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Dragon Age Fandom Crafts/Traditional Art Booklet -- Information & FAQ Post

This post will be updated with information, questions & answers, deadlines, and other relevant items as they come up. Click the post link back to this original post to make sure you're viewing the most updated version--I will list update & post edit dates at the top so you can be sure you're referencing the correct version and what info may have changed.

Original post date: July 10 2025

Other links:

[this section is reserved to include links to other posts relating to this project as they are created, for organizational ease]

Basic Information

What is this project?

This will be a collaborative artbook where people can submit photos of any kind of 3d or traditional art piece they've made relating to the Dragon Age universe.

The "physical art" content requirement encompasses things like fiber arts (embroidery/cross stitch/crochet/knitting/yarn making), sculpture, cosplay/prop making, accessory making, papercraft (paper making/origami/papercutting), calligraphy, pottery, recipes/cooking, jewelry making, stained glass, engraving, the numerous traditional art methods (watercolor/charcoal/pencils/acrylic paint/oil paint/crayons/etc), or any other handmade, physical art style.

Aka, almost anything not purely digital art or writing. Digital art and text are the standards of almost every other fandom artbook/chapbook/zine. This would be an opportunity for the crafts/art forms that don't fit into those spaces already.

What would the final product look like?

A digital PDF file--exact dimensions to be determined--mimicking a physical booklet, in that it is structured as 2 side by side vertical pages around a center spine.

Each artist will have 1-4 pages (exact number tbd) per item to showcase their work. If you just have one photo/creation to showcase, that's plenty! If you'd like to show off multiple angles for a 3d art piece, we'll determine how many images to include and how best to organize their layout. Multiple art pieces per person are also fine, but will probably be capped at 8-10 pages per artist just to ensure a variety of creators/submissions. Each artist can include how they would like to be credited, as well as optionally submit a short text bio or description of their craft/art format of choice to be included in their page spreads as well.

Submissions will consist of photographs of the artworks, to highlight that they exist in physical space, rather than scans. Examples of ways to prop up, frame, or otherwise stage art examples can be provided.

For the "booklet" format, photos/art can therefore be uploaded as side by side vertical images, or one larger landscape oriented piece, for each page spread. As this is a digital product only, the 'spine' area would not actually fold/distort the image. I will encourage artists to leave room along the edges of their photos as "bleed" however.

Who can participate?

Anyone. This will be an open project, not juried or application based. There will be no approval process for what is "good enough" beyond meeting the content requirement of a physical art piece. You can just submit your art! This is an open house showcase, not a finely curated museum.

However the photos themselves meet minimum quality standards for a digital booklet, as much as possible. This means they should be visually decipherable at at least... idk.. 8x12 inches and 72dpi? Exact dimensions/resolution TBD. Smartphone camera quality is fine. Flip phone camera from the early 2000s probably not. If you can borrow a smartphone or digital camera to take an in focus and well lit photo, you're good.

What would this cost?

The collaborative artbook would be freely uploaded and sent to all participants, and hosted online for anyone who wants to look at it. Since there would be no physical version, there are no production, shipping, or other costs to compensate for. Only the time and effort of those involved, freely donated.

Do I have to make something new?

Nope! If you've already made something and you're proud and want to show the world, that's perfect! Even if you made it a decade ago.

If you're feeling inspired and would LIKE to create something new to showcase, go for it!

There will not be any restrictions on sharing your creation elsewhere in the meanwhile.

Are there any restrictions on art content?

It must understandably relate to the Dragon Age frachise in some way. For some types of art/craft, this can include items "inspired by" the aesthetic or colors of a character or setting, even if they are not direct fanart. Example: carding wool into yarn with fibers and colors thoughtfully reflecting a specific companion's outfit/personality; or making a piece of jewelry you think represents that character in some way.

No racism or whitewashing of canon characters of color. No criticizing/demeaning characters or creators on the basis of gender, sexuality, or other aspects of identity. No hate speech or bullying in general.

I would like to keep this out of the "explicit content" zone, but that does not mean it has to be entirely "safe for work." Aka, implied or tasteful figure nudity in a traditional art piece--sure. Porn/explicit sexual content--no. Nudity of a real human in a photograph--no. This is because the idea here is to create an end product that can be shared in multiple spaces and groups--I would like it to be something that no one will feel awkward sending to friends and family to say "look at what me and these other people made!"

Are there any restrictions on art form?

The majority percentage of the art piece has to be created by you personally. You do not need to have made every component of the piece, but through compilation or transformation it should be a creation that can be distinctively called your own.

Things that are acceptable: crochet or knitwear of a pattern you designed or fair-use purchased made with commercial yarn; a cosplay you assembled through combination of sewing, modifying existing garments, and purchasing some elements like shoes/accessories; a piece of jewelry created from purchased lose beads and chain; a painting representing a scene or characters from the franchise in which the artist used references for poses or features.

Things that are not transformative enough to count as original: a commercial lineart coloring page you filled in; a cosplay you entirely purchased online with no handmade elements; tracing a screenshot onto paper.

Artwork from other artists outside the artbook may not be used without their permission, even if transformative. Example: printing out another artist's fanart and cutting them out to make a collage.

If partial elements of your piece come from something made by another artist but it falls within their own permissions for fair use, we will include text space for you to credit your resources. Example: your cosplay is mostly handmade garments but features a prop or accessory you purchased from another artist; or a diorama scene that includes a small 3d print structure from an outside artist like GizmoForge on etsy as one component, while other decor, details, and painting are all original.

If you are unsure on if your piece does not qualify for either of the above--message me and we'll discuss.

How do I sign up and when is the deadline?

TBD. Right now this is in the "gathering interested participants" stage. You can leave a comment here on this post on tumblr, send me a message on bsky (@/threadwolf), or email me at [email protected] if you would like to be included and notified of how to submit your art pieces (which will probably via be a google form or email).

As for deadline--depends how many people are interested, and how long it takes to assemble the submissions into a layout. If an unexpectedly large number of people want to sign up, we will do multiple volumes in waves to keep things from getting too overwhelming. But my estimate is it would no the finished earlier than the end of August just based on my own existing commitments.

Once more details have been ironed out, I will post and send out further information to participants.

FAQ

As questions arise, I will add more answers here. I'm placing it below a cut to avoid spamming the dash too much.

Why are you doing this?

I like having tangible downloads of stuff I think is cool, both for personal enjoyment and as an archival method. I often find that artists I admire online have deleted old work, and get sad I can't look at it anymore. This artbook would be a nice thing to have so any of us can come back and look at some of the cool stuff people in this fandom have put time and effort into creating, and enjoy seeing our own creations among them.

I feel like a lot of fandom “products” are juried or application based currently, and thought it’d be fun to do an open, opt-in one for people; as well as being inclusive of less-represented crafts/hobbies

Why me, specifically? I was going to make a little booklet of just my own Dragon Age themed embroideries, but they take a really long time to finish, so I don't have that many pieces done yet. So I thought it would be more fun to open the idea to others into a bigger collaborative project, instead of my measly 9 pictures.

What can I submit?

Ask yourself: Is it inspired by or related to Dragon Age?

And then ask: Was this created with my hands in some way?

Then yes!

What if my art isn't good enough to be included?

The idea is that this is an inclusive project, not exclusive. As long as your art fits the content guidelines regarding originality and theme, it's good enough! This is a celebration of different forms of creation rather than a product to be judged or sold.

What if my photos of my art piece aren't good/don't look nice?

If you are worried about taking nice photos, I have photography experience and am happy to talk you through both 1. settings/setup to make sure the image comes out sharp, clear, and color-accurate; and 2. ways to spruce up a photo background or surroundings to best show off your finished piece of art.

What if I want to submit something that's not visual, but also isn't digital art/writing, such as music?

Probably there are art forms that a digital booklet simply is not equipped to showcase. But if you have creative ways of visualizing it let's give it a shot! For instance a musical piece could be represented by a photographed page of sheet music, and we could include a link to a stable online audio file, because that concept would be rad as hell.

Basically message me and we'll brainstorm.

What if I really really want a physical copy?

While I will not be handling any printing outsourcing myself, my goal would be that the resolution, quality, and dimensions of the booklet still meet the most common quality requirements for small-size printing. If participants then desire to pay themselves to get it printed through the service of their choice, they will be able to. HOWEVER, this is not guaranteed, and some photo submissions may be of lower resolution than others.

While I will encourage people to take photos with enough surrounding space to act as bleed for physical printing, things like center spine distortion would depend on the kind of print service you choose.

There's always the good ol fallback of stealing time on your work/school printer, and stapling it together yourself if you really want.

If I want to support this, even though it's free, can I donate money in some way?

No. I do not want that hassle of on my taxes, or to have to figure out fair distribution among participants. If you're in the spirit of giving, please donate to a charity of your choice, or buy a piece of art from an artist you admire.

Why does the blog icon look like that?

I wanted a representation of the medium level of effort and maximum level of casualness I visualize for this project. a half-assed photoshop version of the Dragon Age: Origins cover seemed like a good way to convey that spirit. Presumably at some point I will upload an equally silly banner image to accompany it.

I have another question not already here

Comment it on this post, or send a message/tumblr ask if you'd prefer it stay anonymous. You can also reach me at @/threadwolf o n bluesky or by email at [email protected].

Why aren't you calling this a zine?

simply put i personally just disagree with the term "zine" to represent this style of collaborative content. I am aware that in fandom spaces this term has eclipsed its former meaning of small, homemade, noncommercial products (which is how they are still referenced as in comics, punk, or alternative spaces). As soon as something is intensively formatted, perfect bound, or requires outside production companies to manufacture--I frankly think it's left "zine" territory and entered the definition of an artbook or chapbook.

While this end product would not be a physical item, if it gets more than 3 people involved in submitting works, I just think it's big enough to count as a fandom artbook showcase, instead of a zine.

#signal boost #alas i have no physical da hobbies to contribute #but i think this idea is so neat #dragon age

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