The Eye of the Cyclops is a system agnostic RPG sourcebook for tabletop games, and these miniatures are for use with it - as well as an assortment of other figures from the game setting, a Lost World called Azor.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
WHOAH! OUTSTANDING! THANK YOU!!
almost 6 years ago
– Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 11:33:07 PM
I think I've said this before, but, I'm running out of superlatives!
Thank you, thank you, thank you - everyone! Thank you for the pledges, for the social medial shares, for spreading the word about this, and for the enthusiasm! I feel both humbled and motivated by the awesome energy that's come out of this campaign!
I was fairly confident that this campaign would meet the funding goal, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that it would end up 350% funded!! That's just amazing! You all are the best!
So... what's next?
Well, first up, David Soderquist is *almost* finished with the armored cyclops sculpt - here are the in-progress pictures that he sent me today:
The hands still need to be finished and it needs a base, but other than that he's pretty much done.
I'll post updates on the remaining sculpts as I get them.
I also need to finish setting up the BackerKit page - I should have that finished well before the time everyone's cards are charged (within two weeks), and I think I'll be adding a few more items to the add-ons list.
Doom Serpent Idol sculpted by Dave Cauley - I'll be adding this model to the purchasable add-ons list.
After that I'll be finalizing & cleaning up the draft of the text, getting the layout finished on the booklet and sending it off to the printer.
As I said at the top of this update, this campaign has been more successful than I expected. Even my most optimistic projections were that this would top out at $10,000, so I didn't really have any stretch goals planned past that point.
I want to be very cautious about not overextending myself or trying to add so many new sculpts that the project gets delayed. I've seen that happen with indie games Kickstarters like mine and I am determined to not fall into that trap. What I can do with those funds beyond $10K is to have more illustrations drawn, and I'll be looking into what it will cost to have the booklet printed on higher quality paper. Maybe - maaaaaaybe - I can even add some pages to it. Those sorts of changes and additions don't add much time to the project (the art can be worked on at the same time as the sculpts), nor do they add much physical weight (and so does not increase the estimated shipping costs).
We'll see what I can figure out - I'll post about it as I get more info.
... I'm sure I'm forgetting to say something, but, at the moment that's my plan for the immediate future of this project. Now I'm off to sleep for like 12 hours!
Thank you all very much for making this campaign a success!
-Alex Bates
The Crown of the First King, Backerkit, and a surprise!
almost 6 years ago
– Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 11:31:10 PM
The Crown of the First King
This morning, Andrew Taylor of Antediluvian Miniatures (check out his stuff, seriously, it's really cool! http://www.antediluvianminiatures.com/ ) sent me an email.
He had just finished painting the Crown of the First King for me, and he'd sent pictures!
The Crown of the First King isn't really an official part of this Kickstarter, but, it's available as a purchasable add-on here, the first time it's widely available in the USA, so, I thought I'd take this as an opportunity to ramble on about it a bit.
(If you want to skip the ramble, just scroll on down to where I've got "Backerkit" as a bold headline)
Sculpted by Dave Cauley
I didn't ask Dave to put a little centipede on the rock under the skull, but I'm glad he did!
It's tough to pick my favorite thing about making miniatures. There are some awesome moments - opening a package from a sculptor, seeing a new sculpt in person for the first time. Running across a photo of one of my minis being used 'in the wild', seeing the cool and unexpected ways that people paint my miniatures, how they use Forge of ice Minis in their games. Talking, just shooting the shit with sculptors whose work I've been a fan of since I was a kid. And more!
It's tough to pick - I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to fully separate being a fan and gamer from being a guy who makes stuff.
However, the process of taking something from concept to finished sculpt to painted piece on the tabletop - that's a pretty awesome thing to watch happen.
Oftentimes (but not always!), my miniatures start out with a concept and a rough sketch from me. I'll find a sculptor whose style I think matches the idea I've got, and I'll send them the sketch. Maybe some pose reference photos and reference imagery, a description of what I want, and I'll let them go crazy! I trust in the sculptor's skills and aesthetic to fill in any gaps in my admittedly loose description.
This usually gets me results that I'm very happy with.
My original sketch for the crown design.
"Hey, Dave, can you sculpt a gorilla skull for me? But, like, a gorilla skull with a cranium the shape of a human's cranium, big enough to hold a human-sized brain. Keep the gorilla's sagittal crest. And add this crown to it. Oh, and make the whole thing about 35mm tall at the highest point. I'm gonna call it 'The Crown of the First King'."
And then a little while later, after some back-and-forth with work-in-progress photos and revisions, I've got this sculpt in my hands!!
It's magical!
Ian at Fenris (my UK distributor - https://fenrisgames.com/shop#!/FGFOI80-Crown-of-the-First-King/p/99572391/category=9038550 ) cast it up in resin, and I asked him to send one to Andy to get the pro painter treatment. I couldn't be happier with the end result. I think that the paint really brings it to life - rough-hewn precious stones, polished until smooth. Primitive, ancient, regal. Chunks of bronze heavy enough to crush a man. Worn on the brow of this ancient lord, the weight of rulership more than just a metaphor.
I look at the photos of the painted mini and think about how only a few months ago it was an idea in my head... man, it puts a great big grin on my face.
In the long term I think I'll likely do a series of "tribes of Azor" Kickstarters - ape-men, The Histath (serpent men), and of course the giants. There’s a whole backstory that goes with The Crown of the First King - I look forward to telling it whenever I’m able to introduce the Azoran giants to the world!
I've talked about my inspirations before - and a few people have picked up on others. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E Howard, Ray Harryhausen, Frank Frazetta, those are probably my top four. But if it's not in the top four, then King Kong is number 5. The original 1933 King Kong is my favorite movie, ever, and it's the main reason I consider my lost world setting to be a 'pulp' setting rather than a pure fantasy one. An uncharted island full of prehistoric creatures and the remnants of a once-great civilization? What could be more pulp-y than King Kong?
So of COURSE there are giant gorillas in Azor!
I just haven't gotten to them yet.
Someday! *fingers crossed*
So, anyways, if you want an interesting terrain piece to use as an objective counter, the centerpiece of a temple, a pre-human artifact (maybe it's magical? Sentient and angry?), or just as a unique treasure item ("This thing weighs 500 pounds! How do we even carry it?"), consider buying it as an add-on! It's not the first artifact left by the pre-human civilizations of Azor that I've made, and it won't be the last.
BACKERKIT
I expect that I'll be finished setting up the Backerkit page by next week, hopefully by Monday. If there are more add-ons that you are interested in purchasing, fret not! You'll be able to add lots of extra stuff to your pledge if you want to.
And, a surprise!
The armature for the new bodyguard miniature.
Patrick Keith just so happened to have room in his schedule, so I couldn't resist adding one more miniature to this project - a bodyguard for Kandar Itaa. This sculpt will be finished soon, and available for purchase as an add-on in Backerkit, and she'll be available for regular purchase after the campaign ends.
I think that's about it at the moment - I don't expect to have much more to say between now and when I get the Backerkit page set up next week, but I'll be around if anyone has any questions or comments about anything.
-Alex in Alaska
Communication, and, how to find me on the internet!
almost 6 years ago
– Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 05:55:52 AM
Hi everybody!
As far as I know there have not been any issues with communication, but I figure it can't hurt to post something about it.
Barring disaster or emergency, I'll check my messages here on Kickstarter every day. That's probably the best way to get ahold of me for Kickstarter-related issues.
I'll check the comments daily, too.
I will do my best to reply to anything within 24 hours.
If you'd like to find me elsewhere online, my primary web presence is on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/ForgeofIce
It's a typical FB page, I post pics of new stuff & updates on new releases. Click 'like' and 'follow' if you want to stay in the loop on what's up there. I do have a few irons in the fire that are not related to the KS, so you'll get a little more info there than you will here.
I've also got an Instagram account - it's mostly Forge of Ice related, although I do occasionally post other hobby or gaming stuff there. On my IG page you'll see some work-in-progress pictures that you might not see on Facebook or here, so, if you use Instagarm, it might be worth following.
www.instagram.com/forgeofice/
The one other thing that may possibly be of interest is the Lead Adventure Forum. It's my favorite miniatures gaming forum - positive, pleasant, polite, and full of enthusiastic people who put together the coolest projects. Lots of people there use figures from small manufacturers like me! I've discovered a lot of cool miniatures that I might never have seen otherwise because of the LAF.
For about four years now I've kept a thread going, talking about what I'm working on, what sculpts are in the pipeline, and had some great discussions about worldbuilding, miniatures, and my long-term plans (and how those plans have altered more than once!). If you start at the beginning, you'll get some idea of how things have changed since I first started doing this. I've had a few comments from people saying that they're curious about the process and the ideas behind it, so, it might possibly be an interesting read for some of you:
24 hours left! $10,000 reached! And, Dyson Logos!!
almost 6 years ago
– Wed, Jul 11, 2018 at 02:19:45 PM
It's been a heck of a day! 24 hours left and we've broken $10,000!
That means that another bow-armed cult guard has been unlocked as an add-on purchase, and David Soderquist will be sculpting her, too.
This means that up to four extra cult guards can be purchased if you want to expand the forces of the Cult of the Eye - two with spears, and two with bows. I'll post pictures of the sculpts as they progress.
And I have one last super cool announcement to make:
Dyson Logos will be drawing the map of the Cult Temple for the book.
https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/
A recent map drawn by Dyson Logos - this is just an example of his work, this is not the map that will be in the Eye of the Cyclops booklet.
Dyson is a phenomenal RPG map-maker, and I'm really excited to have him working on this project with me. We don't have the details of the map worked out yet, but I'll post updates as things progress.
Another example of Dyson's recent work - check out his website or Patreon for me. Tons of cool stuff there to see!
https://www.patreon.com/dysonlogos/overview
As of this writing, I think the map will be printed in the book, but I will make it available as a separate .pdf to anyone who pledged for a .pdf or book. Separate print copies or larger versions might be a possibility before the backerkit pledge manager closes, but I'm not quite ready to commit to those expenses just yet.
I think that this map adds a lot of value to the booklet, and I'm really excited to work out the floor plan and layout of the lair!
Thanks again to everyone who pledged and helped to get the word out on this - the countdown to the end has begun!
-Alex
Pledge Level Clarification
almost 6 years ago
– Sun, Jul 08, 2018 at 07:57:29 PM
I've gotten one question on the topic, so I thought I should post something clarifying the rewards for the pledge levels.
Purchasable add-ons require that they be purchased - you have to buy them.
"Freebies" are free, they are automatically added to your set if you have pledged at the appropriate level.
It seems that the $43 level may have been worded ambiguously - that level gets you all the miniatures in the basic set (Kandar Itaa, two cult guards, the cyclops, the shrine of the cyclops terrain piece, and the Eye of the Cyclops treasure item). That level also gets you all the "freebies" that have been unlocked - the shields for the guards, the pile of sacrificial skulls, and the treasure hoard.
At the $43 level you may also, if you wish, purchase any add-ons that you want to buy. Add-ons must be added on to the pledge by the person making the pledge. That would include all of the purchasable add-ons that have been unlocked throughout the campaign (the pet lizard, the guard captain, the two spearmen and the two bowmen.
I made the assumption that calling something an "add-on" or "purchasable add-on" made it clear that the item needed to be purchased - perhaps I should not have made that assumption. If that was unclear, I apologize - hopefully this clears things up. To avoid any future ambiguity I have locked down the current $43 reward and put up a new version of it with a slightly rephrased description.
I have also updated the main campaign page to more explicitly state the exact individual items that come with the top pledge levels.
This should give you notice and time to update your pledge if necessary - again, I apologize for any confusion my wording may have caused.
If you have any questions, please ask them now - I'll do my best to remain online for the remainder of the campaign (about 15 hours left as of this writing).
