UPDATE: The GZ 2020 Project!

Kinjite 2020

For those who have been following my pages, you have probably noticed the new black and white artwork posted with character names followed by 2020. This is the GZ 2020 project and I'm here to tell you what that is going to pertain to.

First and foremost, I am taking on the vast challenge to redraw almost all my characters in sharp updated scale. This is no small feat as we start with heroes and progress to villains. And while I'm doing all black and white right now, I will soon be starting in on digital coloring. But what else is happening?

This art is not only going to provide fresh new views of my best characters but apply to a couple of other projects:

NEW GAME: I'm working on a new cooperative card game that will allow up to 4 players (as heroes) with one player acting as host for the threats (that can be a 5th player if you wish). These threats will be none other than the best and worst GZ has to offer with new fantastic monsters (hint, you've already seen them) and villains with henchmen. There will be diabolical traps and incidents you must overcome in order to thwart your main villains master plot. This will utilize character building and multi-d6 combat. Recent game testing  has been very good to us so it's exciting to dig in on building this game!

NEW DATABASE: I'm working on plans for a new database that will also feature the art and details about all the characters. There is a possibility of this coming to book format through Amazon. You can learn all there is to learn about the GZ universe (well almost).

NEW COLORING BOOK: As a follow up to my coloring book Amazing Characters, you will get your own chance to color in these pictures. There will be at least 50 pics to color and enjoy.

And that isn't all. I stopped on work for GZ Tales vol 3 last year because of a number of issues that we don't need to revisit. The important thing is that I will be bringing it back to the front burner and working on new stories. As before these tales will tie in with novels and previous shorts from volumes 1 and 2. You know what that means? If you haven't yet, you need to dive into this universe a and get some experience with it! As always, there is the link in the upper right that leads to my Amazon author's page, but I'll give you a couple of the best links right here to get you started. The best part about this, is that you can read digitally (no waiting for delayed shipments) for just 99 cents! Super cheap!

GZ Tales Vol 1

Chessmen  Opening Moves

But do peruse the authors page HERE for ebooks that are all super affordable and fun to read.

So do stay tuned to my twitter and facebook because there are lots of update posts to come! It's going to be a wild year and I'm busting but to make it happen! Stay safe and healthy out there!

Two Projects coming to a slow down, Fallout76, however...

There is so much going on and I need to touch on all of it. I have greatly enjoyed bringing happiness to the Fallout community with my new scale of Fallout art that you get to color yourself; that was 100% supported by you the player with your submissions of in game photos. Your support past that has been wonderful too. Unfortunately, this is not meeting my new need of groceries and medications. Those cost. So I will have to do more toward efforts that I can be paid for and less on the freebie work.

I've done enough of the FCCP art and Chef adventures to fill 6 coloring books and you can download and print all of it for free. Other artist friends think I've gone completely insane. Who does that much free work? Well, for the joy it brings and hopefully will continue to bring, it's worth it in these trying times. People who are stuck at home can print out and color pages for that added distraction and relaxation with a side dish of silliness. Just what the doctor ordered. I did it for you.

That doesn't mean I'm not going to draw anymore of them. But there won't be near as big of releases as before and they will be released on a more spontaneous schedule. Kind of as I do them.

Now, if people want to ORDER a page from me I am happy to do custom work for a minimal charge. I will even drop the price to 7 dollars a page via paypal. I was doing 15. So hit me up if you want something special done that is just for you and will only be released to the public by you. That puts you at the head of the line because I always do paid work first. Like I said, I find myself in a need of groceries and meds for my MS.

You see, since moving to a new state and having everything shut down, I haven't been able to get a new doctor for me or my son. We are running out of important medications. So I have to put efforts into these things and try to push for what we need.

I am working on two new coloring book projects that I have posted teasers to so I hope you will be watching. I also have new character work coming for GZ with the 2020 project.

So there we are. I hope to still see you at my page!

FCCP Behind the scenes: Making pictures fit (Fallout 76 coloring pages)

If you've been following along, you know that I'm the artist who started the Fallout Community Coloring Project (FCCP). I've drawn well over 70 free coloring pages so far with requests to compile into a coloring book. The community response has been awesome and lots of people have contributed their in game photos for me to potentially draw.

Most of what I get I can draw and fit in the frame for a coloring page pretty easily. Sometimes, however, the best results come from a few alterations of space and detail. Today I'm going to give you a couple of examples. Let's start here:

BEFORE

AFTER

Whoa! There are some major changes going on there. I draw in photoshop and utilize tricks to bring things together. I brought everyone closer, added some baubles to the tree, omitted suit guy's backpack, and corrected her wardrobe malfunction. Click on images for closer view. To break those down on the last two, the seated guy in a suit had a backpack on that was digitally  merging with the couch. The lady's hand was merging through her dress into her lap. That's just how Fallout objects go when they are close to each other. It's not a perfect system. It's easy enough to correct when drawing the picture. 

BEFORE

AFTER

As you can see, after I drew in our dancing couple, I zoomed in on the tent and made for more active background to color. The giant rock is nice and all, but comes across as blank ground after you draw it in and thus dead space.  So now there is something active to color in the background without losing the action of the scene.

I have to say the community has been wonderful and I am still working on the ways one or more coloring books may happen. The update on that is that I am in process of moving across states, doing the FCCP coloring book will have to wait until I finish moving. I will update on that more as time draws near. Hopefully you will have a book by this summer. 

As for the rest of the images, if you have not seen them all, you can view them at my page HERE. Just click on PHOTOS and there are two albums. 

If you really love my work and want to help me keep it going, consider ways to support your favorite artists HERE. 

Until next time... thanks for reading and I am still accepting new images, just know that it takes about 3 weeks to get to a new person on the list. In about 3 weeks I will be restarting on my list of people unless new folks add in.

UPDATE: An open letter to Bethesda Games and call out to fans

Dear Bethesda,

I have made attempts to contact you and even emailed your marketing head directly. I want it understood in an open and public place where the world is my witness. I am doing something positive and good for a community I care about. The response of the community has been overwhelmingly positive and while I've done all these hours of work for free (you know full well what artwork costs, just ask your budget department) the fans of the work asked for a compilation of those works in book form, IE coloring book.

I am of course talking about the Fallout Community Coloring Project (FCCP) where I take player submitted photos of Fallout 76 and draw them into highly detailed high resolution coloring pages. I currently have over 400 submissions by a total of 107 players. I have completed over 70 of said images and I release new ones every Saturday. I do not ask for any payment for that work but I do offer 7 other coloring books on Amazon as well as novels and compilations.

So what am I asking you for. Essentially your blessing to give your fans what they want of this project and nothing more. I am not asking you to pay me for my artwork, sales in coloring books have no chance of hurting you in any fashion nor could they compete with your bottom line. And finally, the public relations could only serve to help you and boost you by giving said blessing to put out these books. Yes, there are enough submissions to make two or three at this point.

Being that this is 100% community supported with players sending their personal experiences to the project and that they get image credit listed on every image used; it seems to me there is a niche to fair use that might cover this. But who wants to argue over that?  I'm asking for your support because it can only make you look good. You will give players a whole new reason to play. You will show new players what they are missing in a market you scarcely exist in. And best of all, you have zero financial risk in the matter. If I put out coloring books that I make a total of a dollar fifty a book on and only 20 books ever sell, that loss is 100% mine. Furthermore, people who video their game play arguably make way more than that on monetized accounts, and since that is allowed I would  think me getting a buck a book would pale in comparison.

I hope you can see that this is not just "fan art", it is a collection of actual player experiences put to use for all of them to enjoy. I'm asking you to support that. I'm also asking those same fans to tell you as well I'm doing right now. I'm asking all the fans of this project to share it with you directly to show you how the unique interest in this works.

Since I have your emailed permission to at least continue drawing... that  exactly what I will do. If 70 pictures doesn't move you, I'll aim for 700. Why? Because there is another side to this. An outlet allowing me to use what is left of my artistic ability as Multiple sclerosis slowly destroys my nervous system. So I'm doing something big and this is where I chose to do it. So please, can we have your blessing?  You can email me at Galaxyzento@gmail.com anytime to talk.

Yours truly
A real fan
DJ Wilde

Great Big Announcement! Two New Coloring Books!

With the holidays right around the corner, this announcement couldn't come at a better time. Fans of artwork and coloring books alike will love these because I'm not releasing one but TWO new coloring books!

The first to come by (hopefully) the end of the month will be the Wilde World of Reptiles and Amphibians. It will boast over 40 lifelike images of amazing creatures to color. Alligators, crocodiles, frogs, toads, lizards and snakes of several types will grace the pages. A glossary in the back will tell you what animal you are coloring just in case you aren't sure. I drew all images from photo models for the best details. It will be a fantastic animal experience! If you've been following my work recently, you have already seen quite a few examples. There are pictures in this book however that will not be available anywhere else.

The second book is this years major project. It's a life parody with gory humor called Zombie Town USA!  The premise is what it would or could look like if zombies carried one with society. It will be loaded with over 30  images filled with hidden jokes and zombie easter eggs! Current votes from my test viewers put it at nothing less than hilarious! But there is one more very special point. There is a group called Southern Geekfest and they are some awesome geek people. Their noble leader, Rafe White invented his own zombie persona called Reanimated Rafe.

Well, as a special nod to Southern Geekfest, Reanimated Rafe will be in the book! Rafe knows what he looks like but isn't allowed to share that just yet! But he can now tell you that his zombie persona will be in this book!  I aim to have  it out by the last week of September or first week of October!

You only get to see this information right here and the books will be available through Amazon! Stay tuned for more incredible updates!

Seeking Amazing Creators

I want to do something for my fellow creators out there. By creators, I mean writers, authors, artists, illustrators, and more. Who knows who or what I will find, but that's the idea. Of course there are some parameters.

I'm looking for the types of creators who fit the vision of Galaxy Zento. So I won't be seeking out things like romance, erotica, historical fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, or westerns. Does anyone even write westerns anymore?

I'll be looking for fantasy and adventure in several venues. It is possible some romantic work may fit there as well as some mystery. I'll also take horror.

In art I'll be seeking the most creative and unique styles I can find. Yes, comic book art will be high on my list, but not my only target.

You do not have to be published to gain my interest in writing about you. You do need to have something I can show off about you. That can be a website and some photos of your smiling face. The more you have, the more I can show about you. Follow that with details about what you do, maybe some snippets of your current work in progress and whammo. Article! All I ask for me to write about you is that you share what I write about you in this blog with all your social media. It can't get easier than that.

I write all about you and you share. Simple and effective.

Articles of this kind will be titled "Amazing Creators" followed by your name (or whoever's name).

And that's it. Want to be considered? Just send me a message on any of my social media or comment on this blog. Give me links to your website, FB page, and twitter if you have any of it. Instagram works too.

Let's do some good for creators!