A not-eavy-Metal for Oldhammer painters

Spooktalker

Member
I recently made an 'eavy Metal mockup (viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10905) and it was pretty satisfying to see my figures done up that way. Not only is there the nostalgia injection but it also adds something, I think, to have a collection of figures arranged on a page like this as opposed to lined up in a blog post. There is a gestalt. And it's portable, packaged, can be traded and it retains all the elements of the design. I also like the idea of giving attribution in the third person. Whereas I don't care for stamping my name on my pictures to say this is mine, I don't mind someone else, so to speak, giving me a little credit. :grin: And when I see others' work I want to know who, as I always did when ogling White Dwarf.

My original plan for the Dungeonquest spread was to do something that nodded to eavy Metal but wasn't a straight eavy Metal page. You know, not a greenish but a bluish or some-other-colorish texture background, and not marble but some other, etc. I felt it would need something like the chaos warrior and it would need a flashy logo design. You know, something like Delaney King has done, but I didn't have the time or energy to invest in it, especially not for a one-off.

But now I'm thinking, wouldn't it be cool for us to make something like this as a community that we could keep going with and band together on? Pick a cool name, make a sweet 80s logo and trade picture spreads? Who's in? I could provide a photoshop/gimp template with layer masks and instructions for doing the bits that stick out of the frames. I might even have a go at making the logo. I'm trying to think of a sweet name for it though. "Old Metal" came to mind but it's seems to obvious and doesn't scream "awesome." Ideas?
 

Spooktalker

Member
Also consider opportunities for collaborations... pick a theme like chaos, or fancy shields, or Epic, or whatever and show work from two or a bunch of folks.
 

winterdyne

Member
I like it. I'm in. Don't have photoshop (I use an ancient copy of paint shop pro) so if you could provide the template as single layer alpha-channelled images that'd be sweet.
 

Zhu Bajie

Member
Fab idea, I think this would be insanely great for the 'Legacy warbands".

Just a quickie - how about "lead rot" as a name?
 

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Fimm McCool

Member
Mwahahahahaha!

Also, reminds me of the 'Look Around You' TV series, "We are using AC DC current because Lead is a heavy metal..."

Priceless.
 

Spooktalker

Member
Glad you guys like the idea!

winterdyne":lzc2o8st said:
I like it. I'm in. Don't have photoshop (I use an ancient copy of paint shop pro) so if you could provide the template as single layer alpha-channelled images that'd be sweet.

Sure, remind me about the alpha channels and what you need? I recall doing something or another with alpha channels long ago but it's hazy.


Zhu Bajie":lzc2o8st said:
Fab idea, I think this would be insanely great for the 'Legacy warbands".
Just a quickie - how about "lead rot" as a name?

Haha, awesome! :grin: I like it a lot! Let's wait a few days and see if anyone has any other contenders, otherwise I'd say that's it.
 
I think it is impossible to top Lead Rot for an Oldhammer paint article name. It's cheeky. It plays brilliantly with references to 'Eavy Metal, age and the familiar miniature-crumbling phenomenon of "black metal" (as opposed to whitemetal) miniatures. The meaning is clear as daylight to anyone with some inkling about this niche. I'll be astonished if someone comes up with a name that can trump Zhu Bajie's proposal.

Polished presentations are worth a lot. Go for it!

Also, the logo reeks 1980s and underscore the mother company-independent vein of Oldhammer collectors. :mrgreen:
 

Plaiecivile

Member
Oh I like that, LeadRot is a perfect name for what it is all about!
All it misses is some old troll bashing the logo with a spiky club.

I have to admit, as the Bestiary of Exalted and Unfortunate slowly grows, I would enjoy having a couple of center pages marked LeadRot if anybody wants to get involved.

Spooktalker, I really hope you go forward with releasing a general template we can use.
 

Zhu Bajie

Member
Plaiecivile":s3emqzj8 said:
All it misses is some old troll bashing the logo with a spiky club.

That's a great idea!

Thanks to all for the positive comments on the "LeadRot", I'm thinking the logo could do with a bit more texture, maybe crumbling bits. General crunk and weathering. If anyone wants to have a go I can pass over the original ai vector file (or feel free to use the png above) otherwise I'll have a play.
 

Gallivantes

Member
How do you guys fancy this? The troll is just a sketch but I will happily render it up to match the old 'eavy metal warrior if he gets any votes.
 

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Zhu Bajie

Member
As I said on the other thread - love the troll.

Worked up the type with some more textures as an alternative.
 

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Gallivantes

Member
Cool... I like it. Here is the cracked logo and troll sketch together.

I moved the troll out left a bit for the club head to match the cracking of the "L" better. Worked out better this way, freed up the letters more and made them easier to read too.



Playing devil's advocate the fiddlier detail makes the logo a bit fuzzier at smaller scales. But that's not necessarily a problem as it would make sense to have a couple of versions of the logo. White dwarf did this, sometimes the logo is a big graphic on the page (in full detail), at other times it's just a very small header; text only, no character, I think they even beefed up the black outline a bit. There is a hollow B/W one for non-colour print et cetera. It's the nature of logo work, a single design doesn't always work in all cases where you might want to use it.
 

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Zhu Bajie

Member
Cheers!

To be honest, it's not really a finished logo design, just experimenting with some old school graffiti techniques and getting the concept right, with the decay in the rot and the bullet-holes in the lead, while keeping legibility. One of the problems with the original design is how the contrast between the simplicity of the type and the fussyness of character doesn't work at all, making the chaos look much like an afterthought. Also the pose isn't easily read at small sizes, the legs especially, with the knees being at the same place, just look confused.

Glad you like!
 

Plaiecivile

Member
I like where this is going!

The "T" crumbling apart is flawless.

As for the position of the Troll, keep the exact same posture, add wings to it and have the feet pointing backward as if floating in mid air and you get a beautiful gargoyle with no posture issues... I believe ;)
 
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