Picture a Mission

When you create a mission, you don't have a picture or icon to express your mission like the official SWHQ missions do. Well, Adam Snelleksz has come up with a great idea!

His idea is to engage the artists of SmallWorlds to paint pictures of what they think a mission would look like - to paint a representation of the "essence" of that mission. It's a project that's rich with possibility in terms of bringing together the mission and art communities in SmallWorlds. It's a new initiative, and I think it deserves some support and attention from both communities... my hope is that you guys all take it and run with it! Here's a link to Adam's original Picture a Mission forum thread.

Ruby: What a wonderful idea Adam...where did this spring from!

Adam: Well, as I was doing a mission (My Hero By Paula Willz) I wanted to come up with an idea to link two major parts of SmallWorlds. It was then that the idea sprang at me whilst I was doodling on a Graffiti board: "Picture a Mission". It was very original and it links the Art Community with the Mission Community!

Ruby: How many mission pictures exist to date?

Adam: To this date, there are just four paintings. But, art isn't that easy to draw! You can't just pick any mission, IT has to pick you! A good painting takes at least a day to do and I still have a few pending requests! Hopefully, my mail will be flooding with artists who want to paint a mission!

Hotel California by Black Eternal. Painted for Hotel California Mission created by Mangoloo Lala

Ruby: Is there much discussion between artist and mission maker to create these works?

Adam: Of course the artist wants to surprise the Mission Maker! When the painting is a finished piece the artist would normally mail or speak to the Mission Maker personally and then the Mission Maker would normally pay a visit to the Gallery and be amazed at what the final product looks like. I love to see the reactions!

Ruby: Do the artists usually play the mission first before they begin to paint?

Adam: Normally, the artists would play the missions or have played them before. However in some cases the rule doesn't always apply. Some artists can just picture a mission just by hearing the name of the mission.

Love by Chloe Theartist. Painted for Mission made by Ciel Donatien

Ruby: Is this a free service or do mission creators pay the artist?

Adam: The artists normally choose a mission to paint in the first place. If not, I give them some ideas. However soon I'll be wanting mission makers to request paintings, there will only be a small fee of about 5,000 tokens/500 gold depending on the art board. The paintings would be hung up in the official Picture a Mission Gallery!

Ruby: Adam, are you an artist yourself or a mission maker or perhaps both?

Adam: To put this straight, I'm like a blind elephant on roller skates when it comes to painting! But, I am a Mission Maker! I have created three missions in total and have had alot of fun with it. I've painted stuff before but they're not as good as some of the artists out there!

The Door by Viola Fats. Painted for the mission 'The Door" created by Willow Storm

Ruby: So, if a mission maker wanted to get a painting done, what do they need to do next?

Adam: If someone wanted a mission painted, basically what they need to do is to either mail me in-world (Adam Snelleksz) or post on the forum thread. I'm just so excited to be linking the Art Community with the Mission Community!!

Ruby: Many thanks Adam - it's a great way to build a bridge between these two communities in SmallWorlds! Finally, tell me what you love about playing in SmallWorlds!

Adam: What I love about SmallWorlds.. well I'll try to tell you in the shortest way possible, if that is even possible! Anyway, what I like is when the community comes together for a celebration, or a holiday or something big and fantastic! Missions & art is a good one. As you can see from the idea. Its just amazing to see the different skills that range from painting to interactions, from shading to artifacst/events! Now, I don't have a favourite artist or a favourite Mission Maker! But, I love lots of different styles. Everyone is unique and thats what makes Smallworlds so brilliant. Theres a spark, and that spark will never in a life time, die! And thats what is important, being a community!

Star Wars in Smallworlds by Fay Godmother. Painted for Mission created by Mangolooo Lala.

Here's a few comments from the founding mission makers and artists from the Picture a Mission project:

Willow Storm: What a brilliant idea! I love to see the art and mission communities working together! It's like Viola looked inside my mind and took the exact image I had!

Mangoloo Lala: It was awesome when I saw that 2 people (Fay Godmother and Black Eternal) painted 2 of my missions (Star Wars in Smallworlds and Hotel California). I absolutely love how the pictures represent the missions and admire the hard work from the artists! Being a mission maker, I now truly feel linked to the art community through this Mission Picture project!

Black Eternal: The cover of the Hotel California album was my 2nd landscape. I gave my best on it. I always do portraits, and doing this was kind of challenge for me. I hope people like how it turned out.