Herald report #16: Evil Ways

2016/08/03, 1:25 AM, Herald - The Council

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Introduction

Evening all you happy campers! It’s time for another monthly Herald report. Lots of things to reveal here so read down and I hope you enjoy.

Herald Fiction update!

Consolidation

“Never take a gamble you’re not prepared to lose.” - Unknown

34 ABY - 6 hours ago

Fial System, Nilgaard Sector Corellian Star Shuttle Vespira - Convoy Sigma-6 en route to Kiast

Alarms reverberated in Major Len Iode’s eardrums as the emergency lights came online. The ship’s sudden and violent rocking made him lose his running step and he stumbled onto a passing crew member whose expression, Len thought, mirrored his own. The craft let out a low rumble as another blast dissipated on the protective shield somewhere above their heads. He bolted, again, through the corridors leading to the bridge. He passed several more technicians, likely as not running to fix whatever damages popped up around the ship.

Len finally reached the massive door to the bridge section and it slid aside, giving him entry and a view of a full blown starfighter battle surrounding the ship. X-wings from Paladin squadron buzzed around, blasting hot plasma at what looked like modern TIE fighters. One of the enemy craft flew close enough to the view port for Len to see the custom paint job and what looked like a red and white skull painted on its fuselage.

Read more…

Shout outs

A Grand Cross

I would like to once more congratulate Solas Night-Thorn on his Grand Cross and the amount of work he has done. Please check the award out here and give Solas a sincere thank you.

Thank you, from me and the staff, and congratulations :)

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It’s been so long, long hard days

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Cluster of Graphite!

Cluster

Our biggest announcement this month is the release of the Cluster of Graphite.

What is the Cluster of Graphite?

The Cluster is an award given to members participating in graphics competitions. Anyone participating with a valid entry gets at least one Cluster. There are bonus Clusters to be had in many of the comps, however, so stay on the lookout!

How can I get a Cluster?

Just participate in a Herald approved graphics competition with a valid entry and you will get it. Simple as that. :)

There are more ways to receive the Cluster, however, but for those you will have to read the wiki page linked above.

What if I’m an Organizer, how do I get approval?

Well all you have to do is follow these Herald Competition Approval Guidelines.

So what do I do now?

Step 1: Read the Wiki pages! Step 2: Participate in these competition when they open on Friday:

Go get them Clusters!

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Herald survey - reminder!

Everyone loves surveys! Not really, but this one is necessary.

We've created a survey that you can fill in and, hopefully, influence what way future graphics in the Club move forward. We're looking for honest opinions, so type in anything you can think of that you consider important.

Click here for the survey

Teaser

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They don’t say, gods change my ways

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Warbanners, Custom Robes, Custom Weapons and Requests

Let’s start with:

Custom Weapons

By Vyr:

Edgar's dual hilts
Mune’s single saber

By Zehsaa:

Marcus Kiriyu's single saber

By Rian:

Darkblade's serpent hilt

Custom Robes

None

Warbanners

by Rian:

K'tana
Zujenia
Edgar Drachen
Christopher "Nero" Winchester
Mateus Kelborn
Darkblade

Graphics Requests

By Rian:

Zakath Agrona

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Change my ways. Those evil ways

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There’s a Form for that

DB Art Community Telegram Group

If you’re interested in joining the TG group and sharing your art, be sure to click the image below:

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Change my ways. Those evil ways

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Ask the Herald

Featured Question

Xolarin asks: #AskTheHerald PS, Gimp, Paint.NET, PS for iPad, Procreate (iPad), <insert others here>... Which do you think are good and why?

Photoshop, Manga Studio and GIMP are pretty good. PS is, obviously, a class of it's own as it has a very well made internal construction and compatibility. Manga Studio is a step lower but is generally better for drawing with Tablet. GIMP is good if you don't have PS but a lot of options need to be added in manually which can be a pain. Haven't tried the rest all that much but many of them follow the same pattern as GIMP. They're adequate for anyone who does it as a hobby or for fun but if you want to do anything serious, you really need Photoshop or any other professional program.

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Tahiri Drakon asked: #AsktheHerald I'm thinking about requesting a warbanner. Where would you recommend finding a crest?

Google, deviant art, Pinterest, etc. Plenty of places.

Blackhawk asks: #asktheherald will there be anymore herald trivia, or is that gone for good?

There will be eventually. None are planned for now.

Tisto asks: #AskTheHerald How busy was the herald staff when possesions was being developed and how busy do you predict you will all be now that the beta will be starting soonish?

There are around a thousand items in Possessions. We've completed roughly 50% so far, so it's pretty busy. In stage 1 development we didn't have much to do as far as gfx but now we're a lot busier.

Frosty asks: #AsktheHerald Did you like Jar Jar the first time you saw him?

I was a kid, basically, so I guess I did? Not sure. I think I did.

Nero asks: #AskTheHerald Thing you're most looking forward to with the new movie?

Rogue One? Uhh everything? :P for the most part I'm interested to see the old grit and dirt of Star Wars return in a big way. The shiny chrome of the prequels is still in my mind :/ mostly I'm happy because they're returning to roots and creating a more realistic experience.

Evant asks: #AsktheHerald do you ever plan to attempt to add scenery to your staff skill set to create the varous temples, castles, cities, caves, fortresses, arenas and other venues and areas that we find the Brotherhood? I'm all for imagination, but often the small images in an ACC venue will spark thoughts and add to the experience, and the same could happen with a piece of fiction set in a location that has a reference image on the wiki.

Truthfully, that is not something we cover as an office. At this time, I don't think it will be covered. At least not until our situation settles down a bit more. I'll keep it in mind though, good suggestion.

Sang asks: #AsktheHerald Can I get more Imperial/God Emperor goodness for my dossier page?

You need to be Elder or DC for robes so no :P

Xen asks: #AsktheHerald What is the one thing you are most pumped to be doing in the next few months?

Sang asks: #AsktheHerald Are you going to be showing off your new graphics grading rubric soon?

Look up :P

Xen asks: #AsktheHerald What are things we as members can do to make things easier on the Herald staff when it comes to image requests?

Add as much detail into your request as you can. Especially reference images. Reference images help a whole lot.

Valhavoc asks: #AsktheHerald what are the chances you're going to the Star Wars Celebration in Orlando next year? If you can't go will you send a cut out picture of your beard so the GM can ask random Cosplayers to wear it and pretend you're them?

hahahaha xD It's highly unlikely that i'll attend :P I may be able to do the cut-out beard thing tho :P

Sang asks: #AsktheHerald Who is the true voice of the Grand Master? Is it the Voice or the Herald, because really, if you think about it, Herald also makes total sense to be the voice of the Grand Master.

OOC? It's Mav :P IC it's really split between the Herald and the Voice. We kinda do the same thing in different areas :P

Sang asks: #AsktheHerald Why do people insist on playing Eldar/Tau? Don't they realise that the God Emperor is all?

Let me put it this way: "Our tanks were useless. As soon as we broke cover, their battlesuits' heavy guns were locked on to us. I swear it was as though they had someone nearby aiming for them before they shot. And when they did shoot...Emperor's mercy! Their guns punched through our armour like it was paper. all I could see were trails of fire where the projectiles had ignited the air."

Evant asks: #AsktheHerald why is your dossier accessory not a beard?

Because I can't have a custom accessory as per my own rules :P

Sang asks: #AsktheHerald What new robes and weapons can we look forward to from your office. I love that every report we get something new.

Very likely the ones you will see in Possessions. We'd like to fill as much of the selector with Possessions items as possible. It'll just take some time.

Evant asks: #AsktheHerald when will we see some fiction competitions based on Morgan's fictional backstory?

When I actually post a fictional backstory :P Which would be soon.

Len Iode asks: ##AskTheHerald forgive me if this is asked and answered before, but are there any plans for clan specific military uniforms?

Not really. We've released quite a few uniforms lately, most notably the Legion Officer's uniform, and the Republic uniform.

Mord asks: #AsktheHerald Fictionally, what is your job on the Dark Council, and how does it come to play in your fictions?

I'm the Pirate Lord of Singap— errr Antei :P

Morgan spreads the Dark Council's influence to places no military, no ship, no inquisitor could reach. The Criminal Underworld.

Korroth asks: #AsktheHerald From your side of things, do you see the Possessions project as ending with its official release, or do you think it will continue to grow even after that?

Oh it'll continue to grow. Not sure how fast, but I imagine we'll not be done with it ever. New things will always be added.

Lexic asks: #asktheherald are Misc. weapons going to be available?

We're leaving stuff like that for future Vendetta rewards and such

Lexic asks: #asktheherald if Morgan was an NFU, what would be her best skill? why?

Manipulation, Resolve. As it is now. Because she's a manipulative schemer and downright dirty scoundrel.

A’lora asks: #asktheherald With the DB art community being more varied than 'usual' with members leaning towards characters, 3D and animation and less towards robes and sabers, do you feel that the diversity can benefit the Herald's office moreso than having a plethora of people creating sabers and robes according to the Herald templates?

Have you seen my staff? I have two 3D artists and three 2D artists on it. :P I feel that anyone who has the means to achieve a certain quality of work can contribute to the Herald staff and the work we do. I feel that there are as many styles and ways to create what we do as there are artists in the Club. Not all of them may fit the quality standards, but some do. There are some things that will likely not change while I'm Herald, like lightsaber blades which have a standard across the board, or Warbanner s which will likely remian as they are for a while. But the fact that we have many more up and coming artists means we can expand in the future and maybe create even better work. I'm sure one day someone here will surpass my work and the work of my staff in the same way we have surpassed the former Heralds. It's onyl natural. Maybe 3D takes over one day. I'll be happy to see it.

A’lora asks: #asktheherald Somewhat a follow-up: are there plans to create more tutorials or courses in the same vein as the basic lightsaber tutorial, such as an advanced lightsaber tutorial or a basic robes tutorial?

Yes, as part of Shadow academy exams in fact

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