MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL

A collage of upcoming images and models based on the Steam engines: a.k.a Queens Rook and pawn designed by sjem.

The Entry

This is the last sequence before the start of Phase Two of the Game of Kings story: The Battle.

When the White King eventually emerged from his campaign tent, the whole army seemed to sense his arrival and a sudden hush came over all those assembled.

He walked over to the Bishop Angel – who gave no acknowledgement – stood next to him and stared in the same direction.

As if following some unspoken order the rest of the army stared off in the same direction in total silence.
In a matter of seconds the cloudless mid afternoon lilac sky deepened to a dark purple and a mist formed unnaturally fast, making the area above and around them seem encased in fog.

As quickly as the fog appeared it withdrew, but in doing so revealed that the landscape had changed. The mist still swirled and lifted, hiding the sky.

Before them lay a field as flat as a table, covered in lush green grass, kept liked a mowed lawn which stretched to the horizon where it too became engulfed in mist. Behind them the lush lawn did the same but in this direction to only a distance of about two hundred metres.

A glance to the left and right held the biggest shock, for the lawn was bordered on either side by steep rocky outcrops that rose to peaks concealed/hidden by the mist.

It didn’t take long for the experienced Generals to realise they were bound in, trapped one could say.

The army was in danger of breaking ranks when the White King announced “Calm” and when he had his army’s full attention declared: “Behold your opponent!”

As if by divine decree (and who said it wasn’t) at a distance of about four hundred metres away the field began to shimmer with light. Most of the army members shielded their eyes but the light dimmed as quickly as it had appeared – revealing another army.
Even from such a distance, they appeared a mass of darkness and flame and unholy noise.

The collective thought going through the mind of every member of the army of the White Wing, other than the King and his Angel themselves was: “What in hell are we fighting?”

Three leaders’ thoughts, although also in unison, were nothing short of treasonous.

The Skeleton General, the Equilord and the mighty Rock Titan no longer believed they could put their trust in their leader for this battle.

INTERVIEW WITH MATHEW DUNN

He is the man in the gas mask whose work ethic can never be questioned.

Fresh from exhibitions, books and toys we interview Mathew Dunn the very popular Melbourne artist.

Where you aware of the GoK project before you were invited to join and what is your opinion of the collaboration?

I stumbled across GoK shortly after joining RedBubble. I was blown away by the complexity of the project and immediate thought ‘The people in charge of this must be completely unhinged!’ (a suspicion verified as fact once I got to know those in charge). Artistic collaborations of any kind are always exciting to watch and participate in, and when it carries the themes and approach of GoK then it’s even more exciting.

Tell us a bit about yourself
Influences, ambitions, hopes and dreams.

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and my love of comics matches that time frame. Influences range from 70’s cartoons and horror/exploitation films, through to a wide range of artists including Henry Darger, Mike Mignola, Ashley Wood, Kent Williams, Dave McKean, Gary Gianni, John Paul Leon, Jeff Lemire, and many many more. My hopes and dreams are varied, but often circle around the subjects of comics and toys. Some of those dreams have come true, those that remain unattained are worth chasing to the ends of the earth for however long it takes.

Is there anyone or anything you want to flog?

I’d suggest everyone go to the GoK page to check it out, then go and check out the individual folios of every artist involved. The talent is inspiring. Then when you’re done with that pop over towww.matthewdunnart.com and say hi ;-)

INTERVIEW WITH DAMIEN MASON

A prelude to the Game of Kings Project Phase Two

Damien Mason has been a popular member of Red bubble and great addition to the GoK line up. Damien is a web and flash developer as well as being pretty handy with certain pieces of cutlery.
You can see more of Damien here on his blog and his website
Were you aware of the GoK project before you were invited to join and what is your opinion of the collaboration?

Yeah of course I was aware, is anybody not by now? I thought the individual pieces were brilliant, some of them especially blew my mind with their creativity and visual perfection. I’m not sure I fully appreciated how they all worked together up until now however.. I don’t particularly want to use the word “Epic” but holy shit.. epic.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Your Influences, ambitions, hopes and dreams.

Okay.. I’m nearly 30, married, have a son who’s nearly 2, live in Radelaide and play with Japanese swords on a weekly basis. My influences are many and varied, from comics and animation to random awesome art I happen to stumble across online or in the street. My goal is to always improve. Yes, I’m like a character from Japanese comics. Call me Naruto.
Long term, I’m looking to get my art up to a point when I’m happy with it and then maybe have an exhibition. I’ve got plans to sell some signed prints as well, and one day I would love to design a few toys. Maybe illustrate a kid’s book. Generally create something worthwhile and leave some kind of legacy when I go
.
Is there anyone or anything you want to flog?
These are what I’m currently working on some special A3 prints

INTERVIEW WITH AUSVEN

One of the joys of the second phase is being introduced to people you weren’t really aware of and then being blown away by their extreme talent. One of these characters is ausven.
Ausven has brought a wonderful new dimension to the group and works seamlessly with others while having a distinctive style that makes you look several times to catch the detail you missed the first time you marveled at his work.
A hard working champion and a joy to work with.

What do you think you are going to bring to the Game of Kings Project?

I was aware of the project prior to being invited onboard.
I had began some correspondence with Si regarding his work ad became aware of it through him. I am a big fan of chess, although Ii don’t play so much now but the combination of the game and my other love of comic/fantasy art led to my secretly yearning that there would be a second project and Ii would be asked to be on board – and here I am!!!

Your opinion of the project so far?

I think….no…check that…I know… phase 2 is going to be something very special and very different to Phase 1. The scale is totally different, every image has the potential to be an absolute epic.
When Ii first received the scenes I would be illustrating I thought….shit….where do I start? But having battled on with thumbnail after thumbnail I have managed to complete my first piece and am chuffed with the outcome, I’m thinking so far so good.

A quick run down of your influences and achievements here on Red Bubble and the outside world?

I grew in London and have always loved comic and fantasy art, I used to play the Steve Jackson Fighting Fantasy role playing books and Dungeon and Dragons game with friends as a kid. In fact the first novel I ever read was the Hobbit when I think I was around 11 – so that kind of paved the way for my love of Fantasy. I used to collect Marvel comics avidly, and would always be in awe of artists such as Art Adams, John Byrne, John Romita Snr and Jnr, I guess these were major influences in my style today.
For several years I tossed and turned with what Ii wanted to do with my life, I have always loved my art but was put off pursuing comic and fantasy based stuff for a while after attending formal art school, formal training kind of beats the comic/fantasy style out of you. Instead Ii focused solely on my painting for a few years – my paintings tend to be more abstract.
However, Red Bubble has played a major part in re igniting my fire for the comic and fantasy art and the talents such as Si Sherry, Matt Dunn and Sturstein have really been a great encouragement for me. Once again I am thriving on what Ii am doing and because I am working along side such talents I am being pushed to move forward and drive my ability to new highs….which is very cool.
If you check out some of my earlier designs such as Si Fi Tragedy and compare it to later works such as The Colonial you can see how far my style has progressed over a year or so. And not just the style but also the technique and know how – I am really pleased with this and again I have the RB posse to thank.
I am now preparing a new portfolio to get out there to promote my comic/fantasy art and hope that this time next year I will be able to pretty much support myself working purely as an illustrator instead of a 9 – 5 with a lil illustration on the side.
I am now at a stage in my life where if I don’t make it happen I’m concerned I never will.

Anything you wish to flog?

Anyone or anything I want to flog? Do you mean sell? In Britain flog is slang for selling something. Or do you mean flog as in hit repeatedly with a length of knotted rope?
I’ll answer two in one – I have a length of rope with a knot in it I would be happy to sell to anybody who will use it to repeatedly hit the last two British prime ministers with.
Thank you for having me – not literally of course.

READ MORE HERE

INTERVIEW WITH NICK FORD

Before the release of the second phase of artwok featuring the best of Red Bubble illustrators, the Game of Kings administration hope to introduce you to the newer members and find out a little of what makes them tick. Along the way maybe sneak preview some work in progress and highlight other projects the artists are involved in.

His name is Nick FORD

Finalist in the Red Bubble / Demo T-shirt Sound Competition and all round talented artist is from the Scott Robinson school of Nice guys skate and design great art. Nick was a keen supporter of the Game of King’s from its inception and was high on the list of first people to beg to join when it was decided to begin the massive and highly demanding second phase. Nick of course said “yes” and took no time at all to blow everyone away with his ideas and adaptations. We pulled Nick aside quickly for a quick chat to see what’s on his mind in between working and having babies.

What do you think you are going to bring to the Game of Kings Project?

I’m hoping to bring some extra darkness and detail. Simon’s creations are just screaming to be brought to life, so to speak. I’m about to start my 2nd scene ….. His Royal Darkness. Dauntingly exciting stuff. After seeing the amount of thought, time and passion that went into creating the 1st phase of this epic story ….. i just want to do it justice. So expect EPICNESS. I have been quite round these parts with uploads ….. there is a reason.

Your opinion of the project so far?

Um …. epic. Hhehe! Nah … it’s looking really good from the WIP’s i’ve seen. Overall it’s a fricken masterpiece. Hats off to both Danny, Simon and the rest of the original crew. It’s got a motion picture (at leat animation!) written all over it!

A quick run down of your influences and achievements here on Red Bubble and the outside world? Well Hard Roctopus did pretty well in the Sound comp at A T-Shirt Revolution … back in the day! Other than that about 240+ Tee’s sold, a shitload in inspiration and a load of fun had in almost 2 years.

Real world …. my daughter Amelia is my latest achievment! Quite chuffed.

GoK related … ausven and BMB will blow your minds.

INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN ELLIGET

His name is STEPHEN ELLIGET

Were you aware of the GoK project before you were invited to join and what is your opinion of the collaboration?

Sure! it would be a nice distraction from my Uni homework.
I knew about the project beforehand through Simon, I had seen some of his work for it on RedBubble and also he had spoken to me about it at family gatherings.
I think the collaboration is fantastic, and although I haven’t been that active in the forums, I have been keeping up with the WIPs. Its very cool seeing so many artists have their take on this shared concept. I havent had much time since my original posts to get much further in my pieces, but I hopefully will get some time soon. Uni is a bit in the way at the moment.
READ MORE HERE............

INTERVIEW WITH STURSTEIN

INTERVIEW WITH STURSTEIN
A prelude to the Game of Kings Project Phase Two

Before the release of the second phase of artwok featuring the best of Red Bubble illustrators, the Game of Kings administration hope to introduce you to the newer members and find out a little of what makes them tick. Along the way maybe sneak preview some work in progress and highlight other projects the artists are involved in.

His name is Peter Fairfax but he draws under the pseudonym of STURSTEIN

Were you aware of the GoK project before you were invited to join and what is your opinion of the collaboration?

Yeah, I was aware of it for a while before I was invited. I’m really jealous of everyone who was involved in those early stages. I think the project is a great idea. It’s neat to see where different people have taking the simple concept of chess.

Tell us a bit about yourself
Influences, ambitions, hopes and dreams.

I’m a comic book geek, so most of my influences come from that arena, most notably Mike Mignola, John Buscema, and Dave Stewart. Plus Frank Frazetta and Jeff Jones, but more for their painting than their sequential art. There are a bunch of European comic book illustrators I love, but the European stuff in general is a big influence; they really make a fine art of it.

Outside of comic books, there’s Alphonse Mucha, Robert McGinnis, Harley Brown, George Bridgman, Gil Elvgren… I could go on forever.

In terms of literature I’m a big fan of early pulp fiction, particularly sword & sorcery. Authors like Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fritz Leiber, and H.P.Lovecraft. Lately I’ve been really excited about a new series called Monster Blood Tattoo, by D.M.Cornish. And I’ve recently been delving into pulp detective novels.

Ultimately I hope to make a decent living off my illustration, preferably in the world of comic books. That’s been my main goal for years now.

Is there anyone or anything you want to flog?

Absolutely! Right now I’m flogging my webcomic: valentinesdei

INTERVIEW WITH SHANAMATION

INTERVIEW WITH SHANAMATION
A prelude to the Game of Kings Project Phase Two

Before the release of the second phase of artwok featuring the best of Red Bubble illustrators, the Game of Kings administration hope to introduce you to the newer members and find out a little of what makes them tick. Along the way maybe sneak preview some work in progress and highlight other projects the artists are involved in.

SHANAMTION or as his parents like to address his mail to: Damien Shanahan, is a fine artist with a humorous bent. Damien who has years of experience as a graphic designer brings another dimension to the artwork that will be the Game of Kings.
He is only person I have heard of besides Lee Falk who has had a 100,00 of his comics distributed in show bags.
Mighty effort.
Let’s see what he has to say:

Where you aware of the GoK project before you were invited to join and what is your opinion of the collaboration?

I became aware of GoK, when I first saw my good friend Simon’s first pieces on his facebook feed. As life presents itself with interesting serendipitous moments, Simon and I got back in much closer contact than we had in years. Funny thing is our careers had taken very similar paths, both doing graphic design jobs and doing our illustration work after hours. It’s amazing to see how people’s art can move and develop over the years, but the one thing that’s never changed has been the passion for it.
Simon mentioned GoK Phase 2 was in the works and I loved his designs from Phase 1 so much I put my hand up to get in on the action. I was chuffed when he told me it was all go for Phase 2 and that I was a part of the team.

Continue reading here....

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BMBaus interview with great animation

INTERVIEW WITH BMBaus
A prelude to the Game of Kings Project Phase Two

Before the release of the second phase of artwok featuring the best of Red Bubble illustrators, the Game of Kings administration hope to introduce you to the newer members and find out a little of what makes them tick. Along the way maybe sneak preview some work in progress and highlight other projects the artists are involved in.
I don’t know him and he may be only 5foot 2 inches high but his attitude and talent are monstrous, may I introduce BMBaus…......

BMBaus
Where you aware of the GoK project before you were invited to join and what is your opinion of the collaboration?

Yes. I’ve been watching Simon Sherry for some time now both on Redbubble and at PulpFaction.
And in the shower.
My opinion is one of happiness,
I love big monsters and spiky armour etc and I love chess, and here they are together! Yippee!

continue reading here.....

Mr BMBaus is responsible for this mighty animation

Phase Two Introduction Interview : Simon Sherry

INTERVIEW WITH SIMON SHERRY
A prelude to the Game of Kings Project Phase Two

Before the release of the second phase of artwok featuring the best of Red Bubble illustrators, the Game of Kings administration hope to introduce you to the newer members and find out a little of what makes them tick. Along the way maybe sneak preview some work in progress and highlight other projects the artists are involved in. To start proceeding we’ll have a chat with the guy who kicked the whole idea off…. Mr Simon Sherry
cheers
Danny

Simon, with the success of Game of Kings Phase One how excited are you about Phase Two?

I’m very, VERY excited, to be honest. The first phase of the project was a lot of fun in terms of building the characters, creatures and the setting, but now we’re getting to the actual battle itself, an there’s some scope to come up with some crazy stuff. Having a whole new group of artists bringing their own distinctive styles to the project just adds to the overall level of excitement I’ve got for the project, and I think that anyone who enjoyed the first phase is going to really love what we’ve got planned.

Read the rest of the interview here

The Assembly

Always displaying a great sense of awareness, he observed the sights and odours around him. The odours he could do without, his keen sense of smell being assaulted by the collective stench of those around him, not the least being the Seam City heavy metal and grease. This and the irregular sulphurous farts from the Rock Titan made the air quite uncomfortable to those with sensitive noses.
The Equilord couldn’t remember the last time he had seen the entire forces of the army of the White Wing assembled in one spot, it was normally only gathered like this on very special occasions – the army so strong that only sections were ever needed to take on other combatants.
The Equilord often wondered why the King needed such weapons, why bring back the dead and awaken old giants?
Why did the University have to make these massive, belching steam engines and those bastardized anomalies of nature, the berserkers and hounds.
In the past the Equilord and his clan had been enough to take whatever the King wanted.
He had heard tales, rumours really that the King’s massive stockpiling had really only begun after the Bishop Angel arrived in the Kingdom. The Equilord had only been in his presence a few times and each time he felt as if the Angel was a powder keg waiting to explode at any minute such was the air of tension and intensity that surrounded him.
The Equilord feared and respected the Angel far more than his King.
Many things were happening in the field now as an air of impatience not becoming military personnel became apparent.
The Equilord watched with a grin as the Skeleton General slyly tripped one of his more severe and upright sergeants causing him to fall and scatter, setting the University hounds into a frenzy, running off with various parts of his body.
Occasionally the big Steam Cities would relieve the pressure from their bellows with a loud, ear splitting cry causing the berserkers to leap about like startled monkeys.
In the centre of these happenings the King and his Queen stayed inside their respective campaign tents and the Angel just stared patiently into the horizon as if waiting for someone or something.
They were – according to King – going to meet a formidable foe and the price of victory was unimaginable, defeat not an option.
The Equilord as well as the other generals weren’t quite sure whether the Kingdom was being invaded, border patrols would surely have long since sighted such a large army, or whether they had been gathered for a march to some neighbouring Kingdom that had been invaded. Either option seemed highly unlikely given the King’s stranglehold over the whole dimension.
It was all these factors that led to the uncertainty in the ranks.
The Equilord wished he were a million miles away in a green forest with his kin, far away from the mad king and his strange army. Little did he know how soon his wish would become reality?
The entire White army had assembled outside of the Kingdom perimeter in a large field adjacent to where the Rock Titan and his people resided.
The army stretched out across the green open spaces with the massive Steam City taking up the other flank.
The Equilord was concerned.

GoK Animations Part 14

GoK animation Part 13

GoK animations Part 12

More visual feasts.
The Steam City and Blasters - White Queen's Rook and pawn.
Visuals by sjem

Game of Kings new web presence

The new Game of Kings web site

Bear with us, it's a bit patchy but we'll get there.

Phase Two THE END GAME

Meet the new breed

With the Game of Kings Phase Two heating and roaring to go we would like to introduce the talent crew who have joined the project to take the next step and onward to another level.

Shanamation StursteinGeorgia Patton

BMBaus Nick FordStephen Elliget

Mathew Dunn Rustyoldtown ausven

Paul McClintockDamien Mason

Sadly due to outside commitments Jordan Clarke and sjem cannot contribute any longer.

back soon

The Game of Kings will be returning soon with more surprises including additional "special guest" artists to continue the story of two desperate Kings and their mighty armies.
The battle begins mid 2010

RETURNING VERY SOON

COMING BACK FOR 2010 BETTER THAN EVER

MEANWHILE HAVE A GAME ON US.

Gok Animation Part 11

RETURNING SOON

Gok Animation Part 10

Ravenblood Promo

Gok Animation Part 9

The White Queen's Rook
The Steam City

Gok Animation Part 8

The Basilisk
The Black Queen's Rook

Gok Animation Part 7

The Muck Golem
The Black King Bishop's Pawn