So, it’s the end of the year! Time for one of those “here’s the state of and near-future plans of Forge of Ice” posts.
I think this is where you usually say “BIG THINGS ARE COMING IN 2020!”, and, there are (big as in Dragon Turtle sized!), but the immediate priority is finishing the long-overdue Cyclops book & Kickstarter fulfillment.
Good progress is happening with it. I advertised it in the KS as being a 30-page booklet, but the manuscript is currently significantly longer than that. I’m not sure what final page count it’s going to land at, but it’s gonna be more than 30.
After the Cyclops KS is finished, then the Dragon Turtle is gonna happen. Unlike the Cyclops book, it’s finished. Everything is done, and stretch goals are going to be kept to a minimum – I’ve learned my lesson there. Fulfillment will be on a much more realistic time scale, too, with any stretch goals (a couple of additional head sculpts) explicitly adding to the fulfillment time frame.
After that… man, there are a zillion things I want to do. I’ve got those Queen and the Princess sculpts for the royal court of Zor-Al set. The sculpts were done in early 2017! I’m not sure when that set’s ever going to happen at this point. I don’t want to leave those beautiful Kev White sculpts forever unreleased, but I’m not doing another KS for a set of minis with a booklet until the writing & maps are completely finished ever again – the Cyclops set has been a series of lessons learned. I’ve also had the outline written for a similar-sized set for my the Azoran ape-men for years. The Histath snake-men, too. “Demon Servants of the Ape God” and “Lost Tombs of the Serpent Kings” will happen someday, but at this point they’re far beyond the horizon.
I’d also like to do some fantasy figures that are separate from my Pulp Sword and Sorcery/Lost World stuff (the Dragon Turtle will be the first of those), but other than a few sketches those plans are currently nebulous. If the Dragon Turtle does well, I have a few ideas for another premium giant monster, and that’s definitely a fantasy thing, not a Pulp or Lost World critter.
So that’s about where things are at right now. I’m optimistic for 2020. Finishing up the Cyclops project is the ONLY priority at the moment. Once that’s done, then the Dragon Turtle. After that… I dunno. I might take a step back and reassess and reorganize a bit.
I hope everyone is having a safe and fun New Years Eve, and I look forward to having an excellent 2020!