Soon-To-Be Token Arist! Some Questions for YOU (and samples of my work)!

Howdy, all! My name is Fred Lang, and I'm a full-time freelance digital painter.  I've been a tabletop RPG gamer for over thirty years, and stumbled onto Roll20 about two weeks ago. Playing with the system has been incredibly fun (I'm in a D&D NEXT Playtest group with some friends), and I was very intrigued with the Marketplace.  So much so that I'd like to start making packs to sell to fellow Roll20 users. As the Marketplace is a new market for me, I thought it best to come to you, the players and GMs, to see what it is you see trending in your needs for the  Marketplace--what do YOU think the Marketplace needs more of?  Genre is not a problem for me--clients have had me create artwork ranging from Westerns to Sci-Fi to Horror to Super Heroes to Fantasy.  I want to maximize my efforts by bringing YOU what YOU need in-game. I'd like to focus first on player / GM tokens for my first few packs--creatures, NPCs, that kind of thing, then maybe move on to terrain later. Everything I make will be hand-painted digitally specifically for the Roll20 format. I can certainly see myself making a LOT of these packs over the coming years while having a heck of a lot of fun doing 'em, so let me know what you want.  Once I get a feel for what's desired by the player base, I'll get started--probably in about two weeks, once I've completed some other client obligations elsewhere. Thank you in advance for any responses, thoughts and advice.  I'm very excited about what Roll20 means for gamers--I can't wait to contribute to it in my own way. /salute!

Great work, pretty impressive!!!! I haven't gotten around to purchasing anything off the marketplace yet. That said would like to see 1930's ala Cthulhu adventurer tokens, maybe some generic superhero and modern stuff. Objects I would definitely buy. By far hardest thing for me to create. Look forward to browsing your wares.

I'd love to see some class and race-specific packs for D&D or Pathfinder.  That is, if you could make a set of elves which run the gamut of classes, then do the same for half elves, humans, dwarves, etc.  That'd really help players with that all-important token choice.

Star Wars. I have to create most of my tokens, ships, aliens, etc. from Photoshop so Star Wars token packs would be awesome. Perhaps do them by faction?

Hi ya Fred! Fancy meeting you here. Looking forward to see what you come up with.

Anthony B. said: Star Wars. I have to create most of my tokens, ships, aliens, etc. from Photoshop so Star Wars token packs would be awesome. Perhaps do them by faction? Unfortunately, that's something I can't do.  I've worked for Hasbro's Star Wars toy group, and the Lucas NDA I had to sign was longer than the Hasbro one.  I'm sure that copyright trouble would ensue if I started selling packs of their copyrighted figures.  A generic version of space opera characters that skimmed the line and avoided the design elements that make them Star Wars would be the best I could do.  Sorta like buying knockoff products in faraway countries that share little in common with the actual movie / TV show, etc.! *haha*

Greg Taylor (Greytale) said: Hi ya Fred! Fancy meeting you here. Looking forward to see what you come up with. Howdy, Greg!

Would a token for a given creature in a "defeated" pose (like a bandit fallen, bloody and unconscious) for each NPC token be useful, or do most of you just "X" out the defeated NPC or creature when they're defeated?  Do you, as GMs, ever have time to replace a given NPC with a defeated version?

Also, I was curious as to whether 100% custom tokens would be something Roll20 players would be interested in?   The Marketplace can't accomodate that as yet (and I don't think there are plans for that, either, and would thus be outside their responsibility), but if I were to set up an off-site location so that GMs or players could purchase premium, completely unique tokens based on their own characters painted specifically for them and NEVER sold publicly--would there be a market for that?  It'd be more expensive than a regular token pack, but...? Thanks for the responses so far.  You may have noticed that I'm pretty stoked about everything Roll20.  *heh*...

Fred Lang, I would talk to Nolan about the possibility to sell individual tokens rather than packs. :)&nbsp;You can PM him through his profile:&nbsp; <a href="http://app.roll20.net/users/9/nolan-t-j" rel="nofollow">http://app.roll20.net/users/9/nolan-t-j</a> - Gauss

Gauss said: Fred Lang, I would talk to Nolan about the possibility to sell individual tokens rather than packs. :)&nbsp;You can PM him through his profile:&nbsp; <a href="http://app.roll20.net/users/9/nolan-t-j" rel="nofollow">http://app.roll20.net/users/9/nolan-t-j</a> - Gauss Howdy, Gauss! &nbsp;I've already deluged poor Nolan with e-mails, and I offered to take some of my questions here to the forums before I posted here. &nbsp;That poor guy has more to do than answer question upon question from me. &nbsp;*haha* &nbsp;It was my early conversations with him that nixed the "custom token" idea, so I know that it's not something that you guys want to have as your responsibility, which I understand--after all, Roll20 would then take on the role of arbitrator in case I had a dissatisfied customer! &nbsp;And since he doesn't know me at all, there's no way he would know that I refuse to have dissatisfied clients! &nbsp;;-) So it looks like off-site sales through my business PayPal would be the way to go for those "custom" pieces. &nbsp;Everything else will be exclusively through the Roll20 Marketplace as far into the future as I can see! &nbsp;If one day the Marketplace allows the custom token idea, I'll revisit the idea and possibly move it back to Roll20's pages. Of course, this is only if there's any interest in those. &nbsp;The packs are the main focus right now, I'd guess...

Ahhh, ok. :)&nbsp; - Gauss

Having various NPC tokens would be nice like drunkards in a bar, barmaids innkeepers, cooks, butlers, maids, merchants, dancers, musicians, craftsmen or other people tokens to make a boring map that should be full of people come to life. Currently the unconscious token wouldn't be good for too much unless the popular suggestion of having multiple token images assigned to one token come into play... Otherwise having unconscious or sleeping people is just a scene-setting thing, but I personally would love it for when that happens.

@Fred: I echo &nbsp;Aaron's suggestion up above that having racial packs where you span the gamut of classes would be pretty useful.&nbsp; I'd also like to see more map creation "props" or "doodads". &nbsp;Things to help flesh out a map/dungeon. &nbsp;They should be both classical "dungeon" things and maybe more mundane/urban things as well. &nbsp;Here are a few suggestions: jail cells torture racks 'arcane' symbols library tokens (desks, books, shelves, etc) marketplace tokens (vendor stalls, wagons, townspeople) trap tokens (spike traps, pit traps, swinging axes, explosions, etc) spell effects, especially persistent ones (fogs, walls, conjured tentacles, etc) The idea of a custom token is REALLY intriguing to me. &nbsp;I have several players that I KNOW would be into that. &nbsp;As a DM, I could see myself occasionally&nbsp;commissioning a custom token for a particularly nasty bad guy or a recurring villain. &nbsp;I think the key thing will be the price point. &nbsp;I'm not sure how much time you'd invest in something like that, but, I don't think folks would want to pay more than $5 or $10 bucks for a custom token... &nbsp;I dunno if that makes it worthwhile for you or not.&nbsp;

Forge said: @Fred: I echo &nbsp;Aaron's suggestion up above that having racial packs where you span the gamut of classes would be pretty useful.&nbsp; I'd also like to see more map creation "props" or "doodads". &nbsp;Things to help flesh out a map/dungeon. &nbsp;They should be both classical "dungeon" things and maybe more mundane/urban things as well. &nbsp;Here are a few suggestions: jail cells torture racks 'arcane' symbols library tokens (desks, books, shelves, etc) marketplace tokens (vendor stalls, wagons, townspeople) trap tokens (spike traps, pit traps, swinging axes, explosions, etc) spell effects, especially persistent ones (fogs, walls, conjured tentacles, etc) The idea of a custom token is REALLY intriguing to me. &nbsp;I have several players that I KNOW would be into that. &nbsp;As a DM, I could see myself occasionally&nbsp;commissioning a custom token for a particularly nasty bad guy or a recurring villain. &nbsp;I think the key thing will be the price point. &nbsp;I'm not sure how much time you'd invest in something like that, but, I don't think folks would want to pay more than $5 or $10 bucks for a custom token... &nbsp;I dunno if that makes it worthwhile for you or not.&nbsp; Thanks, Forge! &nbsp;Everything you mentioned sounds like a blast to paint, so there are no losers in this entire thread. That's very good.&nbsp; Custom token pricing would have to fall somewhere between "reasonable for a collector of this kind of thing to consider purchasing" and "cost effective for me, the artist, given the extra time and effort to make one". I'll probably start with the packs first, then see if the quality of my work makes the custom pricing worth it to enough Roll20 players for it to be feasible.&nbsp; The plan is to make every one of my tokens something any GM or player wold be excited to have on the table--you now, something that adds to the 'theater' of the game as it it placed on the virtual tabletop. Super good suggestions. /salute! :-)

Tanice D. said: Having various NPC tokens would be nice like drunkards in a bar, barmaids innkeepers, cooks, butlers, maids, merchants, dancers, musicians, craftsmen or other people tokens to make a boring map that should be full of people come to life. Currently the unconscious token wouldn't be good for too much unless the popular suggestion of having multiple token images assigned to one token come into play... Otherwise having unconscious or sleeping people is just a scene-setting thing, but I personally would love it for when that happens. Thanks! &nbsp;Okay, I'm seeing a trend in the thread (n=3, but still!) toward "environment" or "ambiance" tokens--interesting! &nbsp;That's the benefit of coming directly to you, the players and GMs and seeing what you want. &nbsp;:-)

Would you take commissions for individually customized PC tokens, without involving the Roll20 marketplace? I'd be interested, as they'd make great gifts for players, etc.

Matthew E. said: Would you take commissions for individually customized PC tokens, without involving the Roll20 marketplace? I'd be interested, as they'd make great gifts for players, etc. Once I have a few sets up on the Marketplace, I'm definitely considering custom tokens (scroll up where we talk about those!). &nbsp;Roll20 has requested that I sell all "custom" items off of the Marketplace anyhow, so I'll just be using my business PayPal for those when the time comes. :-D

I would absolutely love to see some more realistic sci-fi player and NPC tokens that would blend with universes such as Ender's Game, Old Man's War, Star Trek, etc. A friend of mine is considering running his own sci-fi campaign this summer, so I know he'd probably love to invest in a set of those. I'm pretty sure anything would be helpful. Some more cinematically styled modern day&nbsp;zombies would also be super fun for players. Zombies have been a popular theme with my group, but we find ourselves limited by the "arcane" and "undead" themes that seem to run through most of the packs here. Having zombies that were slightly futuristic or completely wild or modern day normal people who have been "zombified" would be a wonderful addition to the Roll20 community. I'm so happy you're doing this. You'll definitely be the first person I come to when I'm looking for tokens and art for Roll20. Love the work you posted.

Jesse J. said: I would absolutely love to see some more realistic sci-fi player and NPC tokens that would blend with universes such as Ender's Game, Old Man's War, Star Trek, etc. A friend of mine is considering running his own sci-fi campaign this summer, so I know he'd probably love to invest in a set of those. I'm pretty sure anything would be helpful. Some more cinematically styled modern day&nbsp;zombies would also be super fun for players. Zombies have been a popular theme with my group, but we find ourselves limited by the "arcane" and "undead" themes that seem to run through most of the packs here. Having zombies that were slightly futuristic or completely wild or modern day normal people who have been "zombified" would be a wonderful addition to the Roll20 community. I'm so happy you're doing this. You'll definitely be the first person I come to when I'm looking for tokens and art for Roll20. Love the work you posted. Man, that's great to hear. &nbsp;(Er, read...). &nbsp;If the first sets do well, the long-term plan would be to spend a GREAT deal of my time expanding into all sorts of varied sets so that games look visually consistent if someone wanted to exclusively use my tokens for their games. &nbsp;If it can turn into a steady source of income, I'll just turn into a little digital token cobbler here in my art studio, cranking out dramatic people, places, things and monsters. It's hard to imagine a more fun way to pay my studio bills! &nbsp;*haha*

Gosh. As a person who loves a consistent aesthetic, that would be a dream come true.

A thought on the custom token idea: I understand that the price point will have to be somewhere that it makes it worth your time. &nbsp;You mentioned up above that the custom tokens would be exclusive, meaning that only whoever buys them would get to use them. Perhaps it might be worthwhile to consider removing the exclusivity to help spread the cost some? &nbsp;For me at least, I wouldn't mind if someone else wanted to use the token that was based on my idea, my primary goal is just to have a token that was created to my specifications (and as a complete non-artist, something like this is the only chance I'll ever have for that!). So, rather than one person paying $30 for a token, maybe you'd end up with 5 (or 10) people paying $5. Or, perhaps every so often you could release a "custom creations" pack that was just a hodge podge of all the custom tokens you've done recently. I dunno.. just talking out loud... er, sort of.

Forge said: A thought on the custom token idea: I understand that the price point will have to be somewhere that it makes it worth your time. &nbsp;You mentioned up above that the custom tokens would be exclusive, meaning that only whoever buys them would get to use them. Perhaps it might be worthwhile to consider removing the exclusivity to help spread the cost some? &nbsp;For me at least, I wouldn't mind if someone else wanted to use the token that was based on my idea, my primary goal is just to have a token that was created to my specifications (and as a complete non-artist, something like this is the only chance I'll ever have for that!). So, rather than one person paying $30 for a token, maybe you'd end up with 5 (or 10) people paying $5. Or, perhaps every so often you could release a "custom creations" pack that was just a hodge podge of all the custom tokens you've done recently. I dunno.. just talking out loud... er, sort of. It's certainly worth considering. Nice option! &nbsp;

My outside client work is winding down, so I'll be able to attack Roll20 full force soon. &nbsp;There wasn't a clear winner in the ol' suggestion box, so I figure I'll probably do a set of SRD monsters first, and try to figure out what to do after that while I'm working on them. I plan on doing 3-4 complete sets and seeing how those do. &nbsp;If they're reasonably popular, I'm prepared to churn out high-quality online miniatures as fast as I can make them for...well, forever. &nbsp;The idea that you guys and gals would get to *play* with my art instead of just look at it is really intriguing to me. I want my stuff to be the most dramatic, best-looking online miniatures you can drop on a table. &nbsp;I want your players to say, "OHHHH CRAPPPPP!!!" every time you drag one of my monsters, Cthulhu investigators, space soldiers, fantasy characters, zombies, robots, and anything else I can think of onto the Roll20 map. &nbsp;That's 100% my goal in this.

Not sure about the demand, but it would be nice to see some Eberron-themed tokens. &nbsp;Also, it would be incredible if every creature in the MM had a top-down token. &nbsp;I personally like these much better then the circular checker-like tokens. &nbsp;Regardless, it's nice to see more artists jumping on the Roll20 bandwagon :)

Mike K. said: Not sure about the demand, but it would be nice to see some Eberron-themed tokens. &nbsp;Also, it would be incredible if every creature in the MM had a top-down token. &nbsp;I personally like these much better then the circular checker-like tokens. &nbsp;Regardless, it's nice to see more artists jumping on the Roll20 bandwagon :) Thanks, Mike! &nbsp;Second pack is up and linked in this thread! &nbsp; <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/137128/pixelfigs-the-undead-i-token-pack-is-now-available-on-the-roll20-marketplace#post-138509" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/137128/pixelfigs-the-undead-i-token-pack-is-now-available-on-the-roll20-marketplace#post-138509</a> I have to be very, very careful not to violate copyright on things like Eberron. &nbsp;There are 325 monsters in the SRD that are okay for me to paint, but the ones that are copyrighted are off limits! &nbsp;:-D