Writing and Drawing
A small frustration that’s come up this week is the desire to draw. I know it doesn’t sound like a hurdle at first but trust me, it sucks. Normally, if you’re just a writer you wouldn’t be concerned with what I’m about to explain. When laying out a book ALL of the text needs to be complete and correct long before you start drawing. This is because a book layout is an exercise in precision, you need to consider the flow and pace of reading as well as empty space needed to create a visually dynamic spread. The reader is usually not conscious of this and yet it makes a great difference.
So I think writing an RPG book is not that serious, and it doesn’t involve as much work as writing a manuscript for a novel let’s say. This is especially the case when we’re talking about remixing well established mechanics (3d6 down the line, d20 roll under, 2d6 skills, etc.) and just sticking a nice setting on top. Boring as it is, this is to save headaches later! However, I’m beginning to really feel stuck in the writing phase, not in the sense of not making progress as most of the game’s engine if you will is already done. It’s more about feeling that itch to draw.
This Monday evening, it just became too much and I decided instead of fancy full-colour all done and finished paintings that will end up in the book and so need to be correctly formatted and perfect and everything; I’ll do some sketches! Enjoy them and read on about the creatures depicted.
"Neko"
It means ‘somebody‘ in Serbian. I envisaged a creepy and mysterious creature of the night, made of an odd number of human body parts. Not to say it’s like Frankenstein’s monster in any way, nor do I have an idea of what it does yet.
"Tornjača"
It’s an embarrassing pun in Serbian, mixing the words ‘tower‘ and ‘turtle‘. I might come up with something equally catchy in English, stay tuned. I feel like it fits a profile of gigantic creature. like the dragon turtles of D&D, the lion turtles of Avatar the Last Airbender, and the turtle from NeverEnding Story whose name escapes me.
"Yatagun"
Can you tell I love puns? Anyway not sure if and what I’m going to do with this one.
"Bodljičak"
‘Spikey‘ or something like that, in Serbian. It looks a bit like a mix of a xorn and a gibbering mouther. I have a thing for adding and repeating body parts. This is an actual thing in mythologies of the world and I intend to keep it as a theme in the game.
"Vila"
A vila is a fairy in Slavic cultures. This creature is exceptionally nuanced and complex and performs many different roles and functions in our stories. As such, she deserves a much broader and deeper text than I can provide here, which will be in the book.
To conclude, I satisfied my craving for drawing. This is not representative of the style and quality I intend to deliver in the final product, but it is a glimpse into the world and the process. Hope you enjoyed and talk to you next week.
