Monday, July 31, 2023

Drewly 2023: Shadowy leather armor.

Shadowy leather armor.

Shadowed Leather Armor: Magically dark leather armor for your sneaky rogue-like characters. It helps you blend seamlessly into darkness, but you stick out obviously in the light. 

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Thanks for a great Drewly. The only metric for success each Drewly is that we celebrate the art we have already made. I do that by posting every day to empty out my backlog of finished work. You can do that any way you please.

Check back each Sunday for more item cards. My current project is drawing an item card for each item in every Zelda game. I’m currently drawing Minish Cap and am posting my set for Wind Waker.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

 

Sunday, July 30, 2023

Wind Waker: An otherworldly egg.

 An otherworldly egg.

Boko Baba Seed: These seeds are dropped by slain Boko Baba, carnivorous plants with toothy mouth-like flowers. Link can gather these in his Spoils Bag and turn them into Hollo the potion maker in exchange for Blue Potion made from the seeds. 

Exploring a cave you come upon a cavern that appears to be hewn by a long-lost civilization. Deep in the cavern, there is a chamber filled with these organic pods. Could they be the last generation of the civilization that built the caves, or are they the latest clutch of eggs laid by the animals that have claimed the caverns as their home? Whatever they are, your mission demands that you take at least one back with you for further study.
 
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This is the egg sac from Alien. The face-hugger inside the sac looks much better in the colored version. Translucent materials are very difficult for me to do in line-art at my current skill level.

This is the last Wind Waker post for Drewly this year. I post item cards almost every Sunday so check in next week for more.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Saturday, July 29, 2023

Drewly 2023: A plush squid toy.

A plush squid toy.

Squid Plush: A soft knit squid plush watching over you from a bookshelf.

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This is from the Coraline movie. I love Laika, Gaiman, and stop-motion, so this movie was a treat for me.

I drew this to celebrate the baby shower for my first child.

Here is to many years of firsts with you kiddo.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Friday, July 28, 2023

Drewly 2023: The Blades of Chaos.

The Blades of Chaos.

Blades of Chaos: The past and future of the blades of chaos brought together.

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You could run these as the normal flaming blades of chaos, or you could have one be icy with arctic cold and one burn with primal flame. When stealing for your game, keep what you want and ignore the rest.

I’ve done the Leviathan Axe adequately when God of War (4) came out and I watched a playthrough. That is another item I would like to take another try at, but there is so much I haven’t drawn yet that I want to draw first.

I’ve never worried about running out of ideas of things to draw and make, but I do sometimes run out of the will to draw those things. When the burnout monster sits on my chest, I usually keep the habit of drawing up by roughly doodling comfort subjects and try to fill my creative cup back up with other activities. As long as I keep the habit of drawing up, I rediscover the fire to make art in time. 

This bit of art advice is brought to you by four complete weeks of Drewly posts. We’ve only got three more days to go.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Drewly 2023: Another Blade of Chaos.

 Another Blade of Chaos.

Norse Blade of Chaos: A blade of chaos taken from Kratos’ bloody war with the Olympian gods and reforged by Brokk and Eitri in his war with Asgaard. The power of these blades has waxed and waned many times since Ares originally gave them to Kratos, but they remain a savage and brutal tool of destruction.

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With the coming of realistic graphics came a vastly improved look at the blades of chaos. This was much easier to render due to the abundance of high-def reference images of the new blades of chaos.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Drewly 2023: A Blade of Chaos.

 A Blade of Chaos.

Greek Blade of Chaos: One of Kratos’ first blades taken up in his initial revenge on Ares. A spark of the primal flame of creation burns in this jagged molten blade.

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These blades were very much designed in a time when things just had to be cool and realism wasn’t possible or desirable. That made drawing them difficult, as there were a lot of gaps I had to fill in.

We’ll meet a sibling for this blade tomorrow as we continue posting daily for Drewly. 

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Drewly 2023: A pair of fungal slippers.

A pair of fungal slippers.

Fungal Slippers: This pair of mushroom sandals leave a pathway of rotting fungal growth behind the wearer. This trail quickly burns away unless the wearer walks slowly and focuses on leaving a permanent trail of decay.

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The drawing is more of a joke item, but I think they can actually be fun from a gameplay standpoint. It does offend the part of my brain that says, “no one would actually wear those” but I don’t need to always draw practical grounded objects.

Be excellent to everyone
-Ceph

Monday, July 24, 2023

Drewly 2023: A tarnished brass lamp.

A tarnished brass lamp.

Wishing Lamp: Contained in this simple brass lamp is a genie of great and terrible power. Rub the lamp to summon out the genie and receive your three wishes. But beware, genies are often capricious and will try to take as much as they give.

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This is just the colored version of the brass lamp from Oracle of Seasons.

Reposts are a totally okay way to celebrate Drewly! This week we are going to look again at items for my home game and also fan art of items from pop culture.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Wind Waker: A scroll of occult magic.

 A scroll of occult magic.

Ghost Ship Chart: This unique special chart allows Link to track the location of the ghost ship that sails the Great Sea. It will also allow him to board the Ghost Ship to earn a priceless treasure. Link can only find the chart at the end of a maze filled with floormasters eager to pull Link back to the beginning of the maze.

A scroll of occult magic from an ancient library. Occult mages uncover forgotten or forbidden truths and contact ancient uncaring beings to discover means of controlling the natural flow of magic. To pursue occult power is to trust your research to keep you from the darkest truths or trust your willpower to stay sane facing the naked truths not meant for mortal kind.

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This is the last of the five scrolls of magic. Each represents a different source that mages may draw their power from.

A little more than a week left of Drewly.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Drewly 2023: A magic wand personal massager.

 A magic wand personal massager.

Magic Wand: This personal massager now has a built-in rechargeable battery allowing you to receive personal massage without being chained to a nearby outlet. 

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Many find this wand to be very effective at releasing tension and increasing overall satisfaction.

This is our last wand of Drewly 2023. I am always drawing new wands, so expect to see more options for your magical foci needs.

Tomorrow we return to Wind Waker items with our final magical scroll.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Friday, July 21, 2023

Drewly 2023: A puffy duster for Spring cleaning.

A puffy duster for Spring cleaning.

Duster: A puffy duster to keep the arcane sanctum spotless. This wand was made by a mage that has a very demanding definition of clean. So demanding in fact that they have never been able to keep a cleaner for more than a day.

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This drawing is one of the reasons I do Drewly. I hate this drawing and I just want to move on from its existence. So here I am, putting this duster out there and moving on.

Today marks the third week of Drewly. Just ten more days to go! If you’ve posted your art for Drewly, don’t forget to tag me and comment with a link.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Drewly 2023: A red umbrella for Spring showers.

A red umbrella for Spring showers.

Umbrella: A traveler with an umbrella is asking for rain, but a traveler without one is a fool. A mage with a wand is asking for trouble, but a mage without one is a fool. For the traveling mage, the umbrella wand, be ready for whatever nature or the supernatural throw your way.

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I often approach these like a copywriter for an advertising agency. I don’t know if others find that annoying, but I like to imagine how an in-world salesperson might try to get an adventurer to buy their wares.

Today’s Drewly offering is spring wand one of two.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Drewly 2023: An icicle.

 An icicle.

Icicle: An improvised wand torn from the mouth of a cave by a bitter druid. Watching over the great ur-bear in its decades-long hibernation is a great honor for a Druid of the Claw, but it does not come without risk. Enemies of the great bear spirit would seek to strike it down in its time of weakness.

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I drew this in the depths of winter and it didn’t measure up to the icicles hanging off my roof.

That was winter wand two of two. Tomorrow is the beginning of spring.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Drewly 2023: Wand of the White Witch.

Wand of the White Witch.

Wand of the White Witch: The white witch of Narnia ruled over an almost endless winter with this chill wand. Jadis’ cruel tyranny was overthrown when the Pevensies children stumbled into their destiny as divinely appointed saviors of a world they never knew existed.

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Yesterday was fall wand number two. Today is winter wand number one.

I’m keeping up with Drewly one day at a time. But remember, I have had all of these drawings just sitting around, and that is the point of Drewly.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Monday, July 17, 2023

Drewly 2023: A powerful dueling wand.

A powerful dueling wand.

Elder Wand: The elder wand, the most powerful wand in the Potterverse.

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J.K. Rowling’s politics suck and she has done harm with her actions and statements. I bring this up every time I do something adjacent to her work because it deserves to be noted whenever discussing the impact of Harry Potter.

Trans rights are human rights and that is more important than a lore dump on a wand.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Wind Waker: A scroll of primal magic.

A scroll of primal magic.

Tingle's Chart: There are exceptional charts among the special charts. Two of these charts are given to you directly from Tingle to celebrate your heroism. The first shows the exact location of Tingle Island and the second shows the locations of all eight Triforce charts. 

A scroll of primal magic painted onto an animal hide. Primal magic demands that the user attunes themself to the rhythms of nature to call forth its innate power to work magic. Often primal mages spend long spans meditating in the wilderness to connect to the primal source, but others contain an animal magnetism that naturally resonates with the font, and in rare cases, exhaustive observations have allowed the exceptionally clever to tap the primal power.

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I’m not sure this is a great drawing, but I really like the concept of a scroll of magic being inked into an animal hide. Seems more thematically appropriate than a druid carrying a bunch of parchment in scroll tubes.

More wands next week as Drewly 2023 continues.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Saturday, July 15, 2023

Drewly 2023: A rod of lighting.

 A rod of lighting.

Lighting Rod: It is a rod that illuminates the area when activated and can be thrown to create a bright and loud explosion that dazzles the unprepared.

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I drew this to represent a Lightning Javelin in my game but thought the lighting rod pun was a better interpretation of the art.

We are about halfway through Drewly. I hope I see your art too.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Friday, July 14, 2023

Drewly 2023: A rope of living kelp.

A rope of living kelp.

Living Kelp Rope: A rope woven from living kelp that needs to be regularly soaked in seawater to stay healthy.

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My party found themselves working with a hidden nation of Sporelings to overthrow a tyrannical Treant overlord. Of the little material assistance the fungal Sporelings could offer, the living rope made of kelp has been one of the most useful items my party received.

That was two weeks of Drewly down. If you haven’t already, post something you’ve already made. It doesn’t even have to be a drawing. If you post something, tag it with #drewly2023 and comment with a link to your work.

Be excellent to everyone. 
-Ceph

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Drewly 2023: Staff of Light

 Staff of Light

Staff of Light: This staff amplifies the light in a person’s heart making their light magic much more powerful. When used by a mage following the way of light, the center stone can be made to glow with the light of day.

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This is based on the staff of light from Final Fantasy XI. I based this drawing on the work Volpin Props did to recreate the staff as a prop. I have never played a main branch Final Fantasy game so my experience with the franchise is mostly Tactics Advanced 1 and 2 or just watching friends play. 

This isn’t perfect, but I really like it, and I hope you do too. 

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Drewly 2023: The head of a fallen witch doctor.

The head of a fallen witch doctor.

Head Fetish: The shrunken head of a departed witch doctor. It pulses with a fragment of her power, amplifying magic to contact, summon, and dominate the dead.

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This is an orc reskinning of the head fetish I drew for the Oracle of Ages card set. One of my players’ favorite NPC’s was a motherly orc witch doctor. Unfortunately, she died in a mostly avoidable accident when one of my players blew up the tower the entire party was in. All that is left of Maygar is her shrunken head and the guilt for murdering her.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Drewly 2023: Belt of the Weasel

Belt of the Weasel

Belt of the Weasel: Donning this belt makes the wearer as agile and flexible as a weasel. The supple leather is lined with black fur and emblazoned with the face of the titular weasel.

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This is a reskin or the belt of strength I drew for the Oracle of Ages.

Sometimes I feel a bit self-conscious about posting light reskins of art, but not during Drewly. If I made it, it can be posted, doesn’t matter how original or unoriginal I think it is.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

 

Monday, July 10, 2023

Drewly 2023: A simple runed hammer

 A simple runed hammer

Runeforged Sledge: The runes on this hammer glow with a pale blue light. Anything struck by the maul is chilled as if blasted by arctic winds.

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This was an item I pre-drew for my players to find but they ended up not chasing it down. Maybe they will find it or maybe another group of adventurers will stumble on it first.

This week's bonus posts theme is items from my home game. Lost of random stuff with very little cohesion. I hope you enjoy.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Sunday, July 9, 2023

Wind Waker: A scroll of technomancy.

A scroll of technomancy.

Special Chart: These charts show the locations of people, places, monsters, and things of note in the Great Sea. Like most charts in Wind Waker, Link can earn, buy, win, or find them in all sorts of places during his adventures.

A scroll of techno-magic from the burgeoning field of magi-tech. Techno-magic seeks to use the raw processing power of computers to democratize magic to anyone with access to a computer. At least that is the goal, right now only the most powerful supercomputers can begin to control the flow of magic to cast spells.

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Magi-tech, hex tech, arcano-tech, almost sufficiently advanced technology, whatever you want to call it, I’m not the first person to say that technology might be used to do magical things.

Drewly is in full swing which is why you’ve gotten so many item cards from me this month. There’s more to come so check back in daily. 

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Saturday, July 8, 2023

Drewly 2023: Wheat Wand

Wheat Wand

Wheat Stalk: Not all wands need to be wrought of the most exotic materials or have been passed down through the ages. This simple stalk of wheat was plucked by a farming mage to channel their magic into their land.

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Tomorrow we will be taking a break from wands. Sunday will be more items inspired by Wind Waker, and after that will be some item cards I made specifically for the Pathfinder game I run at home.

Post your art, whatever kind of art that is, and celebrate what you are able to accomplish. Happy Drewly!

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Friday, July 7, 2023

Drewly 2023: A Bubble Wand

A Bubble Wand

Bubble Wand: Almost all bubble wands can make bubbles if you dunk them in soapy water, but this wand can make bubbles with just a flick of the wrist. You can even control how the bubbles float if you focus.

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Week one of Drewly 2023 is done. Three and a half more weeks to go. If you are participating, tag your work with #drewly2023 and leave a comment with a link to your posts.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph

Thursday, July 6, 2023

Drewly 2023: A soda shop wand

A soda shop wand

Drinking Straw Wand: The quiet one at the back of the bar has been nursing their diet soda for hours. They don’t look the sort to be hanging out in a dive bar, but they seem just as dangerous as the rest of the roughnecks in this place.


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This wand could also purify whatever is drank through it or just chill one’s drink.

Within all my projects, I find myself doing little miniseries. This wand represents the first of the summer wands, which kicked off the seasonal wands miniseries. Watch for two wands for each of the four seasons.

Be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph