Production work on The Conduit continues- we're focusing on art and maps right now. The Conduit adventure is roughly broken into 5 major locations: a secret clone lab, surgical office, nonprofit clinic, a bar, and a surreal virtual slickworld. This month we focused on art for the secret lab, and I wanted to share a couple of Jettila Lewis's pieces of final art from this area.
Fresh from the Gestation Carousel, new clones get imprinted with a mix of skills and memories. Final art by Jettila Lewis.
Do you recognize any visual elements in this piece from Jettila's concept art in "The Conduit Update 2" last month? Final art by Jettila Lewis.
In the meantime on the map front, I'm laying out the rooms in the non-profit clinic and surgical office. These past couple of weeks I've been sketching out maps and researching hospital floor plans during free time at my day job, then drawing final art on the PC at home.
My initial sketches for the Cut & Die cybersurgery, and the Nurolife donor clinic. I *may* have stolen some printer paper from work for this...
The Donor intake, donation floor, and O2 distribution for the Nurolife clinic in the Sink. Still in-progress:-)
If I can remember, I'll post more maps and more final art in our next update.
A belated happy new year to you all, and thanks for bearing with me with the delayed update of The Conduit. Jettila Lewis and I have been meeting regularly fleshing out more concept art for NPC characters in the laboratory level. This adventure is heavy on medical settings so we're looking for fun ways to visually differentiate a cybersurgery VS a donation clinic VS a secret clone lab.
A full spread scan straight from Jettila's sketchbook of characters and equipment from an illicit clone lab in the Sink.
Every secret lab needs a capable private security force. Here Jettila's made a rough sketch of mercs in the lab airlock swapping betwteen guard duty and an undercover Sink supply run.
In terms of the timeline we are in the final stages of editing before getting underway with layout. While this update only shares concept art, the finished color artwork is underway, and I hope to shared a little of that later on:-) This is my first time working with another person for layout. I'm excited to hopefully talk more about layout work with Courtney in one of our subsequent updates.
That's a wrap for now, we are all excited to share this adventure with you!
In the month since funding we've been working on setting a production schedule and budget for The Conduit. While the module is written, developmental editing, playtesting, and a final pass still remain before we can move the manuscript to Curious Friend for layout. Jettila Lewis and I live in the same Chicago neighborhood and have been meeting weekly for coffee to talk about characters and inspirations. The Conduit is just one of many commissions she's working on, and we're setting up manageable milestones and a payment schedule to keep production moving without overbooking her time.
Meanwhile we're getting quotes for printing costs from competing printers, patches, and shipping options to TKG's distributor. In some cases this is as simple as just filling out online forms, but some quotes involve emailing printers directly.
All of this helps us estimate what we can afford to pay for art, and helps Jettila and I set a reasonable scope for her work. We're both making TTRPG's just for the joy of the hobby, but figuring out these limits helps keep us from committing to more than we can handle.
In the meantime- here's a behind the scenes look at some of Jettila's earliest concept art from this summer. These illustrations will never make it into the final project, but show some of her initial prototyping for character looks and locations.
Sunnyside
This cybernetic body builder's bar illuminated with natural starlight cascading through massive prisms. Sunny is the owner and operator but rumor has it their bar is just the front for a smuggling operation under the noses of the Novos.
My initial feedback on the art was just that the bar itself was a little too spacious. Luxury on Prospero's Dream is measured not just in O2 and creds, but in square meters. The poorer you are, the more comfortable you learn to get with a lack of elbow room. In a seedy smuggling front the only thing closer than smell of liquor and cybernetic machine oil is the quarters.
Greetings crew, THE CONDUIT funded yesterday which has everyone working on the project super excited! There are less than 24 hours to back the conduit and receive this bonus early backer patch for "The Cut & Die" cyber clinic designed by THE BINX.
Off with the old meat limbs, in with the new metal limbs.
Thank you so much for your support, we love making TTRPG adventures, and this one is going to be so much fun:-)
