Thanks, Welcome, and An Introduction

Hello everyone,

This report aims to inform you about myself and my plans/goals.

But first, I want to thank Rian for all his hard work over the years. He’s an outstanding artist and a valuable member who has devoted several years to creating art for our club. We all owe him our thanks. He leaves some big shoes to fill, but he’s certainly earned a moment of respite. Kick your feet up and enjoy a good drink, my friend.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome Soccora and Vyr back onto the Herald’s staff. These two awesome people are former Heralds and accomplished artists in their own right. I know that I can learn much from them. I opted to offer them first dibs on magistrate openings seeing as they both applied for the position of Herald and articulated a keen interest in creating art for you all.

Now, a quick bit about myself. I’ve gone by many names over the years. Cyris and Bale are probably the most remembered ones, and outside our fine club, I tend to go by Beard or Jack. Right now I go by Mal. So, huh, I’m pretty flexible on whatever y’all wanna call me.

In real life, I’m a graphic designer by trade and a production manager in a print shop. I’m a father of two lovely kiddos. Don’t let my five-digit pin or barebones dossier fool you, I’ve been a member of the DB for about 25 years now. Joined around 1998. A few years ago I decided that I needed some time off and opted for a new start when I returned in early 2023. It’s been quite the thrill ride. My resume includes a previous stint as Herald and Combat Master, as well as various positions of leadership around the DB. Art and writing are my bread and butter. Love it, can’t get enough of it.

I am excited to be your new Herald and I am eager to get to work for all you fine folks around the Brotherhood.

The Big Three (Create, Motivate, Teach)

To pull from my application, my topmost priorities going forward are what I call the Big Three: Create, Motivate, and Teach.

Create: The obvious one, my team and I will continue the long tradition of developing dossier art for various uses around the Brotherhood. I intend to encourage collaboration and steady workflow for my staff, ensuring that we keep the queue to a minimum and meet your requests with as little delay as possible. I also intend to bring as much of the graphics production back to the Herald’s office. As such I will work hand in hand with all Council members to ensure my office can supply the images they require.

Motivate: My foremost goal is to make it a worthwhile and enriching experience to be an artist in the Brotherhood. This will involve an overhaul of the art society, improved rewards and cluster yield across the board, and a steady stream of Herald-run competitions. In the upcoming weeks, my staff and I will start running regular competitions that cover a variety of skill levels and interests, including occasional AI-centric ones. Everyone deserves an opportunity to engage with the art community.

Teach: Now, who isn’t motivated when they’re learning new things, things they might not have thought themselves capable of doing? When they see they’re getting better at it? My goal is to offer plenty of learning opportunities. This begins in the Shadow Academy. To her credit, Nora has already been working on new art courses since well before I became Herald. I aim to support her and also introduce complementary courses that will teach you the basics to make your own warbanners, custom weapons, and with time even your own set of custom robes. Hand in hand with these courses, I intend to host live streams to offer tips and tricks and there will also be workshop competitions aimed at practicing a specific skill. A lot of you have untapped potential, and some of you don’t even know it. I want to help you unleash it.

Clan Stickers

My office is going to start expanding the set of emojis and stickers available on our discord server. Due to the amount of slots available for custom stickers, each clan will be allowed to submit 7 personalized stickers. These can be inside jokes, clan sayings, or reactions that are unique to your clan. These must be in good taste and anything deemed offensive or otherwise problematic will be refused. This is a good opportunity to promote art amongst your members, maybe even run a competition. Clusters of Graphite will be rewarded to those who supply art for the stickers except for stickers born out of a competition where clusters and crescents are already rewarded.

Future Opportunities

There are unfortunately no magistrate positions opened at this time. Look to future reports for openings.

If you are interested in creating art for your fellow members, feel free to contact me. There is always graphics to be done and you will be rewarded for your efforts whether you are on my staff or as a freelance designer.

Ongoing Competitions

I invite you all to check out New Year, New Crib, Who Dis? run by Zosi'val'ria of Arcona. This is a competition for all skill levels. Follow the prompts to create various new floor plans!

“You know what's a good way to ring in the new year and really keep up with those resolutions? Floor plan design! Yay spring winter cleaning! For seven days each, from the 1st to the 29th, there will be a new prompt for you to create a floor plan with. These prompts will range from something easy like "create a spaceship bathroom" to start with, then finish at the end of the month with something more complex. Each prompt will have "necessary" items that you are required to integrate into your design, such as furniture (a bathtub) or structural pieces (a bay window).”

Check it out! This competition allows co-op, so it’s a great opportunity to collaborate with a friend.

Terran Koul and Revak by Aylin, Nora and Malfearak

Zuza Lottson by Malfearak and Gui Sol by Rian and Valhanz

Synergy Soran Phase Pistol by Rian

Each report, I shine a light on the wonderful work of members of our club.

Meet Clan Vizla’s Vailhanz, who goes by the name of Bruno Zachi on Discord. They are a talented commission artist who has done several pieces for our members.

Meet Clan Arcona’s Aiden Lee Deshra, who recently drew his first custom lightsaber. They are a talented artist who shows constant growth and proves that practice is key. Here is some of his work.

Important Links

• Herald Resources
• Competitions
• Art Rubric 2.0
• Herald Wiki
• Herald Policies
• [Log in to view e-mail addresses]

Thank you for reading my report. If you have any art-related questions, feedback, or concerns, feel free to message me on Discord or send me an [Log in to view e-mail addresses].