3D illustrations...

[Gamerprinter]

Also it is played online using Virtual Tabletop software. Roll20 is a popular one, images can be up to 72 x 72 inches, but limited to 70 ppi. Many other VT applications work at 100 or 200 ppi. So all my products - there's the illustrated adventure itself, then there is a printable PDF map, JPG files for virtual tabletop use, PNG files of any independent symbol - so the giant tentacle thing will be available as a transparent PNG file. And believe or not, I've had customers who downloaded a FREE adventure, and the included map, they had them printed to large format vinyl at 30 x 40 inches - even posting a photo of it on my Facebook page. That's not cheap to do, but that's how committed my marketbase is regarding their game supplements, and the stuff I create for them.

I still make plenty of maps on commission, and for my own work that is almost entirely created in Xara Designer Pro x11. Though, obviously, I'm using more 3D for some the elements in my maps. It's just that most of the maps I've been doing lately are for publications, and I prefer not to post not-yet-published maps. So I've been absent in posting to my Xara Map thread.

The game is literally being played in each players head. The map is a reference, and a means of utilizing the mechanics of the game for movement, attacks, or whatever else they are trying to do. Even though crayons on a white board can work for the game, and something people actually use, still a specifically graphically designed map is what every gamer expects, and every publisher feels is a required inclusion with their adventure products - hence why I get commission work.

[handrawn]

thanks for the explanation, I appreciate that; not into RPG myself as you will have gathered

[Gamerprinter]

It's very niche - millions play these games, but compared to video games or other mainstream entertainments - very niche.

[Gamerprinter]

So after joining the DSC League Discord community, one of the first requests I got was for an illustration and map (haven't stated the map yet) of a Drift Station. Imagine Absalom Station, for Paizo's Pact Worlds Starfinder setting. Absalom is a giant space station that represents the location of the homeworld of humanity, elves, dwarves and the other legacy races from Pathfinder, now located on a space station. Well the DSC League, sees the Drift Station as kind of an anti-Absalom. A creepy, alternate station located somewhere deep inside the Drift - kind of a cross between hyperspace if that accessed it's own layer of space with say the Astral Plane. When your Starfinder ship goes "FTL" it actually goes to the Drift and distances traveled inside the Drift moves vast distances outside the Drift when you exit. Also whenever you enter the Drift, you take things from the plane were on and take them into the Drift - that's how stuff on the outside gets inside. Now the DSC League preferred a more red cloudscape behind, but this is the best I could. I have to say, I've even impressed myself. This is modeled in Wings 3D, and lit, textured and rendered in Vue Creator... enjoy!

[Gamerprinter]

Okay, this one's a keeper. I wanted "landscape" illustration of a water world. Had I tried to make a sphere in space, a blue ball with some clouds, just doesn't sound interesting to me. Nor an aerial view a hundred miles over the same, maybe showing some shallow and deeper areas, but still boring. So I decided this is the best way and the most interesting. Here are 4 Man-o-war class Sea Landers, as colony science vessels that are huge (those mushroom caps are 2000' in diameter), with 500 scientists, equipment and submersibles on each one. So the four make 2000 total. Nine more sets of 4 are coming until by end of year 20,000 will be colonized here. Aquafarms are being established. This is for the Planet Builder project...enjoy!

[Gamerprinter]

The xeno-biologist team spent a full week on planet studying the various lifeforms. An amphibious cephalopod came as great interest to the team, speculating it's intelligence, perhaps being the superior on this world. That is until we encountered the Stygian hexwing hornets that hunt in packs. It's stinger venom causes both anesthetic and paralytic affects on the wound area, then subsequent liquifaction of organic matter, where the hornets suck the cavity clean for feeding. Notably a single individual has the intelligence of a wasp, whereas two have share a hive mind intelligence of a mouse, three of a dog, four of a 5 year old human child, five as a genius intelligent human adult, and six is unknown though presumably superior to human intelligence. Lacking the ability to use tools, these creatures reserve their intelligence to being the apex ambushing predator on the world... enjoy!

[Gamerprinter]

Not sure what this is. I intended to create a world with an extinct civilization, which I think I accomplished, but this could also fit my prison, garbage world of Purgatory. However, I'm thinking those torus structures were probably orbiting staitons, however, they couldn't have fallen out of orbit and crashed, otherwise they'd be debris fields, these seem intact, just stuck into the landscape, as if affected by some kind of Manhatten Project/Teleportation accident. Perhaps some experimental planetary defense teleportation shield was invented and used, however, all the orbiting structures got teleported into the world beneath, somehow causing the end of civilizaiton here... not sure what happened. Perhaps it's just a mystery that explorers to this world might fine...? Thoughts?

GP