Tuesday, June 25, 2013

[Short Story] The Princess and the Dragon - 2013 Edition

For further information on the art and story seen here, please refer to this in-depth blog entry.

This is a standalone short story and is not intended to take place in the same world as my main series.

The Princess and the Dragon - 2013 Edition


"The Princess and the Dragon - 2013 Update" - Originally Created on September 12, 2006
Revisited on June 22, 2013

"The Princess and the Dragon - 2013 Update" - Originally Created on September 12, 2006
Revisited on June 22, 2013

I realized when I did this that I couldn't really get the story across between the two
 because of the massive difference in scale between the dragon and the Princess,
but hopefully the magic in the tower hints that something magical is taking place. :)


"The Princess and the Dragon" - By K. LeCrone 
Short Story Written on October 1, 2005
Revisited on June 22, 2013

Long ago, there lived a Princess, whose love to one of the castle guards was such legend that it was whispered about by both the royalty as well as the peasant-folk. While war loomed, however, the two knew they could never wed, but each worked as they might to bring an end to the fighting: he with his sword, and she, with her wise words which she shared with the king, and all who would listen.

When the war grew closer, the brave Knight was called out more frequently to defend their homeland, but for each time he answered the call of his countrymen, he was away for longer and longer periods of time. Regardless of what dangers awaited him, each time before he left he would gently kiss his lady on the hand and tell her how he loved her. He would speak certainly of how he would always return, and that she would always and forever be the one he returned to. "That is a promise I swear to, Milady," he'd say. And every evening, as the light began to fade, the Princess would climb to the highest tower in the castle, and look out: just hoping to get a glance of her knight riding home. It was there, high above the rest of the world that she would softly sing a tune the two of their heart's shared, as if it might perchance call him home if he couldn't find his way.

Days turned to weeks, turned to months, and she would pray for his safety, and hope for the day when the two of them could be reunited once more. Without fail, every evening she made her way up the spiraling stairs to the highest tower of the castle and sang out her wishes to the far horizon for her brave knight.

One day, however, a sinking feeling set upon her heart, and though she knew not why, she was certain ill-fortune had come to her knight. Not a moonturn later, she saw a rider-less horse slowly approach the castle, and she knew for sure there would be no happy ending to their story.

She wept, as a mother for the loss of her child, and though many consoled her with well-intentioned words, none of their words could soothe the hollow ache she felt deep within.

Daylight faded and the vibrant colors of dusk transpired to night and yet she stayed awake against her will. But as the first stars of the evening peered into the night sky, she crept once more to the tallest tower of the castle, as if she might yet find peace there that she lacked in her heart.

Her tear-filled face looked out over the eerily-still horizon. Though she knew there would be no brave figure crossing the grassy plains to return to her, she began to softly sing the tune she'd carried so often for her Knight. She closed her eyes and let the music fill her. Her heart poured into every syllable, and though her voice cracked and faltered, she would not let the melody be contained within her breast until the final phrase had passed through her soft lips and carried into the waiting darkness. Only then did silence again greet her.

But then, without explanation, a warm breeze caught her face and somehow bid her to look skyward. Heaven itself opened up and turned before her, pouring out light and a peculiar sense of otherworldly peace unlike anything she'd ever seen or felt before. As it did, a strange, ancient music seemed to play on the wind in tune to the rhythm of her beating heart. Like a dream, the heavens began to shimmer and move as if they were churned to live. And, like a ghost, they took shape before her eyes. A massive dragon's face and form manifested before her and floated effortlessly, watching her. Its huge, flowing mane moved gently with the wind, and its iridescent scales twinkled lightly. In one smooth movement, it wrapped its strong tail around the castle, and calmly looked down to the Princess, and smiled.

"Dear Lady, I've traveled through the lands of the living and the dead to find you again. Your song called to me, and even after a cruel sword felled my body, the song shook me and awakened who I truly am. I have the soul of a dragon, of the noble race that loves deeply and protects truly. And as in my last life, I pledge to you in this one: I will keep you safe from harm and always be with you. And when old age comes to you after so many more great deeds on this Earth, I will be here still, and on that day you will join me in the clouds, for you have the soul of a noble dragon as well."

The Princess looked up at the dragon, and through a tear-stained face she smiled, and believed.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Revisiting "The Princess and the Dragon"

The Creative Time Machine

One of the constants I've learned over the years is that there are always new ideas to chase and old projects to revisit or continue. This is true for both my art and writing. I have projects that I consider complete, and plenty of others which remain in my own mind to have some degree of imperfection to them.

As the years roll by, it’s ever-more easy to become critical of them, to look back at old writing and cringe at its juvenile flaws, just as I sometimes page through old art and can see a wide range of inadequacies that seem blatant to my eye. This evolution is to be expected, certainly, but sometimes I find it difficult to appreciate some of my older work because the flaws seem to become more apparent to me with time, much like crackling bone set out in the sun to bake over the years and be exposed to the elements.

Amid trying to push my own art and writing forward, I still maintain a drive to selectively go back and “improve” certain old pieces. I don’t necessarily believe it’s always a good use of my time, and in many cases I've found that in trying to “rework” or “update” a truly ancient piece, I actually ends up losing something precious that was there to begin with.  But every now and then, I keep returning to an old piece and am tempted to try to draw out and improve whatever is innately nestled within.

This is one such piece, except in this rare case, it’s both art and writing intertwined.

"The Princess and the Dragon - 2013 Update" - Revisited on June 22, 2013



Curious Metrics

Over the years, I've posted over 300 pieces of art on DeviantART alone, and aside from the pieces which won Daily Deviations, the one piece that has consistently attracted the most engagement from viewers is a piece of art and writing I did way back in 2005. It's extremely touching to me that so many people have enjoyed it, but it actually has a much deeper story.


The History of the Princess and the Dragon

Many years ago, way back in 2005, I sketched a lot of dragons. Saying a lot is probably putting it lightly, but it was a phase I’ll admit that was brought upon by the desire to combine two things I really adored: oriental dragons, and kudu horns. They were everywhere, nestled in sketchbooks and hidden along the ruled edges of my college notes. It was never the same dragon twice, and none were really “characters,” per say, they were simply fun experiments with design. In September, this fella popped up in my sketchbook at a mere 4 by 5 inches:

"Oriental Kudu Dragon Sketch" - Completed on September 20, 2005


And while not intentionally a homage, I recalled that a few years earlier in January 2003 (which for anyone reading this entry, is over ten years ago: yikes!), I realized I’d doodled a dragon in a strikingly similar pose:

"The Light of the Dance - Sketch" - Completed on January 1, 2003

"The Light of the Dance" - Completed on January 9, 2003


During that era, I didn't do much in the way of digital art, and that’s putting it lightly. Nearly all of my art from that period was traditional art, and the vast majority of that was photographed (poorly) rather than scanned. So when Emily Coleman hosted a contest to design our “dream sculpture” in 2005 my entry was a mish-mashing in Photoshop, certainly, but my intent behind the piece actually meant quite a lot to me, and what I wanted to do was to create a sense of scale between the dragon and the added castle and figure below.

"The Princess and the Dragon" - Completed on October 1, 2005

This tiny castle has faked perspective, with an emphasis on "fake."

I realize that figure really isn't to scale... >_>


Months later, my dear friend Jason actually commissioned Emily to create a sculpture based off of my art. It’s the first time someone had ever done something like this for me, and to see my 2D concept turned into a sculpture was just… incredible. It was like seeing a sketch come to life, and I just adore it!

"The Princess and the Dragon" by Emily Coleman - Completed in December 2005

"The Princess and the Dragon" by Emily Coleman - Completed in December 2005


Then, in 2006, I decided that I would try to digitally paint the original 2D art I'd submitted for the contest. I really had no idea what I was doing at the time, and I’d never really hunkered down on a piece in Photoshop before, but I gave it my best shot, and at the time I was generally really pleased with how it turned out.

"The Princess and the Dragon" - Completed on September 12, 2006


Over the years, I've had some nitpicks about it, and decided that this morning I’d take a couple hours and fix a few things on both the art and short story that had always bugged me so that I could share them with all of you.  I opted not to change either very much, because I didn't want to stray too far from the original versions. The story is intended to be a standalone piece.



The Princess and the Dragon Revisited


"The Princess and the Dragon - 2013 Update" - Revisited on June 22, 2013

"The Princess and the Dragon - 2013 Update - Close- Up" - Revisited on June 22, 2013

I realized when I did this that I couldn't really get the story across between the two
 because of the massive difference in scale between the dragon and the Princess,
but hopefully the magic in the tower hints that something magical is taking place. :)


"The Princess and the Dragon" - By K. LeCrone 
Short Story Written on October 1, 2005
Revisited on June 22, 2013

Long ago, there lived a Princess, whose love to one of the castle guards was such legend that it was whispered about by both the royalty as well as the peasant-folk. While war loomed, however, the two knew they could never wed, but each worked as they might to bring an end to the fighting: he with his sword, and she, with her wise words which she shared with the king, and all who would listen.

When the war grew closer, the brave Knight was called out more frequently to defend their homeland, but for each time he answered the call of his countrymen, he was away for longer and longer periods of time. Regardless of what dangers awaited him, each time before he left he would gently kiss his lady on the hand and tell her how he loved her. He would speak certainly of how he would always return, and that she would always and forever been the one he returned to. "That is a promise I swear to, Milady," he'd say. And every evening, as the light began to fade, the Princess would climb to the highest tower in the castle, and look out: just hoping to get a glance of her knight riding home. It was there, high above the rest of the world that she would softly sing a tune the two of their heart's shared, as if it might perchance call him home if he couldn't find his way.

Days turned to weeks, turned to months, and she would pray for his safety, and hope for the day when the two of them could be reunited once more. Without fail, every evening she made her way up the spiraling stairs to the highest tower of the castle and sang out her wishes to the far horizon for her brave knight.

One day, however, a sinking feeling set upon her heart, and though she knew not why, she was certain ill-fortune had come to her knight. Not a moonturn later, she saw a rider-less horse slowly approach the castle, and she knew for sure there would be no happy ending to their story.

She wept, as a mother for the loss of her child, and though many consoled her with well-intentioned words, none of their words could soothe the hollow ache she felt deep within.

Daylight faded and the vibrant colors of dusk transpired to night and yet she stayed awake against her will. But as the first stars of the evening peered into the night sky, she crept once more to the tallest tower of the castle, as if she might yet find peace there that she lacked in her heart.

Her tear-filled face looked out over the eerily-still horizon. Though she knew there would be no brave figure crossing the grassy plains to return to her, she began to softly sing the tune she'd carried so often for her Knight. She closed her eyes and let the music fill her. Her heart poured into every syllable, and though her voice cracked and faltered, she would not let the melody be contained within her breast until the final phrase had passed through her soft lips and carried into the waiting darkness. Only then did silence again greet her.

But then, without explanation, a warm breeze caught her face and somehow bid her to look skyward. Heaven itself opened up and turned before her, pouring out light and a peculiar sense of otherworldly peace unlike anything she'd ever seen or felt before. As it did, a strange, ancient music seemed to play on the wind in tune to the rhythm of her beating heart. Like a dream, the heavens began to shimmer and move as if they were churned to live. And, like a ghost, they took shape before her eyes. A massive dragon's face and form manifested before her and floated effortlessly, watching her. Its huge, flowing mane moved gently with the wind, and its iridescent scales twinkled lightly. In one smooth movement, it wrapped its strong tail around the castle, and calmly looked down to the Princess, and smiled.

"Dear Lady, I've traveled through the lands of the living and the dead to find you again. Your song called to me, and even after a cruel sword felled my body, the song shook me and awakened who I truly am. I have the soul of a dragon, of the noble race that loves deeply and protects truly. And as in my last life, I pledge to you in this one: I will keep you safe from harm and always be with you. And when old age comes to you after so many more great deeds on this Earth, I will be here still, and on that day you will join me in the clouds, for you have the soul of a noble dragon as well."

The Princess looked up at the dragon, and through a tear-stained face she smiled, and believed.


The Princess and the Dragon Ten Years Later

This has been a journey in more ways than one, but it feels great sharing this art and story with a new audience. If you're interested in looking at the 2006 version of the art or short story, they are available here on DeviantART. There are also a wealth of questions I answered in the comments there, if you're curious about the inspirations for it.

I hope you enjoyed both the art, story, and their history!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Druids, Magic, Demons, and Little Girls

It’s been quite a busy week! It hasn’t been as productive in terms of story or art as I might have preferred, but every step forward is one step closer to being done.


ZBrush and 3ds Max Class Post Mortem

In addition to attending E3 last week, I also finished off my 3ds Max course from Gnomon. I would have liked to get a bit more out of it, but that’s how it goes. I feel as if my final project for my zBrush course a few months ago was much stronger: 

"ZBrush Night Elf Druid Fan Art" - Completed on April 1, 2013

For those who are unfamiliar with the creature: in Warcraft, Night Elf Druids can shapeshift into elfy-looking cats. This particular one is running a flag from Warsong Gulch (a sort of "capture the flag"-style PvP Battleground). She’s personal fan art that was modeled and polypainted from scratch, and the background/setting is a very, very modified screenshot from World of Warcraft.

My 3ds Max project, by comparison, was a fine learning experience:

"3Ds Max Island" - Completed on June 15, 2013


It really doesn't feel as if it has much personal “flavor” to it, but that's what you get for trying to learn a new program with limited time available to you. ;) This is a sort of “beauty” shot of the island, plants, and rocks I made from scratch, but let’s just say I’m much more excited by the prospect of starting anew in 3ds Max, learning more about it, and really taking it out for a test drive. As it is I feel like I got a basic overview of what the programs is capable of, but I really want to dig in and make something that has a bit more personality to it.



Progress on “The Apprentice of Rook” (Working Short Story Title)

My work on the story this week was slow and steady. I managed some solid editing time and came upon another mini-arc I’d like to insert in there, so I’m trying to find the best way to do that. I’m really hoping that this weekend I can really get cracking on it.


Story Art

I found an old thumbnail that wasn't very developed (and whose characters weren't interacting, nor had any real story implied), and so I took a couple hours while watching some Netflix and tried to change it into something.

"Campfire" - Thumbnail from ~2006

It's still a WIP, but it's neat putting all five of these characters together to share stories in front of a campfire (there's due to be magic involved with that smoke, too).

This is a type of scene that would been in Book 1 or later. While there are often places to be, people to meet, and challenges to complete, there's also a fair bit of downtime during travel. In terms of getting to know each other, you learn a lot from sharing stories, and I think having magic to illustrate and accent one's tales could be quite an experience.

(I still haven't figured out what tale the two on the left are telling, but the smoke will help relay that once I figure out that particular detail.)

"Campfire" Redo - June 16, 2013


I’ve always loved the idea of using magic for the purpose of storytelling, and for the character of Sashah, that’s definitely a niche she enjoys. Below are two illustrations by the incredibly talented Emma Lazauski showing this facet of the character. I love them to bits.

"ACEO: Sashah and Richard" by Emma Lazauski - November 4, 2011

"Sashah's Spell" by Emma Lazauski - January 11, 2012


The Big, Wide Internet and Story Themes

Another thing that’s been on my mind this week are wider story themes. Now granted, some of my characters have been around in one way or another for over a dozen years, so they’ve had some understandable maturing to do along the way, but there are also newer characters and side characters that have only come about in the passing years as I tried to rework and deepen the main books, short stories, and world as a whole.

One of the thoughts that came out of this was that some topics I am privately very passionate about were often not addressed in the world of my story, and that… well it REALLY bothered me.

Now here’s the thing: this is the big, wide, internet, and it’s full of all sorts of personalities. There are people that are passionate, some that are even bold to the point of being intentionally offensive. There are people who lurk, who have barely no internet footprint at all. There are some who secure themselves behind aliases in order to express themselves, and some that let themselves me out there for all the world to see. There are all of these, and everything in between, and very early on I decided that in terms of my online presence, well, I wanted it to be positive. Not only is it smart from an employment perspective, but I also really wanted to be a force for “good,” and to be someone that people could point to online as never trying to be demeaning or cruel to others. That’s just not me, and I never wanted to be represented that way online.

Along these lines, I tend by and large to avoid critical-speak online. I’ll say what movies or products I like, but I generally try to avoid calling out those I don’t. That’s not to say I don’t have opinions, of course (trust me, I most certainly do, ESPECIALLY in terms of entertainment – I went to film school for a reason ;) ), but I’d rather leave most critical talk to offline. After all, not only do you never know who is reading your stuff, but you never know how it might come back to haunt you or flavor other’s perceptions of you. It’s a risk you take when you put anything up online, but generally I believe it to be a good idea to spread positive vibes rather than sneering ones.

And in some round-about way, those thoughts are part of what made me realize in recent months that I was sort of “copping out” in my own personal work if I outright avoided sensitive topics.

There is a lot of bad in our world. Really bad. To the extent that I don’t even pretend to comprehend how deep the rabbit hole goes on some topics, but the more I thought about them, the more I thought that if I simply avoided them in my own personal work, I was doing myself and my audience a disservice. 

Some of them are big, sweeping issues that are probably best served in other stories or frameworks, but that doesn’t mean I should feel intimidated to shuffle them away and ignore them entirely just because someone out there may not share the same opinions as I do.

These issues can range from anything from racial bigotry and gender issues through to gay rights and the sexual abuse. That doesn’t mean necessarily that I feel a need to stand on a podium about them (nor do I feel that I would be the best equipped to do so), but I think it’s fair to acknowledge that those undercurrents are there, even if the world itself is fiction. Why? Because the world is diverse, just as our own is, and I think there is something to be said for allowing your work to bring up topics, even sensitive ones, so that readers can walk along with your characters and consider the relevancy of these issues in the world of the story as well as perhaps their own lives.


The Alchemist and Friend Story Art

That brings me to this piece.  This piece has not one drop to do with the short story I’m currently working on, but I realized this week that I was sort of copping out by not giving it some context. And oddly enough, I was prompted by a song that my mother sent along to me. It’s not the usual genre of music I listen to, but I heard the song, and the whole time, I couldn’t help thinking of this character I’d created some years ago.


"Alchemist and Friend Sketch" - Completed on September 15, 2011


“Blown Away”
Audio Here

"Dry lightning cracks across the skies
Those storm clouds gather in her eyes
Her daddy was a mean old mister
Mama was an angel in the ground
The weather man called for a twister
She prayed blow it down

There's not enough rain in Oklahoma
To wash the sins out of that house
There's not enough wind in Oklahoma
To rip the nails out of the past

[Chorus:]
Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,
Blown away

She heard those sirens screaming out
Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch
She locked herself in the cellar
Listened to the screaming of the wind
Some people call it taking shelter
She called it sweet revenge[...]"


Trying to go into the different types of magic that exist in my world and everything about them would be some long diatribe starting with a spoiler tag, but suffice to say, one of the types involves bargaining with demons. 

The girl had... really bad childhood. Really. Bad. There was physical abuse and sexual abuse leading up to when she basically made a pact with a demon in order to get away from her abusive father.

The thing is, once said pact was completed, the demon had found that it actually grew quite fond of her, and she of it. So in a way, you have this situation where this little girl (who has her own story) has an "imaginary friend" who is pretty much her best friend and saving grace.  

So is the demon evil? Is she evil? Neither? Both? It’s a really grey area, but one that I think bears consideration. What is justice? Who deserves it? Who decides who deserves it? And what happens to those left in its crosshairs or aftermath? While this character might have made it out of the proverbial fire, many children (and families) aren’t as fortunate.

Regardless of the questions, there is something almost comforting to me about the idea of the unlikely demon being there for the young girl in her time of need, and how the events changed its perspective and purpose. You can bet at some point that I’ll try my hand at illustrating these two again, and they are definitely a pair whose wider story might make for a good short (they’re also recurring characters within the main books).

What themes are important to you that you wish were nodded to more in traditional media?

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Art and Write ALL THE THINGS!


I was about to say that this week managed to be a bit more writing-heavy rather than art heavy, but I think it ended up being a fair mix of both, and that’s entirely fine by me. :)


Progress on “The Apprentice of Rook” (Working Short Story Title)

Over the years I've probably read over a dozen books on writing, each with its own recommended method for writing, and one of my big takeaways is that what works best is different for everyone.

For me, I like having a sort of outline to make sure that I’m aware of what points I’m building to scene-by-scene. That usually means that I spend a few days, weeks (or in some cases longer) brainstorming before I settle on my characters and ideas. From there, I write out what is basically a very brief set of bullet-points for each scene (sometimes including beats), and then from there, I start writing in earnest.

My first write-through is usually exceptionally basic and “train of thought” in nature, moving from point to point in an effort to fill-in my outline. It’s also probably one of my least favorite parts of the process, because I’ve found (at least in my limited experience) that it’s good to keep moving rather than lingering too long on any one paragraph or line of dialogue.

One of my big takeaways from USC School of Cinematic Arts was that good dialogue is damn hard to write. One of my professors once said that your first instinct of what to write is often what you would do in that situation, the second is what you think the character would do in that situation, and just maybe, by the third or fourth draft you can really get into the character’s brain to figure out what exactly they would say in any particular situation.

That piece of advice is definitely something I've carried with me over the years, but I tell you what: it makes me eager to get into the later drafts of the story where I can really tighten things up and get into the fray of things!


Before this week hit, I considered my next short story to be about halfway through its first draft.  After showing the first half of the short story to my muse, I ended up revisiting the first part entirely to move some bits around and re-pace some things that will hopefully better fit my aims for the story as a whole. As such, I suppose I’m still busy poking the first half before I transition back to my write-through of the second half. It's really exhilarating having so much freedom to reshape these side characters, but at the same time, sometimes it's tricky to decide HOW to shape them where there are so many options available. I keep telling myself to choose options that will "raise the stakes" rather than ones that will simply satisfy the norm. It does feel like I'm onto something, though, and I look forward to seeing where this will end up. 

Credit the Fans of Stephen King Facebook Page


And this. SO much this. Push on with your art, writing, and other projects, my friends, because standing still won't get you anywhere! That is also one of the aspects of this blog that I'm really enjoying: it's helping me not only be accountable for what I've been up to each week, but it helps me ensure that I'm pushing myself forward each week bit-by-bit.


Short Story Art

One thing I'm excited about is that I've started to plan out how I'm going to go about releasing my first short story (once it's done). In addition to doing a new piece of original art for it, I have a relevant piece I commissioned by another artist that I think I'm going to hold off sharing until the story is done. If anything, it should also urge me to finish it faster. ;) I’m really excited to share it, though!

Until then, I’ve also started trying to rough out what art I plan to release with the story. While dozing yesterday, I was trying to figure out what sort of direction I might want to take for an illustration relating to the story that sort of hints what it is about without giving too much away. This sort of direction was the first thing that came to mind, so I roughed out a concept in about thirty minutes. Meet Vargas (the new/reworked character I hinted at here: http://klecrone.blogspot.com/2013/05/some-story-concept-art.html ), and a peculiar little mechanical hummingbird.

Possible Illustration Concept for "The Apprentice of Rook"

Vargas should look close to age 17 (above), but I think I might need to reduce the facial hair to get him to appear closer to that age. He's older zBrush version of him I concepted out a few weeks ago (below), and it will be a fun challenge trying to potentially place him in a scene with the mechanical hummingbird (which I am frankly excited to try my hand at illustrating again).

Character Concept - Digital Sculpture - May 21, 2013
"Mechanical Hummingbird Color" - Completed on February 16, 2011




The Loirin Plate

This week I also got to pick up my Loirin plate from the pottery place I painted him at! You can find out more about this character in this entry.

The finished plate is 11 inches in diameter and was painted free-hand based on this original 2010 image. I've been really excited to see how the colors turn out after it’s fired, since even during the painting process I had to try to use my imagination to try and figure out how it will all come together after firing.

"Loirin and Bunny, First Blossom - Unfired Plate" - Completed on June 1, 2013



To my surprise, the colors turned out EXTREMELY close to how I'd envisioned them to be, and it is a real pleasure seeing the bold colors come to life! This is my fifth piece of painted pottery like this, and each time I learn just a little bit more about how different glazes interact with each other. I know most folks don't go quite so crazy with details but... that's just how I roll. I really enjoyed seeing the final result, and it's a ton of fun looking forward to eating off this plate and smiling as I do.

I think my grandmother would have liked this plate quite a lot.


"Loirin and Bunny, First Blossom - Fired Plate" - Completed on June 7, 2013


It’s also the third such plate I've painted in the past year, but… one can never have too many plates!


Young Sashah Digital Painting

I realized tonight that I purchased Paint Tool Sai about three years ago... and I hadn't done more than open it up once or twice since, so I thought "Hey? Why don't I try to do some cel-shaded stuff with this tool?"

A few hours later, my attempt at "cel-shaded" had taken on a life of its own and... I think it's time to call it quits.  There is a lot I don't really dig about this piece, but I think it's time to move on and start anew. 

"Young Sashah - Paint Tool Sai Experiment' - Completed on June 9, 2013


This is a character from my main book series. Her name is Sashah, and she's a werewolf, and this is an illustration of her at a younger age. I was trying for somewhere between the age of a gangly cub and the age of a sleek adult wolf, so hopefully that comes across here. The eyes are WAY more teal than they would actually be for the character, but once I painted them in, I liked them enough that I opted to keep them as-is.

She actually has a small cameo in the short story I'm working on. Here's a rough excerpt:

"[...] The scorching heat of the noonday sun was none-too-kind, and the grey blur quickly took shelter in the shade of a nearby work bench. When Vargas approached, it got to its feet and wheeled around to looked up at him with two striking teal-blue eyes. As he got close, it also closed its slender mouth, almost as if it was self-conscious about panting while being watched.

The creature almost seemed to shimmer as it took a step towards him. It looked something like a dog or young wolf, he wasn't sure, but it didn't act quite like any canine he'd ever seen. There was something different in the way it moved and the bold intensity in which it watched him. It didn't seem frightened, just curious. 

Ever-so-slowly, Vargas reached out his hand towards the creature, ready to pull his hand away at the first sign of aggression. Instead, the young wolf sniffed the offered fingers while its bright eyes watched Vargas’s own. After a moment of thoughtful deliberation, it licked his fingers sweetly as a pleased puppy might, and then nuzzled its soft head under Vargas's outstretched hand. 

In that moment, it made friendship seem so very easy. [...]"

This has certainly been a busy week, but it's a treat to be able to share all that I've been up to! Here's to hoping that next week is similarly awesome!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Werewolves, Gryphons, and Loirins (Oh My!)

So it’s been a heck of a busy week, but somewhere amid all my full-time work and my ambitious nature to take classes while doing said full-time work, I actually managed to do quite a lot of personal work this last week!


Faux Stained Glass Piece

First up, while this piece has been up on my wall for nearly a year, I still haven’t gotten decent photos of it, but I wanted to make sure to post it up here since this piece means a lot to me.
Photo taken on May 26, 2013. Project completed on June 12, 2012.

This is a collaboration and labor of love between Cynthia Reep and myself. She supplied the amazing art, which features two of my story's main characters: Oberon (the Friesian stallion) and Sashah (the werewolf enchantress). You can see Cindy's gorgeous art below:

"Sky Magic" Gift Art by Cynthia Reep - Completed on December 7, 2011

I then worked for a few months to create a faux stained glass piece out of it. It's extremely heavy and a massive 48"x24".

The piece features two of my story's characters, and pretty much any time I sit down to write about my world or do art, I turn it on. It's incredibly inspiring and comforting to me, and I love it to bits. Also based on the total cost of it and the sheer effort it took to bring it to life, it’s quite unlikely I’ll ever be subjecting myself to trying to make another. ;) It was a lesson to me that saving up and spending the $600 on a premade lightbox would have actually been a bargain in hindsight. Ah hindsight, you are a cruel, cruel mistress.


New Short Story Begun!

This week I also began work in earnest on an entirely new short story which will be the first one I aim to publish up online in the coming months. I’ve figured out the tone, arc, and notes I’m aiming to hit, and it’s been really weird but fun working with side characters rather than my usual crew of main characters. That said, I feel the story should make for a really recent public introduction into one of the vibrant cities of my “world.”

When all was said and done this week, I got over 12 pages (6,000+ words) into my new short story, which is roughly halfway through this first (extremely rough) preliminary pass. I’m hoping to get the final draft to somewhere around 15,000 words or less, but I’ll just have to see how that goes as I move things around and heavily edit future drafts.

It's certainly rough at this point, but I feel like it will be a solid entry-point for readers unfamiliar with the world of my story, and it's fun fleshing-out side characters. Since it is a bit of a flashback with side characters, I'm also enjoying trying to see how I can fit in little references and subtle hints to larger adventures, characters, and arcs that play into future books. It really is a ton fun revisiting some characters I haven't written for in years and years, as well as dipping my toes into writing for entirely new ones. It's so much fun!  It's even better realizing that once I'm done, I'll be able to share it with everyone!


It also is likely to afford me the opportunity for another illustration of one of my mechanical critters. >_>

"Mechanical Hummingbird Color" - Completed on February 16, 2011

Sunning Gryphon Work in Progress

This week I also continued work on my Sunning Gryphon piece. I didn’t get terribly far along with him in the hour I had and I'm still not happy with the wings or composition, but it's getting closer with each iteration. I'm trying to do some forced perspective on the nearest wing as well. Additionally I enlarged the tail area since the previous version didn't make it look as if it would contribute much to lift.

Sunning Gryphon - WIP - May 31, 2013


He's still a ways to go, but I want to keep prodding the composition before I go head-first into detail. Still: progress is progress, and if I'm not doing writing, I best keep busy with some art!


The Loirin and the Loirin Plate

This weekend I also spent some time with my mom painting pottery and continuing work on the Loirin plate I started last month.

The image is actually based off an incredibly tiny inked “sketch” that was the size of a postage stamp (one inch by one inch) that I made in 2010. At the time, I scanned it and then toned it in Photoshop to tighten it up a bit more. I wanted to make something sweet for my grandmother that was cuddly and fantasy-ish, and I liked the idea of there being a touch of a story (that the Liorin and the bunny are watching the first blossom of Spring). Sadly, my grandmother is no longer with us, but this piece was one of her favorite pieces of art I ever created for her.

"Loirin and Bunny First Blossom" - Completed on September 9, 2010

The Loirin is a very old character of mine who is sort of a cross between a lion and a kirin (oriental unicorn). I have rendered this fella many times over the years, and one of the first ones I really liked was done way back in 2006 (although I have sketches of him as early as 2001, I believe). The character's been roaming around in my head, but aside from a few short lines of text, I really haven't written him into the world of my story yet. I figure when the right moment arises, he'll make himself known and slip into the midst of things. He's very calm and collected, and I view his race as a true and elusive rarity.

"Loirin Sketch in Copic Marker" - Completed on April 15 ,2006

Years later I wanted to commission him to be made into a plush by the ever-talented Kim Rhodes, so I put some quick color over top my original image so she had a guide of his coloration. She did a fantastic job on him!

"Loirin Color Reference Guide" - Completed on May 1, 2012

"Loirin" Commission by Kim Rhodes - Completed on May 5, 2012 

In any case, this weekend I was able to finish-up painting my Loirin plate which I free-handed based on the original 2010 image. I’m really excited to see how the colors turn out after it’s fired, since even during the painting process I had to try to use my imagination to try and figure out how it will all come together after firing. Here’s to hoping it turns out close to how I envisioned it! His colors should be fairly bold against a background of fallen snow.

"Loirin and Bunny First Blossom Plate" - Sketch - May 12, 2013 

"Loirin and Bunny First Blossom Plate" - First Day of Painting - May 12, 2013

"Loirin and Bunny First Blossom Plate" - WIP Paint - June 5, 2013

"Loirin and Bunny First Blossom Plate" - Ready for Firing - June 5, 2013
"Loirin and Bunny First Blossom Plate" - Ready for Firing - June 5, 2013

In any case, I'm hoping next week is similarly productive. I'll admit I feel like I'm juggling quite a few different projects, but it's awesome feeling like I'm making headway with so many of them. I'm really excited to see how that plate fires-up next weekend, and I'm hoping to make a fair bit more writing progress this coming week.