Leap of Faith

by Brannon Hollingsworth

August 15th, 2003

Bastion Press has always been one of my favorite d20 companies and it is not just because I’ve been published through them. Bastion’s products are the kinds that I would have picked up, purchased and loved if I had never put pen to paper. That said, it was a supreme thrill when I became Art Director; I was now going to actually have a hand in helping to create these stunningly beautiful, eye-catching products that had captured and held my attention from the moment I first laid eyes upon the cool Bastion logo.

I did not have much time to sit idly upon my Art Direction Throne™ and gaze fondly at my newly gained kingdom of willing artist-subjects, however, as the portfolios, art orders, and release schedules quickly started rolling in, not to mention that Gen Con was looming on the horizon. As usual, I jumped in with complete abandon and loved every second of it. I made my personal goals to contact all of the artists who had contacted me up to a certain date before Gen Con (which I did) as well as building an artist contact database (yup), generate a list of topics to go over with Jim at Gen Con (check), coordinate with my pal and esteemed colleague, Hal Greenberg, Art Director of Mystic Eye Games, who had been serving as Art Director for Bastion (done), and make sure that everything else that needed doing was done before I departed for Indianapolis (double-check).

Then came Gen Con and things got….interesting…

In retrospect, I was not prepared for the sheer exponential levels of ultimate gaming nirvana that was Gen Con. It was my first con ever and despite the surreptitious and misleading thought that I had implanted and fostered within my mind that I was ready for it - that I could handle whatever Gen Con tossed at me – I was dead wrong. Gen Con was simply too massive, too distracting, too busy, and too stunning to deal with logically, but it was a blast. My schedule worked tenaciously against me.

Conversely, if Gen Con did one thing for me, it was to revitalize and reenergize me and since the Con, things have been progressing well. With all of the art direction for Bastion’s next two releases, Into the Black and Out for Blood (see the “Sneak Peaks”, below), under my belt and work for Lore of the Gods, Into the Blue, the next Oathbound® release, and several other little gems (which I have no doubt you will be hearing about soon via the website) well underway, I am looking forward to new things on Bastion’s art horizon. Many of these things have to do with streamlining the rather laborious and behind-the-scenes tasks of paper-shuffling and organization, but some of them are a great deal more visible and exciting for you, the public. I firmly believe that art excites the fans (whether or not it sells books is a debate best left for the message boards) and I want to try to bring aspects of Bastion’s art to the public in the following ways.

Bringing Back “Art Previews” - These were one of my favorite things that Bastion did back in the pre-Oathbound days. I always wanted to see more of the cool stuff that the Bastion crew was working on and so now, I have set plans in motion to make that happen! We are still hammering out the technical details but are hoping to get you an Art Preview with Into the Black. Also, I am considering doing the Previews a little differently this time and NOT showing you the finished work, but rather some of the work in progress that I receive from artists. This will allow you to see, first hand, the entire evolution of the art that goes into the Bastion books!

Art Talk - Art Talk is my rip-off of “Coffee Talk” and it sort of leads into a top-secret plan of mine that I won’t go into here (‘cause then it really would not be top secret anymore, now would it?). Basically, for now, you’ll have to head on over to the Bastion forums and check out the Art Talk thread wherein I’ll be “hosting” (for lack of a better word) an ongoing talk about art in all of the Bastion books. I want to know what the fans like, what they dislike, what artists they’d love (or hate) to see featured on the covers of and inside Bastion books, and so forth. I’m not looking to trash any one particular artist in this discussion, nor am I in any way going to allow the thread to become one of those, “I’m a new artist, and I need work” threads. Rather, I want this thread to work as a direct line of communication from the fans to me, the Art Director of Bastion Press, (how many d20 companies give ya that, huh?) and invite you all to stop in and participate in the discussion.

Interviews with/Highlighting the Bastion Artists - One of the few things that has bothered me in the past about Bastion’s method of dealing with artists is that while they are always sufficiently credited in the products, you rarely know which pieces were done by whom! Unless you were intimately familiar with their work, you had no way of telling a piece by Ginger Kubic from one by Phillip James. I hope to change that through online interviews (and even chats if there is enough interest) with all Bastion artists as well as doing highlights each month on the Bastion website of their work.

For those that know me well, I have always been an advocate of giving credit where it is due. Within my role as Art Director at Bastion Press, I intend to continue that tradition and only hope that some of these ideas will assist me in that endeavor. I am always open to hearing new ideas and concepts from you, the fans. I sincerely hope that you will each join us on the Art Talk thread to weigh in with your opinions and thoughts. I also look forward to carrying the Bastion’s banner of excellence in art (a banner which I, by no means created, but rather, am merely carrying for the present) into what I know will be the bright and glorious future.

Sneak Peaks

Here's a glimpse into some of the artwork for upcoming products...

Into the Black Illustrated by Jesse Mohn	Out for Blood Illustrated by Phillip James	Into the Black Illustrated by Danilo Moretti	Out for Blood Illustrated by David Hendee
Out for Blood Illustrated by Cos Koniotis	Out for Blood Illustrated by Ed Bourelle	Into the Black Illustrated by Brannon Hall	Into the Black Illustrated by Marcio Fiortio

Visit the Artists' Websites...

You can view all of the previous columns by clicking here.