For the better part of the last three years, I, along with a great team of fellow bubblers have been working on a chess-themed collaborative project called the Game of Kings. Featuring a board populated by creatures as varied as the backgrounds and skills of the artists involved, the second phase (the battle/chess game itself) wrapped up recently (you can explore the whole story starting from here)

However, as anyone who has explored the various pieces of the board, read their bios, or the additional prelude pieces contained within the GoK profile would discover, there is a wealth of untapped material concerning the two opposing armies and the worlds they inhabited before their climactic struggle began.

So, proving yet again that they are two of the mightiest contributors (or most foolha…

As you may or may not have seen over here my fellow Game of Kings collaborator shared some close up shots from her first contribution to phase two. In that spirit, I thought I’d share a few closeup shots of my latest entry into the fray (click here for the full piece) As with Lily’s contribution, the maximum image size for RB doesn’t quite show off the details, so, here you go:

If you haven’t taken the opportunity to delve into the work already on display, and you like what you see here, I wholeheartedly recommend checking it out. There’s also a challenge you can take part in to contribute your own spin on the material (prizes and glory are also on offer).

Cheers
Si

After a ridiculous amount of planning, collaboration, blood, sweat and tears, the Game of Kings collaborative art project has started rolling out its second phase – the story itself.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we have been publishing individual parts of this story, accompanied by artwork from the team of artists. You can click on any of the thumbnails below to navigate to a particular entry.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Over the coming weeks, you’ll be seeing more artwork, writing, comic sequences and behind the scenes info. The whole group has put an incredible amount of effort into this project, and we’re very excited to finally share it with the public.

A CHALLENGE

To celebrate going live with this phase of the project, we’ve opened …

Over 2 years of collaboration, over 20 artists, and over 60 individual pieces of work comprising the characters and their story are finally ready to go.

The Board has been set, and the Game begins!

PART ONE: the White Queen Enters the Field…
Click through for a larger view and to read the accompanying tale.
Art: thickblackoutline
Words: Danny Nolan

The story continues every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (Melbourne time).

We hope you enjoy the ride – we’ve certainly enjoyed building it!

Over two years ago, I decided it’d be fun to see if anyone was interested in collaborating in an art project with me. The initial idea was a simple one – I would create a series of characters representing the black side of a chess board, while a team of artists would do the same for the white. I figured that we’d end up with a fun cast of characters, tee designs, and call it a day.

Of course, I also had the fantasy-land idea that we could take it beyond this initial idea. We could take this chess set and play out the game, telling the tale in a series of artworks, and broadening the team as we went.

Fortunately for me, along with the artists involved, a wordsmith and madman by the name of Danny Nolan joined the party, writing up bios for the characters and helping est…

Those of you familiar with my work from way back on the bubble, may remember this project of mine, the aim of which being to illustrate my own card deck. Well, after laying dormant for some time, I finally got back on the horse and rode the spades suit home. Clicking on any of the above thumnails will take you to their respective tees, so you can take a closer look.

This is a project that I’m planning to take beyond the images themselves, and there is a story building behind these characters, so watch this space!

Head on here to read more

The Game of Kings collaboration project that I’ve been involved with for most of this year is on holiday until early 2010, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something worth checking out.

So, consider this a little xmas present from those of us on the GoK team, and we look forward to bringing the Game itself to you in the New Year (along with some collaborative opportunities for those of you interested.)

Stay safe, and enjoy the Silly Season!

Cheers
Si

For those of you who have been following the collaborative project I’m involved in, “The Game of Kings”http://www.redbubble.com/people/gameofkings:, you may find the following behind the scenes slideshow ineresting. Head on over to check it out and view some of the many and varied permutations that the characters underwent to get to their final forms.

Cheers
Si

A lot has been mentioned by both myself and other members of the group concerning the artworks that we’ve all been developing for the Game of Kings project, but what some people may not realise is that there is a wealth of backstory also in the offering fro those who have enjoyed what they’ve seen so far.

From the very beginning of the project, I had the thought that in order for this to work, these characters had to be more than just a collection of cool looking creatures. To that end, my original plan was to construct biographies for each of the pieces, outlining their relationships within their respective armies and highlighting possible internal tensions and struggles. No Frills Art suggested early in the process that Danny Nolan be brought in to contribute some written wo…