Our Brilliant Ruin - TTRPG Book
Very grateful to work with so many talented people on this, and very proud of how it turned out.
I was responsible for art direction and delivery of print ready files along with graphic design and a few illustrations here and there.
PDF available for free at DriveThruRPG.com
https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/product/476564/Our-Brilliant-Ruin-Roleplaying-Game
Full Credits:
Written by Justin Achilli, Pam Punzalan, and Rachel J. Wilkinson
Additional Setting Design by Toiya Kristen Finley, Kacin Galvanek, Evan McKenzie, Seven Tirse, and Jabari Weathers
Editing by Edward Austin Hall
Concept Diversity Consultancy and Diversity Reading by Toiya Kristen Finley
Art Director: Andy Foltz
Cover Art: Andy Foltz
Interior Art and Illustration: Chelsea Chan, Andy Foltz, Quintin Gleim, Artun Gokcen, Pavel Golovii, Ryan Grady, Kristine Houston, Victoria Imo, Joey Macalle, Evan McKenzie, Efrem Palacios, German Roverso, Jess Seto, Seven Tirse, Jabari Weathers, Brian Wells, Shane White
Graphic Design and Layout: Andy Foltz, George Lamontagne and Stephen Brown
Project Manager: Leigh Cook
Proofreading and Indexing: Jason Schneiderman
Printing by Regent Publishing Services Limited
Some fantastic public domain imagery was used, especially from The Rijksmuseum. I'm very grateful to the Public Funding and sponsors that make this incredible resource possible.
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en
Special edition cover
Brill pattern spot varnish on end papers
The marbled gilt pattern on the page edges proved too difficult to produce reliably at an acceptable quality level. But a few survived.
I took a little extra time to color code the index for legibility and ease of use.
Gloom Pattern Spot Varnish on End Papers
Back cover of Special Edition, Embossed and Foil Printed on Clothbound Cover
Blender mockup of the standard edition
I gathered color palettes allegedly popular in our reference time period, digested them into a palette, then pulled from that to create distinctive color sets for the main factions and families.
A rough color plan for chapters that we loosely followed.
Early test layouts for art direction. I wanted to show how we could push boundaries of color and typography while maintaining a sense of unity. While diverse, these still belong together.
Early test layouts for art direction. I wanted to show how we could push boundaries of color and typography while maintaining a sense of unity. While diverse, these still belong together.
Early test layouts for art direction. I wanted to show how we could push boundaries of color and typography while maintaining a sense of unity. While diverse, these still belong together.
Early test layouts for art direction. I wanted to show how we could push boundaries of color and typography while maintaining a sense of unity. While diverse, these still belong together.
Scanned book samples for period correct typography. It was a place to start... not the destination!
Early cover explorations in Blender
Early cover explorations in Blender
Early cover explorations in Blender
I went to a local game shop, took a few photos to get an idea of which colors were common to help me understand expectations and how we could stand out.
Picking out materials was fun, but a little tricky. We could only borrow the swatch samples, so I took photos in various lighting conditions for reference before we returned the samples.