Playing with Curves...

It's all in the title. I started out fiddling with the levels and ended up screwing around with curves and came up with some bizarre images that I really like and think I could use but would never put out as a final image. Something to refrence for later ideas.

I also played around with trying to find something simple to give a little depth to my previous drawing...it ended up drawing attention away from the image (esp the wings) so I made it higher....

Didn't work out but I still learned a few things.

Grafted wings

This isn't strictly related to my FMP but I had the idea a while ago, it came back to me so I just had to do it. Although this is a character design I plan to use, it's to appear much later in another narrative project. Which, now that I mention it, is sure to crop up again.

To explain, I'm quite fascinated with the concept of altering the human condition (wiki covers it fairly well) and the various reasons for this desire from aesthetics, expressing identity to health and (debatable) improvement. I admit, however, though I've been interested in ideas surrounding it, I'm only just becoming familiar now with the term transhumanism.

Of course, this isn't anything new. Doesn't make it any less interesting or relevant for that matter.

Concerning the character in question, I have a very clear idea of how these aesthetic wings are supposed to function. 

Smoking is Hazardous to your Health

On another note, I believe this is the first smoker I've ever drawn.
This is just a rough image. While I'm proud of my line-work, my attempt to combine it with acrylic (my strong suit) failed and came out more like watercolour (NOT my strong suit).

Kudos to Jack and Tor for naming him.

Book trailers- Jon Klassen

Since I mentioned what I wanted to do for the FMP proposal I might as well point out an example of a  book trailer that influenced my decision.

Won the Caldecott Medal for 'This is Not My Hat' this year (2013).

One thing i can say is, he seems to really, really like hats...

FMP Proposal

The final FMP Proposal is going to be coming up in about 5 weeks. I'm hoping this will be ample time to get together:

• a trailer (I was going to do one anyway...what you've never seen a book trailer???) 
• and a Bulby doll. 

I was considering doing both anyway since I'm a fan of animation and would love to see Bulby in that format. And the doll because 1 it will serve as an excellent reference for Bulby's size, 2 fun promotional... thing and 3...yes, it would be nice to be able to give my character a hug.

Dark Woods

The Dark Woods is where pretty much the entirety of Bulby Book 1 takes place. It's a very grim environment where the trees completely blot out light and literally leeches out all colour (hence the name). It's littered with junk and the trees practically merge with industrial waste. So it's not just forestry. It's extremely important that I get the mood right in the medium and technique I portray it. Unfortunately while I'm confident with creating darker imagery esp with ink, I haven't yet been able to come up with imagery that I feel accurately expresses the despairing atmosphere of Dark Woods while also fitting around my characters. So i'll be doing a lot of experimenting with the medium I use and looking at other artists I find give a tone that reminds me of what I'm looking for.

Page example: Very rough pencil lines
- Inspired by Petra Erika Nordlund's Prague Race

Prague Race

One thing you should probably know about me is that I adore webcomics and have done pretty much since discovering the Internet as a child. Recently Prague Race quickly became one of my top favourites with it's eerie art style and story which is a lovely balance between dark and light hearted fantasy brimming with possibilities. Written by Petra Erika Nordlund aka Leppu, who demonstrates an excellent talent for storytelling in her characters and pacing. Not to mention her excellent use of plot twists which leave her audience completely on the edge of their seats (-cough-Colin-cough-).

I'd say it's definitely targeted at a young adult audience and lovers of the fantasy genre.

So if you haven't already read it you should probably go. read it. now.
And while your at it go check out her DA and tumblr.

Mr. Nemo

Who's this? Who is he? How will he feature in the story? I'm afraid I can't say without giving story away but I will say he's based on a good friend of mine. A very good friend.

Summer White

 "Hail, men of grey Arawn! My master comes, the Golden One, he who is ancient yet ever young. He whom no bird's wings can outstrip, whose flame shrivels all feathers, consumes all flesh. Do you hear me, men of the Western World? Then tremble. Nergal comes, the Lord of the Abyss, the Lord of the burning summer sun! He that rises out of Meslam, the Underworld, to blast every green and growing thing. He that of old dragged Ereshkigal, Queen of the Eastern Dead, from her ancient throne by the hair of her terrible head. He that turned her pride to cringing fear and made her the weak receiver of his seed. Even so will he deal with your Brenhines-y-nef, with your Modron, the Mother. Too long has She queened it here, over you gelded weaklings of the West. She shall learn Her place, the woman's place! East and west the dead shall know but one Lord: Havgan the Destroyer!"

"What right had you to seek my death, Lord? I never harmed you; I do not know why you sought my life. But since you have begun to kill me, end it---put me out of this pain."

I must say I've fallen absolutely in love with Evangeline Walton's re-telling of the Mabinogion, the collection of interwoven Welsh medieval legends. While the tales themselves are wonderful, it is really Walton's beautifully entrancing writing style, her use of symbolism and allusion to other cultural myths. I'm afraid much of the meaning and feeling of the quotations above is lost without the rest of the text. But Havgan was so well built up as a particularly vicious figure I just had to. An opponent whom even the Lord of the dead, Arawn, cannot defeat. Who if killed is, more or less, able to recover invulnerable to the one who slew him.

Original: (calligraphy) pen and ink with watercolour and rough pencil background.

Thanks to Evangelin Walton I had such a clear image of what Havgan looked like. A gorgeous youth hiding an arrogant, cruel and deceptively ancient personality. If the battle was really something like the seasonal battle between the Holly King and Oak King then it all the more implies his disruption of an ancient balance. Though he's clearly a very minor character in the Mabinogion he's fascinating in Walton's version and I could go on.

I did a little bit of research to find suitable garb that would fit Walton's suggested connection to the Phoenician god Nergal. The Khopesh swords seemed like a sword I could get away with and it fitted with what I wanted: something that was of an attractive, boastful shape. And from what I understand the Khopesh was often used as a ceremonious sword, buried with the dead which couldn't be more perfect. However, I cheated a bit with the belt since I'm assuming it's kind of impossible to sheath such a sword.