Jon Hodgson News (Dec 05)

Hey Hey. A month has past, and so here I am again!

Painting is progressing like pulling teeth today, so what better way to take a breather than by updating my Ninja Mountain News for the month of December?

Big news this month is starting work on Eberron for Wizards of the Coast. Its a very cool setting, and I'm enjoying getting my teeth into the sketches! Can't really say very much without the explosive collar they make me wear going off. Its been really cool and a great relief to be asked to do a second job for WoC. Its hard to explain to anyone who isn't working in this particular field, but it's been something I've always wanted to do, and to get one shot at the gig and never to be asked again would have been... disappointing in the extreme? Just like when you start out in illustration its easy to concentrate on getting a foot in the door, getting the first gig. When in fact the second one is the hard one, the important one! (In my own humble estimation of course!)

Also in the pipe line this month are internal art for Warhammer Historical's "Alamo" for Legends of the Old West. It's always cool to work with the LotoW team, as we bounce off each other quite nicely, and the guys are nicely visually oriented. It was an ambitious project from the outset in terms of production values, and its one of my personal career highs in many ways. Even if most people I run into don't necessarily know an awful lot about it. The research for Alamo has been made a lot easier by my ole Dad having a huge interest in the old west. His spectacular collection of Time Life books on the period has been thoroughly plundered!

Vlad Internals are also still in production for Warhammer Historical too. Just getting to a stage where I'm happy to start sending them in.

What else? I did a couple of Sabertooth cards super-fast earlier in the month, and another cover for AFMBE, which I'm applying finishing touches to.

Some internal art for the WFRP2 Skaven book are also on the computer as I speak. Its a very, very busy month! I'm spending a bit too long on them, but since I played the original game as a teenager I have a lot of time for it! And skaven have always been a personal fave monster.

Oh I fitted in a cover for a kid's board game too.

The Snygg Corben Project

Ninja Mountain member Mattias Snygg has been investgating the work of Richard Corben! And he's written it all up here:
"Corben and Me"

The results are extremely entertaining as well as informative! There's plenty of examples of Corben's work along with some great studies from Mattias.

NB: As befitting a study of the work of an artist such as Corben, this project should be considered as material suitable only for grown ups. There's some strong images of nudity and some equally strong language.