Tuesday 26 April 2016

The Riddle of Steel

"What is best in life?"

I was kindly approached to do the cover for the Collector's Edition of Barbarians of Lemuria. This one was for the hardcore fans who had backed the kickstarter at high levels.

Out of many concepts, the simple sword on black was chosen. No text. The people who have this would know what it was.

This is the sword of thr main hero, Krongar (essentially Conan). It is engraved with runes down its blade. I draped some teal beads around the hilt for some colour and interest (they're from a princess which he saved from a sea beast).

I rendered it quite highly, with loads of layers of textures painted on. I also added a little dynamism with some flames sparking out. I used a two-tone light effect to increase the depth. There is a blue light on one side and a red light on the other.

I'm pleased with how this came out.