The Ancestors - Tenjin

Stretch goals Kojiro Owl and Base 2 available for download! + Custom Swords update + Kojiro Fox Render
about 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 14, 2021 at 10:19:14 PM

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

So sorry about the delayed update, we had a few issues with the Base 2 stretch goal.

Stretch Goals

The Kojiro Owl and Base 2  are available to download!

We will be releasing the Fox as soon as we finish the tests with its pre-support version.

The Kojiro Panther and Tenjin Corrupted will be released together as the final batch of the Stretch Goals.

Regarding the storybook, the arts are currently receiving the final tweaks and will be released as soon as possible.

Also, here is the first look at the Kojiro Fox, hope you guys enjoy it!

Custom Swords

Here are the pictures of the latest tests for the swords! They look amazing and once the testing phase for them is finished, Moonstruck will start its mass production.

Kind regards,

Luiz

Stretch Goals Update + Clarification on Custom Soul Amber
about 3 years ago – Tue, Mar 30, 2021 at 07:26:46 PM

Hello everyone!

Today will be a quick update with some clarification for everyone.

Stretch Goals

Dan has been working hard on these and is currently finishing the Fox. Therefore we plan on releasing the Owl + Base + Fox all together within this week as the first batch of stretch goals. Dan will then proceed to finish Kojiro Panther and Corrupted Tenjin.

Since he is a perfectionist we are expecting a delay for when he starts the Corrupted Tenjin Stretch goal, because it will require more time to surpass the quality seen on Tenjin. Once the Fox is completed we will have a better idea of the date for this Stretch Goal to be ready and update you accordingly.

Lessons learned

This has been an amazing experience so far and all thanks to your support guys. We have been learning a lot and, thankfully, the only thing that changed the Stretch Goals delivery was our own perfectionism.

For the next Ancestors, we aim at having most of the Stretch Goals ready for view before the campaign starts (with the possibility of the final ones being seen in the concept art phase), which will greatly decrease the production time.

Soul Ambers

We have noticed a few people getting confused about the difference between Custom Soul Ambers & Collectible Soul Ambers, so here is a quick clarification on them:

Custom Soul Amber: These are the resin cast Soul Ambers made by Moonstruck, which are made from a mix of selected colors to turn them into something awesome to display. Same as the Custom Swords.

Collectible Soul Ambers: These are the Soul Ambers with the trapped soul of the Ancestor inside them, bigger in size than a normal Soul Amber, and also with a different shape. They can be only obtained through the Soul Collector Pledges.

Hope that helps! If you have any questions not answered on the Kickstarter/Updates/FAQ's, please feel free to message us!

Bonus:

Here is the final look for Kojiro art (one of the Storybook Arts):

Kind regards,

Luiz

Tons of updates! Surveys for Resin Tenjin, Painted Tenjin, custom swords & Soul Amber closing on the 27th of March & More!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Mar 25, 2021 at 04:15:55 AM

Custom Swords & Soul Ambers:

MoonStruck has been working on them and looking for the perfect mix in order to get these casting as beautiful as they can be! You can see below two of his most recent tests on the Bloody Cherry. 

He is currently working on the color and he will try new mixes to create greater resin effects. Progress is being made, and he is doing his best to ensure the ambers are as beautiful as the blades. More updates on those soon!

Pledge Manager

We are close to complete the testing phase for Tenjin in resin format and start on mass production earlier than expected. Therefore we will charge the cards from the backers that selected any of these options during the pledge manager:

• Cursed Scholar;
• Soul Collector;
• Painted Tenjin;
• Custom Sword;
• Custom Soul Ambers.

Within 24 hours we will send a final notice for these which will give everyone 48 hours to any last-minute change to their order. In total, it will take 72 hours for the cards to be charged (on 27/03).

Mass Production & Shipping

You can expect to see a few videos from the resin parts within future updates. These will serve to give you all a better insight into the production and our workflow. There is also a chance that we will be able to start shipping earlier than expected as a consequence of the testing phase but we will keep you guys posted on April Updates.

Weekly Updates

Since our team is fully engaged on the tasks for Tenjin & Stretch Goals production we ended up holding a few updates. So in order to improve on that end, we will now be doing weekly updates starting on 29/03. We will also create in the incoming weeks a google form for anyone that wishes to give us feedback on our work/campaign so far. It's important for us to know your opinion so we can improve your experience on the journey to Blood Oak.

Storybook

We have the story for Tenjin almost ready, with a few more tweaks here and there to ensure the quality we want. All will be revealed once we have the arts completed.

You can have a peek of one of them below (still WIP):

We thought about approaching the arts like old paintings of historical events, i.e. with them being reimagined by different artists. As a consequence, we have 3 talented artists working on the final tweaks for the storybook. It's something that we will look into doing it again with the incoming Ancestors, but we will reassess this decision once we have finished delivering Tenjin.

2nd Ancestor

We have currently 3 Ancestors on the work, but we have decided to not launch any of them until we have all physical Tenjin's ready to be shipped. We want to wait for all of you to assess our first Ancestor and hear out any feedback that can be used, again, to improve your experience on the journey to Blood Oak.

The STL version has proved itself a success but we still need to prove ourselves to all the backers that pledged for the physical version. So please hold tight, our main goal is to put a big smile on your face when you receive your Tenjin via post.

Copyright Infringement, Cursed Scholar option back at late pledge & Soul Collector info

We are still finding and dealing with people selling Tenjin (STL & in resin format) illegally. It has been time-consuming and in order to give people a chance to support us instead of those who are earning money illegally through our hard work, we will be bringing back the Cursed Scholar to the late pledge. For those seeking the Soul Collector, you can still acquire the ones from the incoming Ancestors. Given the collector factor that pledge will never be again available for Tenjin, so if you really want one you can reach out to one of the Soul Collector backers and try to buy from them after June.

If you are one of the backers that pledged for it, congratulations, by the end of this semester you will be holding one of the exclusive 33 Soul Ambers which represents the trapped soul of the Ancestor Tenjin. If we decide to include further exclusive collectible creations on the Soul Collector for the 2nd Ancestor, all the backers that pledged for Soul Collector with Tenjin will be contacted to receive for free his version of those creations. 

Community Pictures

We have seen some AMAZING work on Tenjin from the community! Check those out!

Base upgrade sneak peak!
about 3 years ago – Sun, Mar 07, 2021 at 02:09:06 AM

Here is a first look at the new base for Tenjin and Kojiro. It consists of 8 pieces to make for easier printing. Each lantern can be wired with LED lights with a hidden routing channel that runs up from the base. The base also allows for Tenjin's eyes, sword and soul amber to be wired with LEDs. Kojiro comes in two poses, one facing away as a guard pose, the other peering up at the soul amber.

These will now move onto test printing.

Kojiro Test Print (& Dry brush) + Custom Swords/Soul Ambers pics soon.
about 3 years ago – Fri, Feb 26, 2021 at 01:24:55 AM

Alright guys, here is the first official look at the Kojiro's first form printed and dry brushed! I have finished today my second shot at the LED instruction video and had a chance to showcase this beautiful little soul eater. I will edit it in the next two days between my other tasks, thank you for your patience!

On another topic, the custom-colored Soul Ambers and Custom Sword colors are now in the casting phase, so if you are a Soul Collector or a backer who choose these add-ons, get ready to see some pictures of them soon! The Collector Soul Amber will have its casting production after we finish the custom colored add-ons and the stretch goals, this will give us time to perfect the design before we start casting.

Kind regards,

Luiz