#gen con 2018

[lesbianlothcats]

[icouldbeherpocketbacon]

Marisha looks so incredibly hot in her Gen Con outfit, oh god, what is this, I was not prepared for her to looks this good, wtf

[chicasuave89]

Gen Con 2018

Update: I found her Twitter https://twitter.com/PansyChubb

[humble-wayside-flower]

I met Matthew Mercer and Taliesin Jaffe today and I could probably die happy now AHHHHHHH

[puca7]

Nothing will ever contain my love for Sam Riegel I swear to the lord (@Gen Con 2018! From the Critical Role Livestream)

[msdbzbabe]

Dragon Ball Super card game booth at Gen Con 

[gatheringsteveargylesmagic]

Wrath of the Dragon 2018 Gen Con campaign art

The 50th Anniversary of Gen Con in 2017 had just wrapped up it seemed when the following photo was posted on GenCon’s facebook page on September 26, 2017 when they were giving away 4-day passes for GenCon 2018 nearly a year in advance.

Wow!  Super exciting!... and then... nothing.  Not a word.  The official campaign artwork was shown a year early and then not another whisper of this art would arrive again.  I mean, sure... the artwork was on their website banner...

and you could buy the merch...

get the buttons...

get the enamel pin...

and of course the program...

But all of that was right at the time of the convention.  It all was just sort of... Welp, it’s GenCon time again... here’s the free stuff with this new campaign art we never... ever... EVER hyped up all year long.”  No fanfare, Hell I don’t even know if they bothered even mentioning Steve’s name in all that time, which is super-weird since they loved what he did for them over the previous three years so much that they broke patterns and asked him to do a fourth piece.

I’m going with “they’re spoiled.”

But enough about the client.  Let’s look at the art instead.  And while we’re at it let me give what little fanfare I can.  Remember, the artwork wasn’t named or shown in it’s original aspect ratio isolated like this, ever.

This is the first time it has been posted anywhere!

Now, Steve admitted some reservations about this piece when he shared it with me.  I can respect that.  And I kind of understand.  I never got a good look at the artwork during the year, but there was always something slightly off about it.  Now that I see it more clearly I know what it is.  It must be a function of the lighting but the character on the tower and the dragon seem like two completely different pieces and one is stamped onto the other.

But everything else is in place and done very well.  You know why I like it?  Because it reminds me of the game of D&D in a very direct way.  You know that scene in The Princess Bride where the grandfather has to go back and find his place in the book and the movie scans through the scene with the shrieking eels?  I feel like this has a similar impact.  I can imagine the DM describing the scene, it is added together as it is described, and until that next die roll the moment is frozen.

There is an innocence and wonder behind the artwork that defies my attempts at critical analysis.  The armor is perfect, unfazed by long travels and trials.  The tower must have the smallest spiral staircase ever made.  This is a strategic nightmare our hero has decided to find herself in.  But none of it matters.  This is a defining moment near the end of a long night of gaming.  The scene before the commercial break.  It’s cool and exciting and I wonder what will happen next.

Let me put it this way.  Not everyone who sees this picture is an art-major looking to dismantle it.  Some of the audience are little kids just getting onto the RPG train for their first ride and learning how to imagine the most awesome things they can for the first time.  This, I feel, is very well suited for them.  And an excited child is possibly the best audience you can have.

[lord-butts-a-lot]

“Go t pose while standing on the toilet” I mean, why not

These were taken a while ago but I just now figured they should go on tumblr. We’re funny I swear

Hux- me Photographer- @participlepotato