First -- no, second -- no, THIRD stretch goal unlocked!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Aug 28, 2023 at 12:46:04 PM
Wow, those of you who wanted the frock coats absolutely POUNCED on them the moment the price dropped! And as a result (plus the additional backers we've picked up; hello!), not only did we achieve the first stretch goal -- we blew past it, and straight past goal #2 as well, before stalling briefly a mere eight dollars short of goal #3! Having now tipped over that line, here's what we've unlocked:
rules for a third game to play with the deck
short fiction in the Rook and Rose setting from yours truly!
hand-lettering on the cards
Next up is short fiction from Alyc, followed by full-color printing for the physical guidebook (all digital copies will be in color). Let's see how far we can get!
Other projects
This time around, for the horror fans among our backers, I'm highlighting a colleague's upcoming anthology:
This is the second such anthology from Sloane Leong and Cassie Hart -- and like the first one, every story in it will be illustrated, which is a feature I love. But paying the artists as well as the writers does make an anthology more expensive, so for those of you who like horror, do check this one out! It's currently about halfway to goal, and includes good digital rewards as well as physical ones.
That's it for now! You'll probably hear from me next on Wednesday, when I'll have a finalized DragonCon schedule to share -- if you're going to be at the con, please do come say hi to me and Alyc!
--Marie
First stretch goal almost achieved + frock coat update!
over 1 year ago
– Sun, Aug 27, 2023 at 10:28:41 AM
Friday's surge has left us in great shape: not only are we well-funded, but our first stretch goal is only $273 away! That will be rules for a third game you can play with the pattern deck, one in the broad "rummy" family. And while we're at it, I'll add another bit of bait: if we get up to 350 backers, I'll also work out rules for a solitaire game! I can't say for sure what that one will look like, but I have a book titled 150 Ways to Play Solitaire, and a quick skim through it showed me some possibilities. And this way, you'll be able to entertain yourself with the deck at any time.
Frock coat update
To make things easier (or at least more tempting) for those of you who've been lustfully eyeing the frock coat add-on -- which I know is several of you -- Alyc has authorized me to drop the price for that to $400. Generosity, or a burning desire to free up some space in their fabric stash? You decide!
If you're new to this campaign since I last posted about the coats, you can get a better view of the fabric on our site, and some views of an earlier version of the coat (sewn for a friend's book release, with me playing posable doll). Alyc is more than willing to modify the style on request, e.g. with narrower cuffs or collar, or a straight instead of angled hem.
Other people's work
Two campaigns I'd like to draw your attention to!
Embroidered Worlds: Ukrainian Fantastic Fiction isn't launching until September 1st, but you can sign up to be notified when it goes live. Doing that helps the campaign: more pre-launch followers = more visibility on Kickstarter once it goes live and a bigger first-day spike. Speaking from experience of having the pattern deck get nearly halfway to its goal in the first twenty-four hours, I can say it is a huge relief to anyone running a Kickstarter to get that kind of healthy boost. So if this interests you, go sign up! For more detail, I turn to the publisher's description:
Embroidered Worlds presents a living snapshot of imaginative fiction in Ukrainian culture today, including stories that span and cross the speculative genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, magic realism, and alternate history.
The majority of stories included in the anthology will be from writers in Ukraine, and for most of them it will be the first time their work will be translated into English. Writers of the Ukrainian diaspora have contributed as well with stories that draw upon their heritage, illustrating the complex and diverse ways we celebrate and re-imagine culture.
These writers and their stories are wildly diverse: There are ghosts and monsters, there are spaceships and ancient gods, there are battles — real and imagined — as well as time-travel adventures, post-apocalyptic settings, magic and folk motifs. Through all this amazing storytelling, we glimpse the ideas and ideals, the history and future, that the Ukrainian people are fighting and dying for.
Full disclosure: Einstein's Workshop is run by a friend of mine, aiming to interest kids, especially girls and kids of color, in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). She's received a grant to update their equipment after lockdown put a significant dent in their ability to operate a hands-on learning center -- a grant that's offering 2:1 matching for the funds they raise here. So every $1 you donate transforms into $3! If you're willing and able to support it, both my friend and I would be hugely grateful. This isn't a Kickstarter, but it's something I'd very much like to see raise as much money as it can.
Thank you all again, and onward to the stretch goals!
--Marie
~*~100%!~*~
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Aug 25, 2023 at 11:14:26 AM
Well, I didn't expect to be updating so soon after my last one, but --
WE HAVE DONE IT! THE PATTERN DECK KICKSTARTER HAS REACHED ITS GOAL!!!
Thank you SO MUCH to all of you who have backed it, all of you who have helped to promote it, and especially to our artists, whose beautiful work has helped draw everyone into this dream! I'm legitimately a bit light-headed right now. When I posted yesterday, I mentioned there was a chance -- not a guarantee, but at least a chance -- that we might fund by the end of the weekend; instead we did it in a day. Which means I get to float into the weekend on a metaphorical cloud.
And there's still a week and a half to go! Which means plenty of time to set our sights on those stretch goals . . . but first, I'm going to try to do this "relaxation" thing I've heard so much about.
--Marie
Interview with Avery Liell-Kok + game today!
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Aug 24, 2023 at 09:57:43 AM
Now is the time when the person running a Kickstarter starts hyperventilating, because the goal line is close enough to taste. We're at 96%! Just over a thousand dollars to go! It's possible we could hit our target by the end of the weekend, which would be amazing.
Now is also the time when we begin looking ahead to stretch goals! As a reminder, here are the ones we have mapped out:
$33,000 — a third game playable with the pattern deck
$34,000 — Rook & Rose short fiction by yours truly, Marie Brennan
$35,000 — hand-lettered card names, rather than a computer font
$36,000 — Rook & Rose short fiction by my co-conspirator, Alyc Helms
$37,000 — print guidebooks will be in full color, rather than greyscale
$38,000 — digital art for a bonus "card" of the eponymous Rook & Black Rose
$39,000 — pattern dice add-on, with rules for a game
$40,000 — card stock upgraded to premium
Is that an ambitious list? Of course it is. In fact, we even have more ambition than that, because we've got at least one idea for an add-on beyond that list.
But it's worth noting that stretch goals are about more than just adding new shinies to the campaign. After a Kickstarter ends, there are always some credit cards that get declined, reducing the amount of funding actually delivered; between funding and fulfillment, unforeseen expenses can crop up or planned costs can increase for reasons outside the creator's control. Stretch goals are also about adding a cushion of safety to the project, to make sure the creator doesn't wind up in an unexpected hole after all is said and done. So while the finish line is in sight, we're setting our sights past it -- let's see how far we can get before this campaign ends!
And now for our third and final artist . . .
Interview with Avery Liell-Kok
Tell us about yourself! How did you get into art and what are some of your favorite mediums or techniques?
I got into art out of sheer spite that I would be the best in my class at something, by god. It's a great kickstart (ba-dum-tish) to the system, but terrible sustenance for the long term, so I'm glad I learned quickly to love it for its own sake! I wrote more than I drew as a kid, but as I got older, they complemented each other-- I could draw my stories, and that's what I did. I was sure I was going to end up in comics or animation, but the art program at my state college was way more traditional. Turned out I loved that, too. Medium-wise, I have the longest affinity for digital. For a poor art student, digital tools gave me an endless paintbox, infinite canvas, and any brush I could want. The AI stuff, though, has me turning back to physical mediums. I'm digging the way I now need to negotiate with my materials. The whole process of using paint and pencils (especially watercolor!) means letting go of having to control every. Little. Pixel. And that's exactly what I need to get me out of my own head.
Tell us about us! What excited you about this project and/or the Rook & Rose series?
The Rook and Rose books have such rich details that it's super easy to visualize the world, and that world feels like a living creature. Its got texture, and embellishment, and grit. It feels lived in. And most important to me, its got dream. Dream imagery is something I'm capital-I Into, and I'm thrilled to try translating that onto the cards.
Tell us about your inspiration! You're doing the cards for the Faces and Masks, are there any you're particularly looking forward to creating?
I said dream stuff is important to me, and I mean it. I'm keeping a small sketchbook by my bed and doodling some of the imagery that pops up, just to keep my mind loose and in an associative state. I don't think there's any one card that I'm more excited about than the others, but I am stoked about the Masks in general. They have less anatomical boundaries than the faces do, and without eyes to express emotion and draw in the viewer, it’s a challenge to make them as riveting as they need to be.
Tell us about your process! You have such an interesting style that blends illustrative and abstract elements. What drew you to that style and how do you do it?
The style began as an accident when I was working at an old office job, trying not to die of boredom. I was doing blind contours based on some photography, and the patterns they made were fascinating. I started playing around with color and liked the results, and then promptly put them away and didn't try it again for six years. Then I was taking a class that asked for a bunch of portraits, each drawn in a different style with different techniques, and reaching for anything to spice up my process, I tried it again. It just . . . clicked, this time. And the imagery I produced got a lot of positive feedback from the teacher and the other students, so I kept on with it for the rest of the class. It's very, very freeing. I can get bogged down in technical details so easily. This style, which starts with layered contour drawings (most still blind), is the opposite of that. The final drawing is always a surprise, even to myself. I fill in the cells the line art creates with my colors and refine from there.
Tell us about your other stuff! What else have you worked on in the past? What other projects are you planning now or in the future?
Oh god. I'm a flake when it comes to my own projects (late-diagnosed ADHD represent). I also have a real jack-of-all-trades background when it comes to illustration. I've done logos, art for gaming books, a defunct webcomic, character commissions, and spent five years working in-house illustrating children's books for a vanity press. I put out over 120 books in that time, and can't say it was my finest stuff. But, with the power of proper medication, I'm looking forward to actually getting some of my own stuff done. First up is a website and new portfolio, for which this project is going to help a lot! I'm working on some more conceptual paintings that tap into the fine art world, and the freedom you get there to explore personal reflection and emotional connection. On the illustrative side, I gotta choose: my own oracle deck, which I have been sitting on for FOURTEEN YEARS, or an illustrated travelogue set in my own world-- think Anthony Bourdain style shenanigans in a setting that leans away from the D&D, Tolkienesque fantasy.
Anything else you want to share with our backers?
Other than my eternal appreciation for backing this project, so I can make these paintings? Thank you all! You can follow me on instagram: @averylkart for my illustrative stuff, and @averyliellkok for the new style. I also have a tumblr that I like best of all, but that is because it is packed with whatever nonsense I feel like reblogging. If you'd like to wade those muddy waters, look me up iamtoothandclaw.tumblr.com.
Game tonight!
(Back to Marie) If you've got a bit of spare time this afternoon or evening, please join us for a round of Rook & Rose D&D! The wonderful New Orleans bookstore Tubby & Coo's has been hosting online games to promote authors' books; Alyc and I will be joined by writer and editor Fran Wilde for three hours of recrackulous fun. That's running 4-7 Central time (5-8 Eastern, 2-6 Pacific, 9-midnight UTC), and you can register for it right here. I have no idea what will happen, apart from the starting premise. Three words: Night of Bells . . .
