#hydro74

This is weird to say, and I’ve not had much time to even think about it, but this countdown, which I started on Twitter on November 7, 2013, is almost over. Once I finish these last 11 posts leading up to the release of The Rise of Skywalker, I will no longer be posting on any regular or consistent basis. 

It’s been terribly fun, and though there were a couple lapses due to travel and a few other obligations along the way, I’ve tried to keep it up the best I can, posting nearly every day, featuring hundreds and hundreds of incredibly talented artists and getting to see some of them rise from relative obscurity to some pretty spectacular acclaim. 

I had thought about trying to monetize this, and there are certainly ways to capitalize on a platform featuring awesome fan art, but in the end, I’m just a huge fan of Star Wars and in a way, this was a chance to connect with tens of thousands of you fellow fans and that’s been pretty awesome.

So, for my final non-TROS related post of the countdown, with 11 days to go, I wanted to feature this awesome work by a favorite of the countdown, @hydro74-blog. I first featured Josh’s work, a Darth Maul piece, on April 14th, 2014, with 613 days until an as-yet-unnamed Episode VII and then featured his work many times since. 

I really dig this Mando artwork and the show is totally awesome, so it felt like a fitting piece to feature and Hydro74 killed it! Hat’s off to you, sir, thanks for doing what you do!

ELEVEN

DAYS

UNTIL

There is a special boxed edition of Art & Arcana.

The box is a sturdy, clamshell affair and sports sharp design by Hydro74 in place of Larry Elmore’s classic Red Box painting. I dig his work for D&D 5E – super clean with an emphasis on design – and I think he represents a visual seachange for the game in a way similar to how Brom and DiTerlizzi expanded horizons in the 90s. He’s a solid choice for the cover here.

Aside of the box and the different cover art, the special edition contains two other goodies. The first is a pile of large art reproductions, which are cool, but folded, which leaves me ambivalent. The second is worth the price of admission: a reproduction of Gary Gygax’s original tournament version of Tomb of Horrors, printed in the style of the small original D&D pamphlet books.

This thing is great. It is basically just Gygax’s typewritten game notes and some super crude yet endearing illustration depicting tableaus familiar to anyone who has flipped through the commercially released module. It is a fantastic little artifact – a sense of history practically wafts off it. It is a thought-provoking contrast to the slickness of much of the art in the main book and a clear reminder of the hobby’s humble beginnings.

Which brings me to something I couldn’t mention yesterday because I ran out of space. One of the best things about Art & Arcana is the sense it gives you that all it contains is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, of course it is – an exhaustive catalog of D&D art would run thousands of pages. But Art & Arcana stands as a kind of monument to the endless potential of Dungeons & Dragons – it is a primer for a visual language that will has evolved over the last 40+ years and will continue to grow as the years go on.

‘Captain Phasma’

Some amazing colours and deep reds in this piece that just makes it to die for. Can see this hanging in any star wars fan’s house.

Artist: Hydro74

K2SO

Nocturnal Wisdom - by Hydro74

May the 4th on a Friday was pretty special. Got my tickets to Solo at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and posted a TON of amazing fan art from most of my favorite artists on Instagram.

But, you can’t have May the 4th without Revenge of the 5th! And thanks to @hydro74-blog, we get this badass piece with the Imperial Guard flanked by Stormtroopers!!!

594 Days until Episode IX

and

ONLY

TWENTY

DAYS

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