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Hi all. Over the last couple weeks we have been providing you with more and more art related to a Secret Project, partially with the intention of providing you with Early Access, and partially with the intention of getting feedback to make positive changes before the project is ready to go.

However, there have been two growing issues:

First: a lot of Patrons have taken this as license to make clear, often at length, that the images we are producing are not how they imagined the scenes were in their head, and therefore should be changed to fit those scenes. This is happening in the comments, on r/Warformed, and in DMs on multiple platforms, and is not ok.

Second: other Patrons, with good intention, are asking for more to be added to these scenes to make them fit exactly as described in the book.

We'd like to address these two issues with a warning for the first group, and an explanation to the second.

First, to those who feel it's necessary to ask for changes because a scene is not how they imagined it in their head: we will no longer be tolerating these comments and messages. It's one thing to say "Oh that's not how I imagined it!" and another entirely to say "Why can't she be over here?! And what if you added this thing?!". 

These scenes are directed by Bryce, and while there are certainly details in need of fixing (like the strike plate needing to be white rather than black in the most recent image, with a black handle) often what you see is less creative license and more Bryce directing the piece to balance ease for the artists and accuracy in a scene.

Related to ease of the artist, to those who mean well by pointing out that the scenes are sometimes not exactly true to the book: we appreciate your intention and desire to see these scenes brought to life entirely accurately, but the reality is that it's just not possible with the project we have in mind 😅 We are going to be producing anywhere from 12 to 24 of these illustrations for the contents of Book 1 alone, and if any of you are creators I'm sure you know that good art is not cheap, and we have to draw a line on time and budget somewhere. Adding multiple characters, adding exact details, editing to make things perfect... All of that adds not only to the price of these pieces, but to the time and energy Bryce has to focus on other things, like actually writing Book 2. Just as an example, reviewing this post and okaying it for posting dug out 20min of the time Bryce had set aside to try to get you guys 11.5 this afternoon.So again, while we appreciate your enthusiasm, we ask that you consider that no adaptation from one medium to another is ever 100% accurate, especially when there are budget limitations.

Of course, this is NOT us telling you not to give us feedback! We're making adjustments to Viv's bust size, and adding the circular laser scars that have been missing from Rei's skin, so we are definitely hearing you! We're just asking you to consider if your criticism is reasonable and constructive moving forward 😁

Thanks all!

-the Wraithmarked team

Comments

Tommy DANGerous

What? No! If you stop sharing illustrations because of trolls, can you just create another higher subscription tier for those who don’t care about giving criticisms and just want more content eg art and just appreciate what’s given to them?

Wilson Lessley

I’m just stoked to see all the illustrations! It’s so cool to see one of my favorite books brought to life. I hope the bad apples can learn some humility and just enjoy the awesome content!

Lori

The art is amazing! Love seeing it!

Jeffrey V.

Whoever is being a dick....stop. It's that very crap that led to Antonio Terzini not finishing his series of Dantes Immortality.

Marz

I’ve been enjoying seeing the illustrations. We don’t need giant assholes. We need more pictures of spiderma…I mean Rei and the gang!

Alexander Raddler

Love seeing it for sure. And unless criticism is asked for, keep it to yourself. Shouldn't be that hard. Bryce knows what he's doing.

Amanda Jones

*death glares while grumbling* Karens begone! Stop being Twats, and leave our precious Bryce alone

Charles Miller

Look haters...reading and being able to use your imagination is great...use the images to enhance your experience as the end reader...YOU are not the creator...that beautiful brain child belongs to the author...modify you understanding...don't try to force a creator to your narrative....thats crap and ruins the creative process...Bryce, I love seeing the artwork, keep it coming and rub the haters or people trying to change your vision off your shoulder...love the work

Kyo

Legit haven't seen any of these comments they're talking about lol

Georgina Shultz

I love seeing the art! And, yeah, it isn't exactly how I pictured it in my head, but (other than Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn) it never is. My head cannon images are mine, I don't ever expect them to match precisely with what other people have in their heads. Honestly, I would be a little creeped out if every piece of art was exactly how I imagined it.

Rusty Barnes

Sounds great guys, I'm just excited to see this art. It's all beautiful. Mostly, I hope that it fits Bryce's idea of how everything should look. For that, I hope the artists are super accommodating.

Rusty Barnes

I wish I could put a gif comment

Wraithmarked Creative

Your most recent one is an example of it, Kyo. Fair warning. EDIT: in fact, it appears you made that comment immediately after reading this. That's unfortunate. You will be refunded this months pledge. Goodbye.

Shaolas

Huge fan of seeing what you guys are posting. I highly encourage everyone who wants to bitch about a detial to create the art with that detail in it themselves. As others have said, patronage is not ownership.

Andrew Tobin

I’ve really enjoyed the art. I know some people pointed out instances like Aria not wearing her uniform, and in the recent one I wondered if Rei wasn’t wearing his Grandcrest uniform due to his status and I checked and I saw it said “black shirt” a couple of times in the text, but I figured the images were more in the spirit of the moment… or heck, it might have changed in the printed version and I just haven’t read that. I decided to hold off mentioning it in case it was read in a negative light, and I could see how so much pickiness could wear on someone. I would almost suggest someone reading the feedback and passing it on, to save Bryce the frustration… but I know it’d be hard for me to stay away from my community. idk. Just thanks guys for what you’re giving us, and I’m sorry you’re dealing with this.

Garrett Massey

Ignore these fools. You guys are creating amazing work through your writing and illustrations. I’m enjoying all the work and effort you are putting in to this story. Thanks for everything!!

scott hank

It’s a real shame that people have been behaving this way. I want to convey my sympathies for the behavior that some have been displaying as well as thank everyone involved for all the wonderful art that they’ve been putting so much effort into. Seriously thank you all so much.

Preston Elder

At the risk of being contrary, since I am almost sure that some of my comments are the target of this post. I know for myself, I usually either ask questions because I am legitimately curious or want to know the answer (for example what the white motes are), or I comment with the expectation that other patrons or reddit posters might read and reply, not necessarily the artist or creator. And I am not asking for changes, more commenting how I thought something would be different - which is not a criticism. No offence, but this post does have a little 'shut up and take what you're given and be happy about it!' feel - and feels less like you want to have an interactive community who engages with each other (and sometimes the creator), and more wants to have a collection of sycophants who will ooh and ahh and boost egos. If that was not your intention, I apologize, it IS however the tone that is given by this post. I know you are often not asking for feedback, comments, etc - especially for the rough chapters. But most of the time, at least in public posts, the comments are people expressing opinions or discussions with other reddit folks or patrons - not aimed at you. Speaking personally, that is my cause for posting - to engage with the community of other fans at large. And I neither expect my post to be read by the creator (knowing sometimes it is, most times is not), nor expect any changes nor am I requesting them (for example me stating I thought his CAD would be more of a glove than knuckle dusters is in no way a criticism of the art, nor requesting a change, though I did expect others might also comment on it with "I thought so too, but this is cool" for example). If I am not the target of your post, or you have been offended by my comments here or on reddit, once again I apologize, I truly mean no disrespect and I have the utmost respect not only for what you do, but the time you commit to this project. Especially how above and beyond you have gone with having this fantastic artwork created, which is a treat to see.

Reaperess

Dude I'm so sorry you have had to deal with that. These are just cool additions as far as I'm concerned. I love seeing this stuff, and if sometimes it's not exactly how I saw it in my head, so what? I get things wrong all the time. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Andrew Tobin

I get where you’re coming from, and I agree about wanting to discuss it with others, but you can also get where they’re coming from. Sometimes it’s not about how you mean something and it’s about how it’s taken, and the guys are reading every comment as direct feedback.

Preston Elder

Yeah - but I am not sure they should be. Most of my comments, and I assume the comments of most people are not so much direct feedback, but more opinions they are expressing to everyone, for discussion, or the community. I can see how they would be hurt if they expect every comment is directed to them personally. And yes, some are and are specific on saying XYZ should be changed. But it's easy to ignore those people. "If you think you can do better, go do it! Go make some fan art or something." Most comments are complimentary and discussion provoking though. And should be encouraged to get the community involved. It's hard to get a community discussion around a "cool pic, bro!" post - which is why some opinion is needed for a vibrant community. But that doesn't mean they are attacking the author or artist.

Andrew Tobin

While I tend to agree in principle, it’s just not the reality of how it’s being taken… and us telling them how they should take the comments isn’t being appreciated and being taken as additional criticism. Like I said, sometimes it’s about how it’s received, not intended - and it’s their community we’ve joined to be part of. I’ve tried to run communities before and sometimes you get to that point 🤷‍♂️

Preston Elder

Is it still a community then? or a circle jerk? Which, I guess is communal ;) And yes, that IS a joke Patreon gods.

LeaphyMoon

Come on guys, this art 8s being directed by the author. . He knows what he's doing. And if it doesn't match 100% then its for a reason.

Tim Carter

Tune out the negativity and remember a vast majority of us love ANY content we can get😁 so ignore the haters!

Joe Barzilai

This is one of those times I'm glad that I generally ignore the details and just enjoy the general concept. I'm enjoying everything you all are doing and love the art direction. Make any changes you need to make your project a success.

Linda Thompson

Well I think the artwork you’ve been giving us is amazing (and as you say “it’s a work in progress”). It’s not their head this imaginary is coming from but yours, as it’s your world and we’re just visiting. Again, I say I love what I’m seeing and I thank you for sharing your vision.

Joe Barzilai

I fundamentally disagree with what you're saying here. This post by Wraithmarked isn't about "shut up and take what you're getting". It's about the tone of the posts here and on reddit. I've seen a lot of "the book version was better and you NEED to change it". They are the creators, they can do whatever they want with their craft. When a book changes medium it naturally changes to match the new medium, just like a film adaptation. I think this post is that folks need to change their tone and the type of language they are using because there is a difference between feedback and just complaining. If the community feedback isn't helpful to the creative process, the author will just stop giving us previews, he's not obligated to. A good example is in your post you did a good job asking the question about white motes, but then deviated to more strong language in the same sentence saying that "it didn't make sense in front of the table or Rei". That's a good example of a good question but unnecessary commentary about the artistic license that is nitpicky.

Wraithmarked Creative

Yeeeeeah that's where you lost us, Preston. You were fine until that point. You will be refunded this month's pledge. Goodbye. EDIT: For anyone reading after the fact, Preston's initial comments on the last illustration were borderline, but not so bad as to deserve mentioning. Implying that the community is a circle jerk, on the other hand, is a different story. No amount of $s pledged per month is worth someone having a negative influence on this space. Thank you all for understanding.

Francis

Yes, Andrew is right, it is their community, so they are the ones deciding the rules. People have different personalities and you have to respect that Preston

Francis

You guys should definitely stop posting on Reddit. That place is almost as bad as fb

Mike Frenkel

Hey guys. Just figured I’d apologize, seeing as one of my comments was exactly what you’re referring to. It’s not that I don’t like the artwork. I do. Any visual interpretation of literary characters is good. It’s just that I imagined it differently, and pointed those differences out in a somewhat offensive manner, and for that I’m sorry. As an aside, I can’t wait to see what you guys do with The Lasher!

Wraithmarked Creative

No worries Mike, we appreciate you reaching out. As long as you understand where we're coming from moving forward, there shouldn't be an issue.

Bill

I'm not one to comment in general, but take a deep breath guys. You are putting out a great product that people are excited to talk about, good or bad. Constructive or not constructive. You can only control what YOU do. You put your art out there for the world, you have to accept what comes back. Trying to control online discourse isn't generally a good look for any organization. Just keep doing what works.

Doug Wills

People can say whatever they want. But if people are gonna make showing stuff off to people suck. They won't do it. I don't see the issue here.

Wraithmarked Creative

that may be the case on public platforms and venues, but my first priority is not only my own mental health and enjoyment of my work, but that of my employees. so when people choose to act in a way that does not add to the conversation of this Patreon in a healthy way, we can choose to either remove those people form the Patreon, or remove the product that is the centerpoint of that unhealthy interaction. in this case, the individuals who have consistently provided nothing but deconstructive feedback and problematic interactions have been removed, saving us from having to stop posting illustrations. if, however, people don't consider where we're coming from with the above points, we will simply stop providing additional material and save it all for public release instead. -bryce

Wraithmarked Creative

ha. r/Warformed is pretty good by most standards, and is definitely where we get the vast majority of our Patrons from.

LawBear2005

I tend not to comment on illustrations, I am just impressed that they can make something so incredibly cool looking. Accuracy should be for something like a manga. Which would be REALLY cool.

Decorus

I’m going with stormweaver comic book.