Tooth & Claw

Behind The Scenes - Update 3
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 04:50:56 PM

Hey everyone, Anna here bringing a special behind the scenes update and some news about where Tooth & Claw currently is.

As a first time creator, Shanice's initial estimate of August may have proven to be a little bit ambitious for all the stretch goal content but she's determined to try and get it out for late August/ September and I'm sure we're all fine with a little delay if it means more polished entries, right?

Great, glad we're all in agreement there :) 

But I started by saying this was a special behind the scenes update and I mean it, I have something really fun to show you. 

A sneak peek of The Basilisk!

As Shanice said during the campaign, Tooth & Claw is a mixture of completely original creatures and reimaginings of established mythological beasts and what better mythical creature to try and science out than the basilisk. With petrifying gaze and questionable parentage, the basilisk has shifted so much in its depictions across the ages that its difficult to find a "true" depiction of it other than the snake.

So rolling with that, Shanice has been envisioning how such a creature might behave, what it might look like, and what effect it's lesser known mythical powers would have on the land around it.

But while all that is very cool and interesting, what I really wanted to show is her Placeholder Art. 

I for one would be happy to have a book full of art like that as I find it hilarious but Shanice is adamant that she's going to keep up the quality she's shown in the other reveals.

Bleh.

So before this beautiful snek is consigned to the placeholder graveyard, let us all take a moment to appreciate its majesty.

Oh, and you can get a little sneaky preview on some of the basilisk's info before it too gets editorially bushwhacked.

Until next time, thank you all again from me and Shanice! :)

Progress Update - First Month
almost 3 years ago – Sun, May 30, 2021 at 10:04:21 PM

Hey everyone, sorry for the silence there, I'd been wrapped up with other things and didn't realise that it'd been a month since the campaign ended.

Over the past month I've been coming up with ideas for the various Tooth & Claw creatures and playing around with layout to try get as much useful information in as I can. 

I'm still mostly in the research and design stage but I do have a little sneak peek to share with you.

This isn't the final art and I might drop the snow effect entirely but the concept is that the Slider Whales hunt in packs with one member launching up onto land in order to hit or scare prey into the water where the rest of the pack can catch them. Adventurers may or may not count as prey.

Their hunting method is very much inspired by bottlenose dolphins (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVJ_sbmw07M)

Their disruptive camouflage makes it hard to see them while they're under the water and their reinforced underside has sled like protrusions that help it pick up speed and cut through the snow easier.

Oh, and I made two versions of the Slider Whale's camouflage and while the votes have been almost unanimously wavy I'd like to hear your opinions. Which do you prefer Wavy (above) or stripes (below)?

I've also been looking at classic fantasy creatures like the Ents and Kraken and while I won't spoil too much, let's just say that the coconut octopus is a big inspiration for the latter.

So, small update just now as I'm not too sure what else to write here except that I'm still alive and still on schedule and thanks again for backing :)

Second Zine Unlocked!
almost 3 years ago – Thu, May 27, 2021 at 12:54:41 PM

We made it! We've unlocked the final stretch goal, a second Tooth and Claw zine about the fantasy creatures of the deep! This will be a second A5 zine of at least 24 pages and will be sent out to everyone who backed along with the first. I will exercise all of my self control and not call it "Beak & Flipper".

Thanks again for all the support, You guys made all this possible!

So we're about to head into the last 48 hours so lets take a look at what we have:

- The main Tooth & Claw field guide

- An entomology mini-zine featuring useful fantasy bugs

- A dungeon creatures mini-zine featuring some reimagined classics

- A second A5 field guide on aquatic fantasy creatures

- And a PDF of Tooth & Claw quest hooks and Apothecaria reagents!

Home stretch!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Mar 01, 2021 at 10:22:55 AM

Thank you all so much for the support so far! We're so close to the final stretch goal, a second zine all about aquatic creatures. If we hit it, the second zine, like the mini-zines we've unlocked so far, will be sent out to all backers as part of your pledge. Print for print tier backers, digital for digital backers.

I'm so psyched to get to make Tooth & Claw a reality!

Quest hook stretch goal unlocked!
about 3 years ago – Sat, Feb 27, 2021 at 05:19:52 AM

Hey guys! 

We've passed the £2000 mark and unlocked the quest hook stretch goal! 

Anna Blackwell (Apothecaria) and I will be working together to create a bunch of quest hooks and plot ideas surrounding the creatures in Tooth & Claw. This will be sent out as a PDF to all backers.

On a side note: Anna will be making a reagents list for Apothecaria that lets you find and interact with the Tooth & Claw creatures which she's putting up on Itch.io for free. This could be handy for you if you've backed Apothecaria or even if you fancy using the ideas for your own campaign.