The Colour is Decided, and new Original Art Rewards go Live at Five
about 3 years ago – Tue, Feb 16, 2021 at 08:56:37 AM

Greetings, my art loving friends!

Ralph has spent many hours in quiet contemplation of which colour study would be the most effective for the cover of his Art Adventure Book, and after great deliberation we have a winner!

The winner is: 

(Insert over dramatic reality TV pause here)

Colour Study 3: 

I think its going to be a marvellous cover!

The four studies go live as rewards at 5pm GMT sharp - they're automated so:

1: They will all go live at exactly the same time in a nice crisp manner.

2: I hope it works. I've done a lot of kickstarter, but never scheduled rewards. Cross your fingers!

And I wish you good luck if there's one you're keen to get!

We're a whisker away from breaking through another stretch goal, which will grow the book again! It's going to be a lovely chunky tome! 

Jon & Ralph

Colour Studies
about 3 years ago – Mon, Feb 15, 2021 at 09:38:39 AM

Hello!

Itsa me, Jonnio!

So! I'm in trouble - I mentioned we'd be voting on colour studies, but that was wrong. We will not actually be voting on them, and with good reason: Ralph is the real colour expert here, and he's going to choose the colour study which will make the best painting - which we'd always planned, and I simply forgot in my enthusiasm!

What we will do however is admire them, immediately! Here are the four colour studies that Ralph has made for the cover:

Seeing these, you can really see what they're all about - they're like a rehearsal for the big performance. When you're painting in oils, this is especially useful - it's a pretty committed process, and trying out some options ahead of diving in is time well spent.

 These are painted in acrylics over a high quality laser print pasted to board, so several can be made using the same sketch. As such they have.

 The good news is tomorrow we'll be adding these original paintings to the reward tiers - they will go live at 5pm GMT, and like all the original art tiers they will come framed, with a sketch and signed copy of An Art Adventure. We'll have some photos of the framed pieces soon. If you think you'd like one of these, you'll need to be ready to go, since there are only 4 in existence.

Do you have a favourite? Ralph gets to choose, but we can still express a preference!

Ralph had some really interesting stuff to say in a recent interview at the Muddy Colors art blog. Check it out: https://www.muddycolors.com/2021/02/ralph-horsley-a-killer-kickstarter/ 

Thanks once again for being here! Your support has been amazing!

Jon (& Ralph)

We have our cover sketch!
about 3 years ago – Fri, Feb 12, 2021 at 08:06:43 AM

Hello and welcome to Friday, and welcome to all our new backers!

Jon here again. I'm helping Ralph run the campaign, while he gets on with the important job of making the art.

Speaking of which, we have some exciting news - we have a cover sketch of your chosen cover. Check it out:

 Beautiful stuff.  I love Ralph's drawings. The sketch itself is drawn directly on the art board and will be overpainted to make the final image, so this one isn't up for grabs.

 Next up though, you can expect to see a collection of colour studies, and you'll be able to vote on which one Ralph takes forward to the final painting. You'll also have a chance to own these original colour studies once they've been made.

 What kinds of colours would you like to see?

 Thanks or your support, and looking forward to hearing your suggestions!

 Jon & Ralph

More page spreads to enjoy
about 3 years ago – Thu, Feb 11, 2021 at 07:37:38 AM

Hello! Welcome new backers!

Another day, another helper-elf-report. Can you believe we have just 12 days to go?

Overnight we unlocked another stretch goal, and that back cover painting is one step closer.

Let's take a look at some more spreads, and oh my goodness, don't these look amazing? This book is really going to be something. We're currently at 176 pages, which is a good chunky size. And we have now 3 packs of wallpapers to send you. We're working on those right now. Let's see what else we can unlock!

This one is from the Adventuring chapter. At the time of writing, you can still get the original art of the border.

These two spreads are from the Combat chapter.

"The only thing I like better than Ralph Horsley’s artwork is Ralph Horsley himself. It’s just not fair that someone who is so talented and accomplished an artist, is also extremely charming and fun to hang out with back when conventions were a thing.... I look forward to doing so again when conventions are a thing again." - Sean Andrew Murray

Don't forget if you want a signed copy to add £10 for a signed bookplate!

Thanks for being here!

Jon & Ralph

Let's talk about signed copies and book plates
about 3 years ago – Tue, Feb 09, 2021 at 11:30:03 AM

Hello!

Jon-elf again!

So! Ralph has made two beautiful ink pieces which will be made into the book plates which will accompany signed and sketched-and-signed copies of Art Adventure. Check them out:

These will printed on toned paper, which I've simulated here. The real thing will be even nicer.

Signed copies are available to all backers as an Add On -  If you'd like a signed copy, simply hit "manage my pledge" and add £10 to the value you're pledging. That gets you one of the signed book plates slipped into your book. It's up to you if you decide to glue it in, or if you'd rather keep it loose.

If you want multiple signed copies, simply add on multiples of the Add On book price, and as many book plates as you'd like.

The Sketched-and-signed copies of the book come with the larger book plate design you see at the bottom there, with a beautiful drawing on it. They will of course also be signed. And again, the book plate will be slipped into your book, rather than glued in, so the choice is yours on whether to attach it or not. Personally I'd probably just frame it. Right now all the Sketched and Signed copies of the book have been snapped up, and since Ralph wants to make them really nice drawings we don't plan to release any more. They are available with original art however, and there's a few of those highly desireable collectables left. Get 'em while you can!

Progress continues, and here we are in the middle of the campaign, so the fireworks have died down until a bit closer to our end date in just two weeks. If you listen really closely you can hear our graphic designer Paul laying out extra pages for the Art Adventure.

However! We are creeping towards a bunch of stretch goals, and that really superb back cover painting. I really hope we can reach that one, so if you know anyone who might like a copy of Ralph's Art Adventure, be sure to point them at the campaign!

Thanks again for your support!

Jon and Ralph