#matt concepts

[imjusthella-gay]

rub her clit with the tip of your strap

[paracosmicka]

sonic tma au? 👀👀👀👀👀

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I’VE POSTED IT ABOUT IT EVEN THO I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF ABOUT MY SONIC/TMA AU

Okay to start out with, I’ve been calling the “Primal Fears au” and it started out as a working title but I don’t really have any better ideas and the tag I have on all of my posts about this tma au is #primal fears au (idk how to imbed a hyperlink into text but like if you go into the search thingy over my blog and just type that tag in you’ll see all my previous posts about it that are from OVER A YEAR AGO IT’S BEEN SO LONG 😭)

Okay uhhhhh idk how to organize this so just get ready for a shit ton of sketches and art lol

here are some more fleshed out character sheets (than my very post about them) for Sonic and Shadow, they’re not final yet tho obviously

was fighting demons drawing Shadow’s main design for some reason

general sketch ideas for Sonic and Shadow

And my favorite part of this au is that I just get to categorize all the Sonic characters into which fear entity would they serve so here are some character sheet ideas:

Okay this last one is Infinite and I know he’s not everyone’s favorite bc he’s just so…..mid ig in the games but redesigning him as an avatar of the Spiral has been so fun. Also bonus points if you know what Doctor Who episode I stole this dialogue from lol:

and finally I thought I’d just share an idea I had of a “cover” for my Primal Fears au

Okay I think those are all the presentable sketches I have but there are so so so many more ideas I have and it’s not going to help bc I’m feeling the annual urge to relisten to The Magnus Archives again especially bc the new season of The Magnus Protocol comes out soon.

But yeah anyway feel free to ask any questions/share ideas if you’d made your own TMA/Sonic au I love yapping about horror and this au is like my child. Actually that’s not a very good analogy bc all of my sonadow aus are my babies. I just love sonadow sorry I will continue to be insane

[scribeofmorpheus]

Why Dragon Age Veilguard isn't a "Cathedral"

Concept art by Matt Rhodes

"To disinherit the storylines of past games goes directly against the notion of building cathedrals."

What is inherent with Veilguard that keeps bothering me is the fact that the world's choices truly didn't matter--and it doesn't simply bother me from a player perspective, it's not simply a grievance borne of frustration to what I (as a longtime fan) have lost. It's about the very culture of the arts under capitalism's new media habituation cycle [x][x].

Yes, I spent hours of my life playing and replaying each instalment of Dragon Age. Yes, I painstakingly curated a 'canon' world state by replaying what came before in preparation for Veilguard. Yes, I am even more unsatisfied with the end product--time hasn't helped, it's just widened the divide. But, and I can't stress this enough, these very personal gripes aren't what hit home the most. It's the inherent disregard of legacy. A legacy that the previous writers and game developers were building towards.

In the DAV artbook, "cathedral" is the word used to describe the process of making a game. Matt Rhodes' exact words are: "One artist can make a painting, but it takes a team to build a cathedral." Cathedrals took centuries to build. The architect who drafted the first blueprints would likely never see his work realised, he had to rely on those who came after him, like-minded and passionate, to see it through--for the culture, for the future, for legacy. Painters took on several apprentices for this reason too--giant frescoes were not completed by one man's hand, even if it is one man's name that immortalises them. Similarly, if you weave a narrative around choice, what good does it do to take it away at the final act if not to fall to caricature?

To disinherit the storylines of past games goes directly against the notion of building cathedrals.

Late-stage capitalism and profit-margin-obsessed game producers forcing developers to churn out meager content, to make a known brand into something it's not, to chase a fad or a popular trend... o, how reductive and cliche you've been forced to become Bioware. We have lost the cultural thought patterns relative to Cathedrals. We know only of barn-raised churches--done in a day but unlikely to last the turn of the seasons.

And don't even get me started on the music of Veilguard either. From Origins to World of Warcraft to Everquest to Baldur's Gate to Dungeon Siege, you can hear the intricate interconnected weave of sounds inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy genre. You hear it in the repeated use of certain instruments, in the harmonic weeping notes of a bard-like singer or the foreboding echoes of drums as if of war. In tavern songs. But then, rather than hire someone who loves these worlds and this genre, who is a hungry artist looking to make a name, a legacy if you will, for themselves with a spectacular score, you hire any already sated composer, one well-into the encroaching years of career fatigue, whose notes repeat in countless projects, who feels less concise and more uninterested with each new project. One who has long since cemented his legacy. Someone in it for a paycheck and nothing else! And, to top it off, you let him compose something so minimalist? I am offended actually.

Cathedrals! We should have witnessed the final tile being placed on the Dragon Age cathedral. Instead, some architects walked up, tore down the interior and installed IKEA furniture and called it authentic before having to call the previous architects to come and fix the "load-bearing issues", forcing them to rush and add a coat of varnish and a few 'aged' details for authenticity.

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Flame Atronach

Concept art for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Art by R Todd Broadwater and Matt Carofano

[this-is-cool]

The cool cyberpunk-themed sci-fi creations of Matt Allsopp - https://www.this-is-cool.co.uk/cyberpunk-themed-creations-by-matt-allsopp/

[blightbright]

i'm sure i'm late to seeing this but CAN WE TALK ABOUT Matt Rhodes' concept art of THIS DREAD WOLF CARVING

this carving representing GIFTS TO SOLAS FROM FREED SLAVES

[benipray]

Drew this before Veilguard came out in the hopes to see Zevran again (and the HoF) (delulu)

[squeakadeeks]

shout out to the conversation i had with our research student: "I like to draw in my spare time" "what do you draw?" "usually character art, like expressions and stuff" "you draw people?" "yeah" "so who do you draw? like matt damon or someone else?"

anyway i'll be thinking about that forever

[utilitycaster]

I am admittedly behind on all podcasts for a number of reasons and that's unlikely to change though I plan on doing a bit of a binge this weekend, but I'm talking about Actual Play crit and journalism in the group chat and it never ceases to be wild to me that NADDPod has a solid following and fandom but is virtually unremarked upon in like, AP journalism or discussion despite being I think one of the most consistent shows in terms of quality. And, if I'm being really honest it's because Murph isn't showy and can't do accents well and is an adequate but not brilliant actor, but the thing is, he's one of the strongest writers among AP DMs and that's really undervalued. (Emily is also, while not usually the DM, also a good writer and that's also not something that comes up.)

[gotham-at-nightfall]

DCU Teen Titans

By Jordan Rodriguez

DCU Justice League

DCU Titans

[yashley]

Then why are you here? What is it you want? I want to free you.

[poolseason]

monstrosity kai vs prime empire kai avatar concept art

[catebees]

Apparently I finished act 1 of Veilgard so here's a sketchdump of my experience so far!

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Iron Dagger

3D asset for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Design by R Todd Broadwater and Matt Carofano

[den-ai-d]

Archie and the boys enjoying a beach getaway! Can't be trying to flood the planet all the time, no? 🌞🏄‍♂️🌴

Who's that pathetic looking twig in the background though???

Bonus alts can be found on the patreon! Preview and link under the cut 😉

Oh no, Maxie seems extra upset...you think he heard me call him a twig?

Link to the PATREON

[halfway-happyyy]

Omg I don't think you've done this but reader meeting matt Aka Frank's "friend/coworker/lawyer" at the dinner she works at and he just keeps playing up the poor blind orphan just to annoy frank, meanwhile reader can't believe the way frank behaves!

wait wait wait why is this sending me into ORBIT 😂

I can see it so vividly, too.

To start, Matt knew something was up with Frank the minute the two met up for a quick chat on a rooftop at five in the morning. They were both bloodied and out of breath from their recent dalliance with crime-fighting, and where Frank normally bore the heady scent of sweat, gunsmoke, and blood, all Matt could really detect was the overwhelmingly delightful mix of strawberries, freshly ground coffee, and frying butter.

"So, who is she?"

Frank hung his head in defeat. "Don't do this, Red."

Matt scoffed. "Oh, come on, Frank. I'm bound to find out one way or another, so you might as well just tell me."

Frank scowled at the man before him. "Why do you even give a shit?"

Matt shrugged. "Curiosity killed the cat."

"It sure fuckin' did." He grumbled, before begrudgingly agreeing to get a coffee with Matt at the diner down the street.

"I'm warning you, Red, you start pulling any of that Oliver Twist shit, and you're takin' your coffee to go."

Matt clicked his tongue. "Honestly, Frank, the fact that you're even aware of who that is is impressive in itself."

"Yeah, fuck you."

Now, Frank tended to pride himself on being a relatively unenvious individual, but he could not deny how taken his girl was with Matt. It was just his way. Frank had seen it time and time again, and it never ceased to amaze him and piss him off in equal measure.

"Yeah, I don't know. I've been visually impaired for so long that it's difficult to remember what life was like before the accident."

She was seated opposite them in the booth, chin resting in the palm of her hand and hanging on to his every word with rapt attention. It was all Frank could do to keep from rolling his eyes.

"My mother left when I was a baby, and then when my father passed on, I was really just alone in the world..."

"Jesus wept," Frank hissed and bowed his head. He should have known where this was going the moment Matt asked about her.

"Frank!" she gasped. "Don't be rude!"

Matt shook his head, his smile gracious. "Oh, it's alright, I know he means well."

"Wow," She breathed. "You've beaten so many odds to get where you are. It's really very inspiring."

Matt smiled and tilted his head toward Frank. "We do it for the people like him. They're really who keep us going."

Frank felt his blood pressure rising; irritation flaring warm and raw just beneath the surface of his skin. His fist flexed involuntarily beneath the table. "Hey kid, why don't you ask Red here what he gets up to in his spare time. For a visually impaired man, he sure gets around."

Matt nearly choked on the sip of coffee he just took but recovered quickly enough and offered her an innocent smile.

"I think what Frank is trying to say is that my partner Foggy and I do quite a bit of pro-bono work in and around the greater New York vicinity."

Her eyes widened to saucers. She had been about to unleash a shitstorm on Frank, he could see it in the set line of her mouth, but just as she was about to, the elderly man a few tables over called for her, and she rose to help him.

"Matt, it's been a pleasure meeting you today. I apologize for his appalling lack of manners," She glared at Frank. "And I do hope to see you around again soon."

Matt had the audacity to grin at her. "The pleasure was all mine, I assure you."

Frank watched her leave, already dreading the conversation that was to be had at home later on.

Matt opened his mouth to say something, but Frank only shook his head.

"Not one word, Red."