Issue 04: December 2024... The Winter Edition (Pt. I)

Happy New Year! If you missed the previous issue, you can read it here.​

So the first year of newslettering has come to a close. I hope you've enjoyed it so far, thanks for the support, and more importantly for your support of art and artists generally. You may have seen that I'm posting work from this past year online after a long long break, which I'll try to continue with some regularity. I also made a new account on Blue Sky if that's your thing... But typically new work will debut in the newsletter first, so please continue to smugly enjoy your elite reader status.
​
Also, for those interested, card signings by mail are finally happening. I had hoped the logistics would be ready for this issue, but wheels are still in motion so I'll send out an update this month and we will make this issue a two-parter. If you want to join the queue now, you can send me an email and I'll put you on the list.

In the meantime, art!

The Everhaven Archives

Here's a few more Everhaven archived concepts that have maybe a wintry feel? This first page is part of an exploration I did of different specialties (an Archivist, a Salvager, and a Farmer) applied to various creature types that were developed by friend-of-the-newsletter Nicholas Kole. On this project, I particularly had to focus on and practice costume design, which wasn't really in my wheelhouse in years past.

The second image was a pitch for some patchwork villains who are made only from sewn fabric, magical energy, and creepy masks.

You might notice these are quite different in style... that's one of the fun things about concept art, depending on the assignment you have a lot of space to explore and pitch ideas to your team. In this case, the second image is from a much earlier stage of development, before some of the major characters and style cues had been decided. These are dated somewhere in the 2022 range.

Carrrrrrrd News

Lorcana's very pirate-y sixth set Azurite Sea arrived since the last newsletter. I super enjoyed painting this swashbuckling Tigger - In the Crow's Nest, my very first Ruby card. (He is in fact based on a design from the Winnie the Pooh animated series.) This primary color palette is actually pretty unusual for me, I typically spend much more time with my secondary pals orange, purple, and green.

I think this is a great combo card. We'll see if deck builders agree... You can find him in the pre-constructed Amber-Ruby pirate deck, as well as on a pin and on a playmat. (Also there are some new deckboxes/sleeves of the Ursula - Deceiver of All enchanted art, painted by myself and friend-of-the-newsletter Nicholas Kole.)

The Excellence Files
​
​I thought it might be a good idea to sometimes share artwork besides my own here. There's so much excellence to be appreciated. So let's kick off with:

-Animatic by Eva Figueroa

I actually don't know the title of this piece! Maybe it doesn't have one! This short animatic recounts the story of an adventuring party in a dangerous dungeon and the little character who saves the day. For those who don't know the lingo, an animatic is just the step that comes before a fully animated movie. It's mesmerizing, wonderfully paced with the music, and incredibly clever in the simple application of color to signify past and present. The concept is pretty complex and it's told entirely without dialogue, which is an impressive feat. Warning it has some flashing images and some violence. But it also has a happy ending.

That's it for Part I... See you in Part II. Maybe some Q&A, maybe some new preview cover art? Here's an elephant that my son made. I love the legs. ​ -John

​www.johnloren.com​