Not Yo Granma's Age o Reason

I don't really talk like a thug (indeed, I drawl...) - I had to squash the picture title due to character liimits. The full title is This is Not Your Grandma's Age of Reason.

This is a book cover for the miniatures combat game Hive, Queen and Country. The book will be called Stars of the Empire, authored by Terry Sofian.

This... was difficult. I worked with a number of things with which I have little drawing experience - namely mechanical doodads (the giant Steampunkish telescope), space scenes, Victorian floral froo-froo (full of bugs, at least!), and semi-normal human portriature (fistful of scientists and THE QUEEN herself). Yowza. I truly was not sure that I would be able to pull this monster of a cover together with all of these elements that are so strange to me.

So, to explain: Hive, Queen and Country is a role-playing and miniatures-combat game that Terry has been developing for several years. The intrepid heros are the scientists and Great Men (and Women) of the Victorian era, primarily those from Great Britain. GB, during its period of colonial expansion, has achieved space travel and laid claim to parts of the moon, Venus, and Mars. Turns out that all of these places are inhabited to a greater or lesser extent, and not all of those inhabitants are going to bend quietly to British Rule.

Chaos ensues.

And there are giant bugs. Did I mention the bugs? They're a little gift to Earth from Mars.

Accomplished with a watercolor underpainting and a whole heaping gob of Prismacolor pencils. The picture is about 12x16 inches. The whole project took me probably 60 hours, but due to my difficulty with the drawing of strange subjects, I spread it out over several months.

Original art: sold

Prints:
8x10 inches for $15
11x14 inches for $30
16x20 inches for $50

Shipping included.

I now have detail shots available!