What my characters look like [Syantere'!]

[fluke]

Having a new job, my wife and I are taking mad money again. This is just money we can spend for ourselves, like an allowance. I have begun saving it up for art commissions of my characters! I'm looking at no more than one a month, and some months will have to be skipped because of other expenses (and more detailed portraits require more money), but it has begun!

In case you've ever wondered what Granish d'Dunnor looked like, here he is! This is how he looks after the events of "Pursuit."

The artist is [e-mail]. He charges reasonably for commissions, but ask if he has time to take it before just sending the info.

Attachments:

[Bainespal]

That picture makes the Sachalin race much more believable. They are not just circus escapees; they're a deadly serious people whose sublte beast-like qualities add to their aura!

[morganlbusse]

That looks great!

[fluke]

FYI, Karina's description has been sent and added to Juggertha's schedule!

[fluke]

Here is Karina Tomeii at age 19 (after the events of "Pursuit"). I asked Juggertha to do a scene of her having just spotted a mark whom she needs to relieve of a coin purse. She's sneaking up on said mark. (For the curious, I plan on commissioning Shylocke Averyson next!)

Attachments:

[myrthman]

Frank, are all the characters in your story Sachalin, or are some human or otherwise? I haven't had the opportunity to read it yet.

[fluke]

"The Strong Survive" takes place in the Sachalin kingdom but there are several non-sach playing larger roles in the story. Most of the characters are leonine or tigrine Sachalin. Granish is Leonine, and the villain is Tigrine. The thief Karina, here, is a Fey (half-elves who fill the niche of gypsies in the story world). Howard and family are fully human. Does Karina look Sach in the picture above?

This story is related to "Sunset Over Gunther" in that it takes place in the same story world. In fact, Shylocke and Granish team up with an elf to track an assassin in "Pursuit," a story set for the anthology. Another story, "The Contest," has humans, elves, dwarves, and Sachalin playing various sized roles. Most of the characters in "New Life" are human, but Phaeus is half-dwarf. "The Stronger Rule" will have a dwarf in a major supporting role with Granish, Karina, and Howard. Seldon returns as the villain to get revenge for the embarrassing drumming he receives.

[myrthman]

Jul 1, 2011 11:09:51 GMT -5 fluke said:

Does Karina look Sach in the picture above?

I didn't see any Sach features. I guess that's why I asked. Makes sense now, though.

[fluke]

Hey there,

Had some technical difficulties in July. [e-mail] told me he had time for the next piece (Shylocke Averyson). When I replied with the description, it got lost in cyberspace. He assumed I wasn't quite ready and went on with other stuff. I assumed it got there. Not wanting to seem like a bad customer, I waited. 2 weeks later, I asked if he had received it. He said no and asked me to resend it. I did. He got it and sent me the attached preliminary sketch for approval and clarification (he said he might change the framing a little and asked if the clothing should be more European and what type of sword he used). I specified the clothing should be more European and the sword needs to be a hand-and-a-half sword. Jugg's Korean, so he had defaulted to "katana."

Without further ado, here he is! Shylocke Averyson as he appears at the end of "Pursuit." In the scene, some thief with poor judgment has decided to mug Shylocke one fine night. I said that the look on Shylocke's face should say, "I hope you feel lucky, but you sure won't be!" Jugg nailed it! Color version should be up next week, but I wanted to wet your appetites.

Attachments:

[beckyminor]

Nice...you're right, the expression fits the bill nicely. I also like the slightly overhead perspective. It mixes things up a little and make the illustration more dynamic.

[fluke]

Here he is in living color! Shylocke Averyson!

Attachments:

[Bainespal]

A medieval action hero, indeed. The picture looks more or less as I imagined him. Very cool!

[fluke]

Here is Hanna bet Shimeon! Painted by [e-mail]. She will be debuting in "To Cleanse the Leper" which is still several stories away. Chronologically, it will be after "My Enemy/My Friend" or after "My Brother's Keeper."

Hanna is Hedaic, the Jewish analog. She is extremely devout and comes from the Holy Land. She was sent as liaison between her group of holy warriors and the Knights Luminar. Unlike most, she wears the tefillin on her head at all times. She only wraps the arm bands at specified prayer times.

Hanna is also very compassionate. She will only fight to defend herself or innocents. Even then, she hates to take life but sees the necessity against some adversaries. Don't view that as a weakness. She knows how to find weak points in armor and can debilitate foes several times her size with a few well placed strikes.

Edit: she is not calling forth a fireball in the picture. She is praying and HaShem is showing his approval of her devotion as happened in Acts and a few times in the Rabbinic literature.

Attachments:

[fluke]

Blown away is all I can think of to describe opening this one for the first time! [e-mail] really outdid himself this time!

This is Blane and Grimthol Freeman, brothers. Blane is the prophet while Grimthol is the knight. The picture comes from the climactic scene of "My Brother's Keeper" (still to be finished).

[Trying to figure out how much I can say without spoiling the story.]

Grimthol proved himself to be a natural fighter and scholar. He enjoys study more than most of his age, esp. research in theology. He grew up in a religious family, but had a vivid encounter with the Father during the mission to escort Hanna to Castle Osias ("To Cleanse the Leper").

Blane is a promising prophet of the Father whose ministry has been held back by a feud with Grimthol. He is known for his devotion to the Father, compassion for the downtrodden, and zeal against servants of evil.

The foot in the foreground belongs to a summoning mage (they wear grey but he is in shadow). As you can see, the brothers have made their way through several minions and summoned monsters and now face the Big Bad(TM).

I didn't tell Juggy the expressions I wanted this time. He did better than what I would have said, though. Grimthol's look is "Let's finish this, Brother." Blane's look says, "Brother, our Lord has already won the war."

Attachments:

[Kessie]

Spiffy pic! The clawed hand in the bottom left corner is creepy. :-)