Maia just for fun, but it'll be black & white when it hits print - that, and she'll have the rest of her body as well. :-)

Maia colour sneak peak

Enjoy!

Shawn Merrow · Unread post by **Shawn Merrow** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:10 am

Apollo Okamura wrote:Okay, so still no preview for the cover, but here's another small art sample for Shadow Chronicles. Mind you, I coloured this pic of Maia just for fun, but it'll be black & white when it hits print - that, and she'll have the rest of her body as well.

Maia colour sneak peak

Enjoy!

Very nice. :ok:

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 5:57 pm

Very nice indeed! I'd love to see the rest of her body drawn...........ummm I mean for artistic pruposes only. If you know what I mean. :wink:

Apollo Okamura · Sun Dec 02, 2007 10:53 pm

Aramanthus wrote:Very nice indeed! I'd love to see the rest of her body drawn...........ummm I mean for artistic pruposes only. If you know what I mean.

Hehe, glad you guys like it!!
Her body is technically still in black and white, but that hasn't stopped some early requests for a life-sized picture! :-P

Apollo Okamura · Mon Dec 03, 2007 12:02 am

Oh, and to answer the OP's original question:

Originally, I was slated to do most of the art for the book, with a few reprints and Shadow Chronicle's production art included as well; but, as most of you have already heard, I've started a new career in September, and there's no way I'd have been able to do that much art.
Thankfully, Allen and Brian Manning, Adam Withers and Comfort Love, and Mike Wilson, have come in to cover my butt! Everyone working on Robotech is a HUGE fan of the series (especially those fanatic Manning bros), so you can expect some amazing art from cover to cover! :-D

I'll be drawing mostly the main character NPCs, and possibly an extra pic here and there, as well as the cover too of course. ;-)

Once the first book goes to print though, I'll still be drawing away for additional artwork for the Collector's Edition!
Yet another reason you may want to pick up both books. :-P

Tiree · Unread post by **Tiree** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 1:29 pm

I guess my only question now is this: Are the women being depicted going to all look the same from the neck down - or are you going to make them a bit better proportioned? (IE: Fix the biggest gripe)

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 3:42 pm

Congrats Apollo on the new job! Still glad you did some of the art! I'm looking forward to seeing this book reach our hands!

Apollo Okamura · Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:50 pm

Tiree wrote:I guess my only question now is this: Are the women being depicted going to all look the same from the neck down - or are you going to make them a bit better proportioned? (IE: Fix the biggest gripe)

Erm... I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to.
I can only speak for myself though, but I'm drawing my characters to look exactly like the movie, and all the women in the movie do have different...er... proportions. :oops:

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:52 pm

I'm sure your uh... illustration Apollo will be fine and very much as the characters were introduced to us in the Shadow Chronicles DVD.

optimuspint · Unread post by **optimuspint** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:43 am

I recently submitted an art portfolio to palladium, not sure if I will get picked up or not but if you guys want to see some of what i submitted you can go to my deviant art page. let me know what you think
http://optimuspint.deviantart.com/

AuroraKet · Unread post by **AuroraKet** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:50 pm

optimuspint wrote:I recently submitted an art portfolio to palladium, not sure if I will get picked up or not but if you guys want to see some of what i submitted you can go to my deviant art page. let me know what you think
http://optimuspint.deviantart.com/

Not sure if Palladium is gonna pick up artists from submissions at this late date. Apollo would know more than I do, though. The stuff on your deviantart page looks fantastic, though.

Apollo Okamura · Wed Dec 12, 2007 3:18 pm

Mephisto wrote:Ummm, I haven't heard...what is this new career Mr. Okamura?

Hey Mephisto!

In September I started a new job as an instructor of Digital Tools and Methodologies for the BAA 2-D Animation program at Sheridan College. Basically, I'm responsible for teaching the students animation related software packages such as Photoshop, After Effects, Flash, and Toon Boom's Storyboard and Digital Pro, as well as many others.

Unfortunately, that does mean I have a lot less time to draw, freelance-wise; although, I do hope to keep slipping Palladium a few pics here and there, whenever I get the chance. Summer break... Woot!

For more info check out my interview with nexusnine.net, or my website.

optimuspint wrote:I recently submitted an art portfolio to palladium, not sure if I will get picked up or not but if you guys want to see some of what i submitted you can go to my deviant art page. let me know what you think
http://optimuspint.deviantart.com/

Some nice art you got there :ok:

As to getting into the Shadow Chronicles book, yeah it's a bit late, but Palladium will be doing more books afterwards, so here's wishing you good luck!

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:17 pm

Apollo congrats on the teaching gig! I hope you can work it out where you can still send your artwork to Palladium! I'm glad for the artwork you have done in the past! I'm looking forward to seeing more of yours in the future!

Hey Optimuspint! Your work kicks some serious butt! Great work. Listen to Apollo and submit it for later books! You material ROCKS!!

optimuspint · Unread post by **optimuspint** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:17 pm

AuroraKet wrote:
optimuspint wrote:I recently submitted an art portfolio to palladium, not sure if I will get picked up or not but if you guys want to see some of what i submitted you can go to my deviant art page. let me know what you think
http://optimuspint.deviantart.com/

Not sure if Palladium is gonna pick up artists from submissions at this late date. Apollo would know more than I do, though. The stuff on your deviantart page looks fantastic, though.

I knew when i submitted it was too late in the game, I'm pretty familiar with the lead time in publishing, i was aiming more for any future books they put out, just wanted to get some gamers impressions on my work, thanks!

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:16 pm

Cool! We'll look forward to seeing your name and your work in PB Robotech material in the future. And maybe in other products too! :::Fingers crossed for your goodluck!:::

devillin · Unread post by **devillin** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 11:50 am

optimuspint wrote:I recently submitted an art portfolio to palladium, not sure if I will get picked up or not but if you guys want to see some of what i submitted you can go to my deviant art page. let me know what you think
http://optimuspint.deviantart.com/

Wow man!! That is some seriously awesome art there!!

Aramanthus · Unread post by **Aramanthus** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:08 pm

He's a great artist! I hope PB can put him too work on the new series! And maybe more!

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Shadow Chronicles RPG artwork - who are the artists?

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