Kickstarter - Cryptid Stock Art Illustrations by Tara Quinn

It's been a while since I've reviewed a Kickstarter for Stock Art, and Tara Quinn's current campaign stands out as whimsical and different.

I don't know what project I'd use this art style for, but it's definitely a style I'd find good use for.

Cryptid Stock Art is priced at 25 bucks for 100 pieces (or over 400 for 50 if you missed the earlier Kickstarters).

100 original illustrations will be done as black and grey or line art and depict various cryptids from states across the USA as well other places around the world. The style will invoke that of old-school artwork, but with Tara's own comic inspired design. All will be created digitally at high resolution 300 DPI in various shapes and sizes.

 

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Kickstarter - 5E (SRD) RPG Stock Art Illustrations in OSR Style / Make 100

Original fantasy artwork. For use in books, tabletop game material, or elsewhere. Permissively licensed for personal and commercial use.

I'm a huge fan of stock art. I've used it in prior releases, and even the cover of Swords & Wizardry Continual Light is technically stock art. It's an affordable way for small publishers to get quality art made by actual human beings.

The 5E (SRD) RPG Stock Art Illustrations in OSR Style / Make 100 Kickstarter (a long and unwieldy title) showcases stock art by Tara Quinn. I haven't seen Tara's work before, at least not that I know of, and her work is a bit more cartoonish than I'm used to, but I find it surprisingly pleasing. I'll be backing this. It's 25 bucks for 100 pieces of art, quality art, and that's hard to beat.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar 

Get Unique Portait Stock Art and Support Fat Goblin Games

Life as a self-publisher is often hand to mouth, with usually little if any sort of "emergency funds". Rick Hershey is the main man at Fat Goblin Games and is quite talented as an artist. He did the logo for my Torchlight Zine, and I often snag pieces of his stock art when I can.

Fat Goblin Games is offering stock art exclusively through a Paypal Donation that won't be available elsewhere.

I'm in for 100 myself. I love the samples we've been shown thus far, and my mind is already rolling with ideas :)

Here's the link

Help us meet our goal!

It's time we get a new vehicle, something more reliable and a bit newer. But generating those extra funds can be difficult when you are an artist and a small TTRPG publisher. So, I am running this fundraiser to help with that!  

I've been working on a new style of watercolor and inks for my own projects, but also with the idea that I would like to produce art closer to the illustrators that inspired me as a kid. That said, I have mostly focused on fairly normal studies, and nothing I would say comes close to the "fantasy" of TTRPGs. To help reach our goal, this entire set of 25 Exclusive portraits is completed in this style. 

When you donate $100 (or more) you will receive the 25 base portraits.

Each time we reach a $1000 milestone, I will add 10 more portraits to the set.

If we fully fund, I expect to have all completed and delivered before November. They will be sent via email (so please make sure you include your email when donating).

The portraits are EXCLUSIVE here and will not be sold as stock art elsewhere, they will also include our standard license.

 The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

Kickstarter - MACE Volume #002 (Zine and Stock Art by James Shields)

For those that don't know, James Shields did the cover for Swords & Wizardry Continual Light, and James did the cover for the (as of now) unreleased revision, titled Continual Light. I own a number of originals of James' original work, and I love his stock art. When I can focus on my small hobby publishing again, James' art will have a prominent place.

Needless to say, I backed the MACE Volume #002 Kickstarter at the ALL THE STOCK ART level, not just to support a creator and artist whose work I truly enjoy and who I personally respect, but because I know it will be top-notch.

You can back MACE Volume #002 for just the zine for as little as 10 bucks, but 75 gives you 45 pieces of stock art and the zine in print plus PDF. I know what I did :)

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar    

Kickstarter - Monster & Character Encounters (Stock Art, Monsters, and More)

A zine of 50 new monsters, their traps, and treasures. These aren't your daddy's dragons.

I've known James Shields for a number of years. It was his art that graced the first printing of Swords & Wizardry Continual Light, and it will be his art that will grace the cover of the upcoming Continual Light.

James has recently gone back to working full-time in the gaming industry, and the Monster & Character Encounters Kickstarter is the opening salvo of James' return.

You can back the Monster& Character Encounters Kickstarter for the gaming material, or you can go even further and back in for the 50 stock art critters that you will get non-exclusive rights to. You had better believe I'm in for the stock art plus zine :)

 

These are not your ordinary hack and slash monsters. Each is individually illustrated and designed to present a new type of threat, obstacle, or concern for your players.

Dungeons should be hazardous, but there are dangers worse than death. How will you negotiate the plague-ridden Gore Ox that blocks passage through the dungeon? Your ally already lost an eye to the eye thieves — how do you get any rest tonight? Will any of your team escape the affections of Mamarex? Why is a TimeLok interrupting your adventure now? Who is whispering about Kel-enroth Maccabah of the Desecration?

Look! An interview with James Shields!

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar 

Kickstarter - 1000+ RPG MAGICAL ITEMS ILLUSTRATIONS! (AI Art)

High-quality illustrations for your magic items and artifacts! Monster Eggs, Potions, Magic books, Rings, Necklace, Wands, Armors...

Yep, it's an interesting Kickstarter, and not just for the amount of art you get for your money (the latest update estimates 2,500 art pieces for 31 bucks American that you can use in commercial projects) but because the art is being generated by Artificial Intelligence. 

The sample pieces look good enough, and out of 2,500, if one piece in 100 were usable (publishing quality), I'd certainly be getting my money's worth, but is this the wave of the future?

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. 

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  

Kickstarter - Dungeon Dangers & Devices (Stock Art)

I'm a huge fan of stock art. Not just for smaller publishers, which I am on occasion, but as a blogger. A good piece of art can inspire a whole post, and knowing you have legal rights to use such art somehow makes the creative juices flow even more, or so it seems to me.

James Sheilds has a very large and very deep catalogue of stock art. The pieces are great, at a minimum, and some reach the level of "Awesome", such as the art I used for the cover of Swords & Wizardry Continual Light. As my niece, Shannon (age 6 at the time) told my wife Rach when she saw the proof copy for the first time: "This art SELLS Auntie!" There can be no greater endorsement. ;)

James just Kickstarted Dungeon Dangers & Devices, Stock Illustrations of Fantasy Traps and Tricks. 10 illustrations for 25 bucks or 25 illustrations for 50 bucks (all B&W) Color is a stretch goal and available at a higher backing point. I'm currently in for 50 :)

This project will be a collection of twenty-five illustrations of various dangers and devices that one might find within the depths of a fantasy dungeon. They will be in A5 format (5.8 x 8.3 inches) and will initially be in black and white.

In my opinion, the licensing terms are extremely fair:

All illustrations may be used for personal and commercial projects.

          The following apply to any commercial use:

• May be cropped, flipped, or colored.
• Signature mark should be included in the final composition.
• Signature mark must remain in its original orientation.
• Must credit 'Jeshields' for any use.
• May be used indefinitely.
• May NOT be used in products sold primarily for artistic value.
•            (Stock art, tokens, posters, etc)
• May NOT be used in works overtly deemed racist, sexist, or sexually explicit.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  

You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube, 

or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.

Kickstarter - Modern Mythos and Machine (Stock Art)

It’s not easy being an indie / self publisher. Ideas are easy, good affordable art is expensive. Answer? Stock art. One of the best artists to offer stock art? James Shields. Today, James launched the Modern Mythos and Machine Kickstarter. I’m already backing at 95 bucks :)

This project will be a collection of 75 to 100 stock illustrations with a Modern, Sci-Fi, or Lovecraft theme. There will be a total of SEVEN categories of artwork:

FONTS - ONE font for each of the Modern, Sci-Fi, and Lovecraft Themes.

FULL PAGE / COVER ART - THREE vertical full page illustrations designed to also be usable as cover art. Each illustration will be divided into foreground, middle, and background images.

VEHICLES - FIVE images of various modes of transportation. These will include up to 3 variants each with a minimum of 12 total variants.*

SCENES - SEVEN half page illustrations of action or display of skill. Like the full page art, these will be broken into foreground, middle, and background images. Each image will include up to 3 variants with a minimum of 15 total variants.*

EFFECTS - NINE images of various effects such as explosions, weather, gunshots, and more. These will be accompanied by an appropriate text effect such as: BOOM, ZAP, CRACK, etc.

CHARACTERS - ELEVEN characters and creatures posed to be used in a scene. Each of these will include up to 3 variants with a minimum of 24 total characters or creatures.*

ITEMS - THIRTEEN illustrations of various items and equipment. These also will have up to 3 variants each with a minimum of 27 total variations.*

*The actual number of variants per illustration will depend upon the complexity of converting the image to another genre.

As usual with most of my projects, illustrations will be chosen from submitted ideas. These ideas will be curated and voted upon to determine the actual contents of this project.

Kickstarter - RPG Monsters: A to Z - Stock Art (James Shields)

I'm a HUGE fan of Stock Art. If you are a small third party publisher or self publisher, good stock art is often your life's blood. Affordable and good? That's a home run.

James Shields is Kickstarting RPG Monsters: A to Z, 26 creatures for your publications as little as a buck a piece in B&W

I'm creating a stock art library of 26 creatures and monsters, one for each letter of the alphabet. I want this library to be a mix of the following: 

• Recreating some Classic Creatures
• Makeovers of 'Failed' Monster Ideas
• Designing Brand New Creations
• Backers will submit ideas for each letter of the alphabet. I will curate those submissions (and maybe include some of my own) and allow backers to vote on which ideas get illustrated. 

All images will be quarter to half page illustrations at 300 DPI.

Black and White is 25 bucks, add in color and its 50 bucks. Very affordable and excellent art.

Repackaging Freely Available Stock Art for Money - Arcana Stock Art

A few days ago a new company popped up on OneBookShelf - Arcana Stock Art. Now, I live grabbing stock art even if I rarely use most of what I have rights to - simply awesome to have when I want to get creative.

Sine Nomine (Kevin Crawford) released the art from his Kickstarters to the public domain. Guess who has repackaged the color pieces from the various Kickstarters and put it in a single bundle (PWYW with a suggested price of $4.99?) You guessed it - Arcana Stock Art. Alright, you don't need to pay for it and it is convenient.

But then I looked deeper.

They have other stock art bundles. All composed of pieces of art released under various Creative Commons Licenses. These bundles aren't free. These bundles cost anywhere from 5 to 10 bucks - to buy art that is already out there for free.

It might be legal but it certainly feels sleazy. If they were all PWYW, its a convenience and you can tip the guy who bundled it as such it wouldn't feel like a con. Charging flat out for the bundle of otherwise free art? Shit, look the art up with a reverse Google Art Lookup and grab it from the artist as was intended.

Art and license from Chtulhu Art Pack 2

Yep, those are affiliate links above. DON'T but the art linked but do feel free to look at the "publisher's page" and see what I'me referring to first hand. If you buy something else later from OBS I'll be happy to see change go in my tip jar, just not from this "publisher".

The Tavern Chat Podcast - Episode #16 - Stock Settlements, Stock Art and Art of the Genre

Today we step away, briefly, from the 1e DMG and instead talk about some current Kickstarters - one of which IS for AD&D 1e ;)

Lets talk about some current (as of the morning of May 1st, 2018) Kickstarters - Spectacular Settlements for 5th Edition, The Curse of Roslof Keep high-level 1E & 5E gaming adventure, and Choose Your Own: Sci-Fi Stock Art.

Link to Episode #16

Links to the discussed Kickstarters:

The Curse of Roslof Keep high level 1E & 5E gaming adventure

Spectacular Settlements for 5th Edition!

Choose Your Own: Sci-Fi Stock Art

Remember folks, your feedback is priceless. Suggest future discussion topics, discuss recent topics and just tell me how you feel ;)

Update - James Shields' Choose Your Own: Sci-Fi Stock Art Kickstarter - Now with Even More Free Sh!t

My goodness. James Shields' Choose Your Own: Sci-Fi Stock Art Kickstarter is an advertisement of how amazing the OSR creative community is. When other publishers and creators are volunteering to offer up their own work for free to support James' Kickstarter, it doesn't just tell you about James but about those offering their own works to support James.

Huzzah!

And there may be more added tomorrow ;)

Note - the free PDFs are cumulative:

Back at $15 - $16 value in PDFs.

Back at $25 - $35.50 value in PDFs.

Back at $50 - $61.50 value in PDFs.

Free PDFs at $15 backer level ($10 value)

Free PDFs at $15 backer level ($6+ value)

Free PDFs at $25 backer level ($14 value)

Free PDFs at $25 backer level ($11.50 value)

Free PDF at the $50 backer level ($9.99 value)

Free PDF at $50 backer level ($9.99 value)

Kickstarter Update: Choose Your Own: Sci-Fi Stock Art - Free White Star Goodness

There are now some free goodies for backing the James Shield’s Choose Your Own Sci-fi Stock Art Kickstarter.

At the $15 pledge level, you get a bunch of material from Pete Spahn to support the White Star RPG.

At the $50 pledge level, you get a PDF copy of James Spahn’s White Star: Galaxy Edition.

Announcement - Frog God Does Stock Art (complete with video with Zach Glazar and Your Humble Bartender)

Here's what happened. I was lying in bed last night, playing some random game on my phone as I was preparing to embark on decongestant and antibiotic induced sleep when +Zach Glazar asked me if I was up. I could be if needed. Zach then said he wanted to talk art. I said sure.

I had no idea he meant on a YouTube Livestream.

I apologize in advance for any weirdness on my part. Well, more than usual weirdness. It was the drugs and late hour, I swear. Zach was fine though ;)

Anyhow, long story short is Frog God Games is opening their back catalogue of black & white art as stock art. First art pack went up last night. 5 pieces for 3 bucks. Those are the five pieces above. Its some damn good stuff. Here's the link: Lost Art: Black & White Illustrations Pack 1 (Commercial License) (and although the cover says "Print Use", it covers PDFs too)

Did I forget to mention... oh yeah, THAT big announcement for small press and hobbyists that Zach talked about in the video. Its an Easter Egg only available in the video, but its worth the watch, especially if you are a small press publisher.

Did you watch it?

Its an exciting time to be a small press OSR publisher ;)

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Shoppin' through The Tavern's affiliate links keeps the taps flowing and the lights on here at The Tavern :) 

One Dollar Stock Art Sale - Fat Goblin Games - Limited Time

From an email I just got from Fat Goblin Games:

Hey Everyone, for the last few days we have been selling stock art at the mad price of $1. This is to raise some funds for a woman battling stage 4 cancer with a son, the mother of one of our team members. This is the last chance to get this art and help out. We won't be having sales like these in 2018, and will be focusing on new methods of charity. So, if you need art, make sure to stock up (that is a pun). You have until tomorrow, and then I switch all the prices back. Seriously.

Here's the links:

Main Links: http://www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/3865/Fat-Goblin-Games/subcategory/7767_9508/Publishers-Choice-Quality-Stockart&affiliate_id=1446


http://www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/3865/Fat-Goblin-Games/subcategory/7767_25088/Publishers-Choice-Subscriptions&affiliate_id=1446

Maps link: http://www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/3865/Fat-Goblin-Games/subcategory/7767_27373/Elven-Tower-Cartography?affiliate_id=1446

Those are affiliate links above. Help keep the taps flowing :)

Fat Goblin Games $1 Stock Art Sale - 24 Hours Only!

From an email I received late this afternoon:

Sometimes in this industry projects fall apart, clients don't pay, or sometimes things just get delayed. Unfortunately, having a few of these happen at the same time can put you in a bind, especially when being the bread-winner for the family. . . and this time of the year getting behind on bills can be the worst. Well, I'm behind on a bunch of things that need to be paid now - not in a few weeks when other projects pay off.  

So, for the next 24 hours, all stock art is marked down to a $1. Yeah, I hate doing it, but don't have a choice as things can snowball in these situations and get worse. The dollar sale includes everything. Subscriptions have been marked down to $75. This is all for the next 24 hours. Take advantage of my situation and get yourself some great resources. I would really appreciate it. 

Also, if you are friends with me or Fat Goblin Games on FB, twitter, G+, etc. I posted up a cover for sale - check it out and make me an offer. 

You have 24 hours to take advantage of this sale. 

http://www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/3865/Fat-Goblin-Games/subcategory/7767_9508/Publishers-Choice-Quality-Stockart&affiliate_id=1446

http://www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/3865/Fat-Goblin-Games/subcategory/7767_25088/Publishers-Choice-Subscriptions&affiliate_id=1446

I just snagged the Lovecraftian Horrors sub for $75

Those are affiliate links above. Helps keep the lights on at The Tavern when you use them ;)

Kickstarter - Fantasy Stock Art & RPG Miniatures - Artist James Shields (Cover Artist SWCL)

I know I've already mentioned James' Fantasy Stock Art & RPG Miniatures Kickstarter. Its at least 50 new pieces of stock art / print at home RPG miniatures.

Buy in is as little as 10 bucks for the print at home minis, 25 bucks for half the stock art, 50 bucks for the full 50 plus pieces and more if you want a guaranteed pitch of you idea.

Seriously, James is good. Damn good.

This is James' cover art on Swords & Wizardry Continual Light:

In the words of my six year old niece - "This SELLS uncle! This SELLS!" Yes it does Pinky. Yes it does.

Kickstarter - Fantasy Stock Art & RPG Minis (JE Shields)

I'm just going to come out and say it - 50+ pieces of stock art for 50 bucks from an artist of the caliber of +James Shields is beyond ridiculous in pricing.

As a small (if not minuscule) self publisher, quality stock art at an affordable price is a necessity. James Shields has you covered.

I'm in for $50. Seriously, if you you publish your own work, James Shield's Fantasy Stock Art & RPG Minis needs to be on your list of resources.

Puerto Rico Direct Relief BUNDLE - Aegis Studios (Excellent Stock Art Included)

This has been one hell of a Hurricane Season. The latest heavy hit was Puerto Rico. Much of Puerto Rico is still without power and may be for weeks or even months.

Aegis Studios is offering the Puerto Rico Direct Relief Bundle. All proceeds made by Aegis Studios from the sale of this bundle.

At the recommendation of artist Denis McCarthy, we have compiled a superbundle of stock art, publisher resources and additional materials, the proceeds from which will go to benefit Puerto Rico through the Direct Relief charity. Link to Puerto Rico Direct Relief Bundle

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE BUNDLE (Aegis Studios gets 70% of what we sell at DriveThruRPG) will go directly to Direct Relief.

The bundle is valued at over $56 and costs $25.

I've already purchased the bundle and have plans for the excellent stock art included. This will be tomorrow's Midweek Monster Madness post and a major player in next month's Tavern Adventure.

Art copyright Denis McCarthy

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Monies raised from now to the end of the month will help pay The Tavern's art expenses. We've just commissioned Denis McCarthy to do a major scene for next month's adventure ;)

Looking for Stock Art Suggestions

We are about a buck from The Tavern's September funding goal via its RPGNow Affiliate links with 8 days left in the month and I'd like to invest at least half of whatever earnings come in after this point to the end of the month on some quality stock art.

Yes, I have purchased a fairly large collection prior to this point, but the more I have access to the more inspiration waiting for me. I am looking at 4 to 5 magic items, 4 to 5 creatures, one dungeon / adventure and possibly one fleshed out NPC with adventure hooks and the like for October alone.

So, if you have favorite artists or art packs, please drop links in the comments below. You won't just be helping me - you'll be helping other self publishers and the artists themselves.

I lean to preferring B&W over color but don't let that stop you from recommending artists or art that primarily work in color.