Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Unfortunate Courier



If his masters thought that they had the best chance of getting their secret treasure moved by a single courier under cover of the night, they were very wrong. Someone knew exactly where the hapless youth's path would take him, and they set upon him while their young scout looked down the alley in case any lawmen might pursue them. Scream all you want, courier; no one is going to come help you in this low part of town. Maybe they will leave him alive if he doesn't resist. But probably not. Haven is a brutal place, fit only for rats (see foreground) and thugs. Such is the life of the Thieves' Guild.

This is a cover I did for Gamelords' role-player "Thieves' Guild." As you can see, the plots and scenarios concentrated on thefts and street crime, with bigger bosses behind the scenes organizing crime for profit. It took place in the same city of Haven, where there was no shortage of criminal manpower, and human life was cheap.

I painted this one in opaque acrylic, rather than the acrylic watercolor over ink I used for the other ones. That way I could get more dramatic lights and shadows, and brighter colors. Nowadays, all this kind of art is done in digital medium.

"Thieves' Guild" is acrylic on Strathmore illustration board, 11" x 14", November 1983. It was published as a game cover in 1984. Klik for larger view.

1 comment:

Mike (Altus) said...

I love these. Great colour (orange!) ;D