Art by Terry Maranda

Flak Cannon – A Prison Ship preview

Terry Maranda — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:49:10 +0000

After many hours my friend Wes and I have finally finished the preview to our big prison ship project. So without further chatter here’s the video! (click full screen to embiggen)

I worked on the concepts and UV textures, which was more fun than I thought it would be. Wesley did the 3D, animation and overall I’m really happy with the outcome here and I can’t wait to show all of you the big prison ship….it’s going to be a while.

Terra Incognita Map Gallery

Terry Maranda — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:45:00 +0000

Hey quick update,

The Soho Gallery in New York is supposedly going really well and they have had a very successful opening night. This is all being organized by a fellow cartographer Jonathon Roberts ( click to see all his artwork) and it looks like’s doing an awesome job.

Here’s a shot of one of my works on the wall, you can also find a whole bunch of photo’s of other cartographers, from what I see they’re is a really great group of artists there, including an illustrator for Dungeons and Dragons books. I’m not in New York but if you are you should go now! Reading half-way legible blog posts is no way to spend your summer! For those like me, who are far far away from the Empire State you can all look through what maps are showcased annnnnd make some sweet purchases wink wink (I get majority of the sale percentage on my prints soooo yeah, wink) anyone interested for some fantasy geography on your wall click here.

That’s about it for now, in other news I’m working some textures for the big 3D turret personal project with my friend and you’ll all see it soon, just the first time I’ve done textures in five years and I’m being forced by gunpoint to use Maya instead of 3DsMax so it’s going a bit slow.

Denizen of Daedonas – Degune Slaver

Terry Maranda — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:02:35 +0000

Illustration I sketched out from time to time while sitting outside in this so far nice summer.

Degune Slaver -

Anyone interested in reading about the People Degune follow thiiiiiiis link. I also realize what I wrote was a bit sparing, Daedonas sure does need a huge content update HINT.

This Slaver is equipped with both pacifier Armor and Mace, used to beat and bludgeon captives without causing any mortal wounds, as well as a bola to capture any fleeing slaves. Small carrying items include various trinkets and jewelry for superstitious purposes, a string of ring-disc coins – the common currency and a pouch of jiggle-berries, a thick skinned very succulent berry known for it’s astonishing thirst quenching.

Tyrael – Archangel of Justice

Terry Maranda — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:57:58 +0000

Hello there faceless amorphous interweb blob. (except my mom who said she reads this, hi mom)

For three weeks – on weekends and evenings after work, I’ve been illustrating my first set of armor. It’s really great to have my first based off a blizzard video game character, one who’s wicked awesome wings of light blew me away when I was 15. Tyrael is by the far the most epic looking angel anyone’s ever designed and I clicked my heels in a jump of joy when I got the commission from DarkSword to do it. So here it is, this saturation of yellow changes per screen so if you’re seeing this as a green stained blob then its your screen I see gold damnit. My artistic girlfriend says I’m not form fitting it well enough to the male torso and I agree with her, but it’s close and again it’s my first so I’ll learn from my mistakes

DarkSword Armory has copyright ownership to above illustration, Blizzard Entertainment has copyright ownership to the name Tyrael.

-More news -

The big prison ship is coming along really nice and my friend Wes has done an awesome job modeling it. I’ll be posting up some work to it very soon.

I was asked by this guy Jon who created a very cool map site to add my map illustrations to a gallery in New York City, he plans on showcasing a bunch of cartography artist’s work and I’ll be throwing in Carthusal and Daedonas, I hope it all goes well. (first time my work in a gallery)

More map work on the way by the good folks working on Sorcery… the TBA date is 2011 and hopefully I can show you amorphous-web-blob the illustrations by then.

Sorcery Map Incoming…Eventually?

Terry Maranda — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:58:20 +0000

Hey everybody, I hope you all checked out this years E3! Revealed was a new game for Playstation’s Move, Sorcery. This winter/early spring I was commissioned to do a map illustration and I’m really itching to post it for you all…Can’t yet though, I’ll release it nice and large once they give the final OK. Until then here’s a shot I got from E3′s live feed…Not a map illustration but…damn the game looks fun.

Nest Slug

Terry Maranda — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:23:35 +0000

It’s creature time! Usually I write more but it’s really hot and ugh…I’m doing a spaceship thing with a 3d artist and you’ll see some previews soon, tis an ambitious project it is…anyway yeah hot.

—add on—

Ok it’s not so hot anymore and I can think.

Under the canopy of Nearwood the Nest Slug slowly slithers up the far reaching trees to reach the high nests of the forest birds. Silently entering the nest during the day when the bird is far from it’s unhatched young, the slug will slide open it’s highly expandable mouth, exposed two sharp plate-like teeth to close in and swallow the egg. Breaking the shell using strong tendon like muscles within the front spined-mantel, the slug swallows it’s feast and slithers back to the forest’s underbrush for the night’s rest. The Spine-Mantled Slug is not without predators and will quickly raise it’s keratin spines to deter and defend itself. These four to six inch long mollusks make for a good meal with their strong protein rich flesh and although the non-toxic spines make it difficult for the people of Daedonas to gather without injury, the taste of a fire seared Nest Slug is worth the effort.

Blade of permitted death

Terry Maranda — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:39:30 +0000

With all the swords I’ve done for DarkSword Armory this one took the most time, it’s also the one I’m most proud of and there’s only one thing about it that bugs me…but I’m not going to point it out There was a few different vine variations but in the end the client was happy, which is what counts. My initial design had much larger vinework with all sorts of demons and tortured souls writhing and holding onto the vines, it turned out to be too modern and lacked the 16th century feel. But like I said, client happy = Terry happy.

Besides the sword here I’m trying to paint a creature ultra realistic, I’ll have it up here eventually. I’ve been trying to stretch my legs with different challenges, like my past full forest illustration and island landscape. I’m doing my best to improve my art and the last thing I need at this stage is to get style stagnant.

There’s this art site I came across two or three weeks ago (days/weeks/months/years are a blur and giving exact dates are near impossible) and I made a cartography group to gather the small amount of map illustrators on that site, the group has been alive for three days now and it’s already pretty sterile. But I expected that since I’m the one who started it, I’m not a big-fun-party-host-thisisawesomewootbestcommunityeverwoot kind of guy and now I don’t know what to do with it….let’s talk about maps? hell all I really want to do with maps is post the one I did a few months ago that still hasn’t given me an NDA release…anyway enjoy the swords and as usual their property of DarkSword Armory and any ripping off these images will have sword wielding lawyers coming your way and there really isn’t anything more fearful than that.

Err by forest stream

Terry Maranda — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:51:49 +0000

And finally here is the illustration, I spoke of a few times.

This illustration’s quality is completely dependent on your screen, it’s either a success or a failure based on the brightness of the computer screen you’re using. If your screen is dark then the lighting works, the characters are a good contrast, things are hidden well in the shadows. If your screen is bright then this whole artwork looks pretty bad. Hopefully you’re one of the fortunate.

This was originally for an illustration book for Montreal artists ERRI, it was due March 15th and I was going to have it in time no problem, but at the beginning of March I found out I needed to supply two illustrations, not one and I backed out. Not a big deal, it was all mostly an incentive for me to do a full-out illustration, which I rarely do. So here it is, took me 8 to 10 weeks on off after work or on weekends. I spent countless hours on the damn trees and really learnt a lot about light and distance. I also learnt I still know near nothing about light and distance. So while I feel this may not be up to caliber to my other character/creature illustrations it was still a pretty good study, even if I might have spent too much time on it. Enjoy (especially if you have a dark screen)

Click/Slurp/Chant

Terry Maranda — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 02:33:50 +0000

Two beasts and a concept sheet for the avian priestess are here for ye.

I saw a video on the discovery channel about this fly; born all white and soft, it will blow air bubbles into these stubby eyes, elongating them into these long stalks. With videos like that it didn’t take me long to start sketching up a bug-like monster with similar eyes. Inspiration for my drawings will come from all places but then there’s the times where a rough stroke of my pencil turns into something I had no intention of drawing, I could be romantic and say this mudsifter thing was born of scratch of graphite one afternoon, but really I googled pictures of slugs before starting on this guy…thank you internet, again.

So soon I’ll have up the big illustration I’ve been working on slowly for months, the book I planned on entering into it wouldn’t accept me since I needed to submit two illustrations, it sucks but I was only entering as an incentive to finish this foresty nightmare. But is basically done, I’m just going to run it through for final details among a few friends, my art director and my girlfriend who always critics my work with professional harsh truth, which is appreciated but sometimes – ouch. My worst problem with it is that’s never the same on any screen, it’s either a dark hole or so brightly lit you see every rough mistake I thought was hidden in shadow, it’s a mess. But till then, which shouldn’t be too much longer heres two sketches for fun and some concept work to a previous artwork.

Forged Blades and Purple Gentlemen

Terry Maranda — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:42:03 +0000

Today is a link filled post.

Recently DarkSword forged some of the swords I designed/illustrated and now I’m wanting to get paid in swords instead of cash for the next work. I don’t think my girlfriend will mind a giant sword mounted on the wall, it’s decoration and home defense! I read recently about some nerds who were robbed repeatedly, eventually they had enough, entered a nerd-rage (which is common among nerds) and killed the robber with a decorative/real sword. Anyway here’s some of the links to the forged swords and a small image of the swords I did for their company T-Shirt.

Two Handed Norman Two Handed War Sword Two Handed Gothic Sword

I also have here two images I’ve made for a friend who’s making his own video game. It’s a game like ‘ find the one who’s different’ kinda thing, I played it for the levels he had and couldn’t beat it. Let’s see if you can

find the guy who’s lacking class.