His name is Daryn

So, my amends are done and I'm giving the book one more rest and sending out to two or three more people. I'm starting to feel like it's nerves sitting on it as everyone I've shown it to now has pretty much said it's good and to just go with it. :-/

Anywho, I've set 1 November 2013 (Themo Day) as the publication date on Amazon.

In the mean time I'm finishing up drawings for the book and continuing to work on the cover. More on that to follow.

As the drawing spree continues I found the perfect inspiration for Tricky in Book 2.

Firstly, I've named him Daryn after a friend who was going to name him and couldn't come up with a name for me. But, his name is Darren so it felt fitting. :)

Secondly, I met a guy who, from the moment I started talking to him, I knew he was Daryn! When I'm writing and drawing, as most writers do, I draw inspiration from my real life. And characters really come alive for me once I have features, personality traits or characteristics to latch on to. For me, my mate's eyes and nose really told a story to me that was kindred with what I'm trying to achieve with Daryn.

I've made pages and pages of sketches. Here's just one of the many. At this stage I drew from memory what I thought I wanted Daryn to look like (middle) which was not right. I then redrew and redrew. Then, in the top right corner, I did a pencil drawing of my mate whose features I wanted to borrow.  From there I did the drawing in top left then another front on (below drawing top right).

I tend to sketch in ink but when I did the drawing of my mate I did it in pencil because I have a different sensibility when I draw in this medium - I pay much more attention to the shadows and shapes of a face. Of course there are features to Daryn that have no bearing on reality. Below isn't the final drawing, but it's much closer to what I'm looking for and I added some colour to help bring the character more into focus when I start writing Book 2 again. So here's a better look at Daryn.

Daryn - Ink and digital render

I better get back to drawings on Book 1!!

Enjoy!
‽