Final Art Update

This is it guys! On tomorrow (Monday the 25th) we will be sending the final version of the cards to be printed from the printers. It is my hope to have them printed in a week and a half.

First off, I'd like to give a big, big thanks to Deanna Vaida who did all of the card art and Elliott Lutton who designed the Masquerade book and card layout. You can find Deanna's websites here and here. Elliott's main website is here.

And without further ado, here they are:

Blacksmith Roger- Roger is a tough man who spends his whole day smelting and hammering weapons for the guards. His is a booster card and offers a bonus to other card's attack.

Alchemist Leon- Roger's counterpart, Leon is a tricky wizard-like man who secretly experiments on his patients, testing potions and ointments on them. He grants a bonus to defense for all other cards.

Dancer Isabella- This exotic dancer comes from the South and captures the attention of all those around her. She plays the role of a mesmerizer in the game, distracting the opponent and weakening their cards. 

Henry the Bard- Henry is a singer who used to play the flute, but after an incident with a noble no longer carries any wind instruments. He's a cheery fellow who goes around bringing joy to anyone around him.

Nan the Disgruntled- Nan is the embodiment of anger in the commoners towards the nobility. She voices the rage they all feel towards the rich and even appears in the first chapter of Masquerade.

Squire Terry- Despite being so young, Terry is tougher than he looks. He's one of the orphans Newgate trains and is on his way to being a strong guard. In the book, he serves as a messenger for Wymund.

Doctor Pestilence- The special 61st card as requested by supporter Kenneth Deshotel.  According to Kenneth "An eerie man hidden behind a plague doctor mask.  He dons a long dark robe fastened with large buttons and a wide brimmed hat.  Little is known of this mysterious man but many believe him to be a doctor gone crazed.  He has a very ominous aurora about him and is often seen to be followed by ravens.  He always carries a twisted wooden cane and special herbs for his “medical practices”.  He addopted the name "Dr. Pestilence" due to his infatuation with disease and the number of deaths that seem to follow in his wake."

Thank you everyone for your support. More news will follow when the process of printing begins.

Book Covers and Card Design

Here's just the quick announcement that the book will soon be printed. While we're waiting for the process to go through on creativespace.com, let's take a look at the final cover design.

The final book cover for Masquerade

I really like how Elliott stuck to the main colors of Masquerade, red, black, and white. It's a very simple and minimalistic style that I feel compliments the story very well. I look the blood dripping for the 'q' on the cover most of all.

Card front

Card back

After careful consideration, I decided to use the Masquerade novel cover for the card back. Adding a border made it look more like a card back, which I felt was everyone's initial criticism about it. This would give it a connection to the novel.

The card front is a cleaner version of the original design, keeping the wax seal and parchment look. This time there is more focus on the art, so we can showcase Deanna's hard work to the fullest.

We're just re-sizing the cover now to fit with the book. I'll post pictures of the printed copies as soon as I receive them.

Art Update #8

As promised, here we are later in the week with a new set of card pictures and 5 more already on the way. Things are really winding down here, the card art and card backs are nearly done. I'll be posting those soon as well. Lots of updates this week, or at least I'm hoping.

Also, I should probably mention here Elliott (our graphic designer) has a new portfolio website. Check it out.

And now, on with the unveiling:

Bodyguard Ogg- Another barbarian from the outland countries, Ogg has come here as  Jaroc's bodyguard. Unfortunately, he's lazy and sleeps a lot.

Richard Leowulf- Richard is a bit of an odd shaped man with lanky arms and legs, making him good with a spear. He's not too bright, especially for a guard and might have accidentally let in a few assassins.

Arthur Mourne- A young guard, but still very determined. He respects the  Guard Captain, Newgate, and the King. Though he can be a bit of a bully as a guard.

War Hero Jap Lancelot- Jap is a jouster and a knight. He is hailed as a war hero from the great battle between Berma, but really all he did was hide behind his troops.

Sergeant Oldman- The old trainer of the guard who still commands the respect of all the soldiers in Castle Dacre. He's pressing 70 years old.

So as you can see, there's a lot of soldiers here. But we're almost done and the last step will be finishing the commoners. I hope you're all as excited to see them as I am!

Card Art Update

Here's the newest selection of card art added recently by Deanna. She's really done some amazing work with the characters and I can't wait to see where she takes things next.

The Avatar of Festivals is a whimsical spirit that goes to parties disguised as a noble. It adores parties and the chaos that can happen during them.

The Barbarian Lord Jaroc hails from the cold north, where fighting and food are all that matter. He was invited to the masquerade merely to avoid conflicts with his tribes.

Beatrice Serell is a disgusting and hated noble lady in Avalot's Court. She's been through several husbands already. Many player don't like this card in the game.

Snivellous Feck is, like most Fecks, a massive coward. Though he is the head of his royal family, he hates making decisions and would sell his own mother to avoid being hurt.

The wizard Whitemane is a relic from the past, where magic and mystery ruled the land. Today, he uses what little power he had to manipulate the courts.

There are several other characters completed, but I don't want to reveal everything just yet. Expect more updates in the future, we're almost at 20 characters completed, a third of the way done!

The book cover graphic designer, Elliott, will also be working on a new design for the cards to match the lovely art being added. This month will be deciding on what print shop we'll be uses to get the cards out there. We'll be wrapping up all final designs, testing, and characters.

Hope you all look forward to seeing more.

Updated Book Cover Direction

As I mentioned in the last post, there has been a lot of work done in the art department for Masquerade. Not only in the card art but the book cover design as well.

Our graphic designer Elliott Lutton has taken a minimalism approach to the cover for the novel, and I can't say I'm not pleased with the outcome.

The new book cover almost takes a "Godfather" approach, using the color theme I think suited Masquerade the most, red, white, and black. The crown hints at the business of royalty present in the book while the single drop of blood gives a small window into the bloodshed that is present throughout the story.

Elliott is also working on the back of the book (though that's still a work in progress), the chapter headers, and has promised to look into doing new design work for the actual cards.

Look forward to seeing more art from these guys!