Growing up Gemmy

I got an amazing Christmas gift from home of some of my old drawings including the very beginnings of Gemmy and crew.

Well, back in the day when I first conceived of Gemmy and Po there was one big difference: His name was Richard. It started as an idea for a class project and spun itself into a whole world of characters for my alter ego to inhabit and indulge my thirst for adventure (and saving the Universe). I should point out that I still misspell 'guardian' without spell check. This was done when I was 13 around 1995.

Over time 'Richard Guardian of the Universe' split off into two alternate reality versions of the same character: Richard the Great and The Mighty Orange-Peel. RTG carried the back pack and the sword and TMOP kept the cool powers.

RTG lived in a far off land and had adventures with his pals (Pendleton Ward and I must have shared a brain as children because Adventure Time is basically everything I wanted RTG to be). TMOP became known to me mostly just as 'Opeel' or 'O' and so the adventures that would become the story of Gemmy began. He got the family, the power with great responsibility, the genius intellect and all the characters that you'd come to know in Emersus Project.

Opeel I feel grew up with me. His look changed as much as mine did as I began to develop and experiment with drawing styles. The whole cast got makeovers and haircuts as often as I did as a teenager including, eventually, the bright blue streak at the front that signified the awakening of his powers.

   

Eventually, I finally decided to write down Opeel's story formally and at the time the best way I thought to do it was in comic book form. So, around 1999/2000 I sat down and started to sketch out the story of Richard Doodles (aka The Mighty Orange Peel). What strikes me most is how many details from the story all those years ago made it into what became Gemmy's story.

When Opeel became Gemmy 2010

You can see (above) I'd named Opeel's hometown 'Banjo Island City which became Bansho Island City. The sisters were there, Mhetli still looks exactly the same, even Po was part of the gang. There were even Rhe'zans! A few characters didn't make it to Gemmy's world like Mr Cornball (the blue guy like Po but with a green helmet) and Sem was then 'Ben'. But Sem retained Ben's characteristic multicoloured hair and sports jersey. Also, Gemmy has a nose. I never drew Opeel with a nose until he became Gemmy. Why? I don't know. There's probably any number of psychological interpretations about self-identity and what not. But the honest answer is, Opeel was always just an idea. I liked him being other-worldly and not a real person. It wasn't until I grew up that Gemmy became 'Gemmy' - a real person, concrete with a story all his own, someone I'd grown up with, instead of 'Richard Doodles' - a shadow of myself.

So, without further ado, here is Gemmy's early beginnings in the (first draft) comic of the 'The Mighty Orange Peel' from 1999. See if you can spot the beginnings of what became 'Black Star'.

  

   

  

Enjoy!
‽


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Christmas card 2014

Here is this year's Christmas card in it's full glory:

I was inspired to style my characters after Masashi Kishimoto's art in Naruto now that the series has come to a conclusion after 15 years!!

It was exciting to create my own 'Christmas' mythology for the holiday Arbeas that is mentioned in the Emersus Project series. Gemmy and his crew look quite stylish as if they were characters who inhabited Kishimoto's world. It was quite fitting as Gemmy (The Mighty Orange-Peel) was originally conceived as a manga character.

Snowflakes:
Every year I try to incorporate some other aspect of the art that I'm making into the card; a new technique, a style I've been experimenting with.

We've made a paper chain of friends

I've been making paper snowflakes like a fiend for fun and with friends. I'm having all my friends help make paper crafts to decorate my flat with. When I fiinished the drawing at first I thought the background looked quite bare. So my partner said 'Why not add some snowflakes in the background?'.



Well, I thought he was mad, but I gave it a shot just to humour him. Needless to say, it worked out marvellously. I made a point of using some of my favourite flakes but also some of the ones friends made so they're part of my card as well.

Scotland snowflake

Getting more intricate

Needless to say, some of the flakes I've made since the card have been my most impressive/I've become slightly obsessed. But it's a lot of good fun. So, if you want to know how to make your own you can find lots of good instructions online. It's great fun. And if you have kids you can have them draw out their pattern on paper and cut it out for them (it's a bit tough to cut through a six-time folded sheet of paper even for an adult). I even replaced the usual Wishmaker 'star' motif on the back of the card with a snowflake! I think it gives it an even nicer wintery feeling

Card back - w!shmaker greetings

Well, that's my Christmas story. What's yours?

Read the mythology in other blog posts on this year's Christmas card:

• Who are the phoblits?, 
• Christmas colours, 
• Hoba is better than Santa, 
• My Kishimoto Christmas

Enjoy!
‽

Buy 'Black Star' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook

Christmas Letter 2014

Merry Christmas everyone! Here's my 2014 Christmas card!

Overall, 2014 has been an incredible year. New meetings, partings, reconnecting, visas, exams, trips and attending the plethora of weddings, engagement parties and baby-showers that come with being in your 30s.

The first few months of the year were concerned with my Life in the UK exam. Twenty-four questions to determine if the last nine years of my life in Scotland were going to be worth the effort was a pretty daunting. Thankfully, I passed the test with flying colours (23/24) and it was fun to bust out all the study techniques that I learned in school (thanks to all my teachers for the confidence they gave me by instilling great study skills). Go on, take the Life in the UK exam. So after a swathe of bureaucracy I got my visa away and it came back in four months approved.

Yes folks, I'm officially a UK resident, now just six months away from becoming a naturalised citizen. That's the plan at the moment. I figure with the world politics changing at an ever increased pace it would be prudent to have my UK passport this way, heaven forbid, the change the rights of non-EU residents (or any non-citizen). I'm never going to not be American - but it's nice to know that I have two places I belong.

Brighton

New tattoo - ouch!!

Berks of Aberfeldy

It was a lovely summer here. I wasn't sure at the time when my passport would be returned so I saw a bit more of local attractions on weekend jaunts with friends. Coincidentally (fate) I had a holiday to Brighton the week my visa came back approved. More than enough reason to celebrate. I might have celebrated too much, much to my bank account's dismay. Brighton is on the southern coast of England. It was absolutely perfect weather - hot days, mild evenings, no rain and a beach. The water was freezing and the rocks were sharp, but I had a good laugh visiting with my mates Steve, Shug and Kade. I'd definitely recommend it as a summer destination (as long as it's not raining). I saw lots of Scotland attractions as well. I visited the Kelpies and Cairnpapple Hill with my mate Ian.  I went to my first casino. I traversed the Berks of Aberfeldy and the Queen's View with Ross. I travelled Argyll and Bute with Doug. And I finally invested in a gym membership and got a sweet new tattoo!

Kelpies in Fife

On the boat to Bute

Work's been a bit of a bother this year (*understatement*). I think the overwhelming nature of the visa process and then suddenly having the restrictions of my previous visa cast off plus the stress of having issues with one of my bosses for the last few years just resulted in a total meltdown. I had to take a few months off work to try and sort out the personal, as well as personnel, issues there. The positive side of it all is I've come out the other side feeling happier in my work thanks to various changes and I think I understand a bit more about 'the game' that is working for a large bureaucratic organisation AND I still have a job. So, awesome! A side result has been that I've been getting more involved with Equality and Diversity at work. It's been good to have a place to channel my passion for fairness for everyone. No matter what I do in the future it's something I'd like to maintain. I even got to attend the Stonewall Scotland work conference and did a video for One Scotland on the subject (pardon the extremely dry lips. I was just recovering from norovirus). I'm currently looking into other fields now that I have the freedom to move jobs. It's a bit scary to suddenly have the world as my oyster again, but I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to find the right job that will fulfil my financial and intellectual needs. Also, I'm looking into part-time tutoring again. It's something that I've enjoyed in the past so will be extra money and a potential avenue for career development and have a few interviews on the horizon. The application, interview process is a stressful but at least I'm getting positive feedback. Now I just need some luck I guess.

I'm hard at work on Book 2, Spirit Shear, which is the follow up to my first book, Black Star (buy Black Star on Amazon in the UK and US), in the Emersus Project series. It's so enjoyable to be writing the characters again and getting to know new ones. I learned so much from writing the first book which is making the second go much smoother (not necessarily quicker). I have a process that works well for me and it means I can try and expand myself in other ways. Book 2 is also going to be fun because now that we know the characters I can bring out other parts of them and we get a lot more of Mhetli who is quickly becoming my favourite character to write (sorry, Sem!).

I attended an amazing wedding in September. My mates Paul and Caroline Inglis got married in Knoydart which is an incredibly remote peninsula off the west coast of Scotland. It's only accessible by boat, no phone signal and frankly, magical. Even the midgies couldn't spoil the event. I was honoured that Paul and Caroline asked me to sing Barry White's 'You're My First, My Last' as their first dance and be an usher at their wedding. I also participated in the 'Loony Dook' where you jump into the freezing cold water first thing in the morning.

Loony dook

Why? I don't know. I also got to play with their local ukulele band!! :D In other wedding/baby news, my friend and college room mate 'Downstairs' Dan Venning got married to his wife Emma. Jesus Tirado (who I've known since I was ten) and his wife Amy just had a baby girl, Callie. I wish I could have been there to witness them all first hand (well maybe not the birth bit, Amy). But I'm so touched that they all wanted me to be included in their joy. It means a lot. I also got to play host to Stephanie Hagan, a friend from college, and her husband Sam on their way to Rome! My mates Ray and Craig got engaged so I had a trip down to London to celebrate with them. And now that gay marriage is legal in Scotland I have a few 'wedding again' celebrations to attend. :)

Two pouting posers

During the summer I was in a show 'Our House' where I met my beau, John McFaul from Danderhall. :) It was a great show; very very high energy. It was great to reconnect with friends there and be part of the chorus. As usual I got squeezed into an array of loud, sparkly, sometimes obscene, scene stealing costumes. I'd like to say that I'm embarrassed, but I totally love it. And John's an incredible guy. He's equally loud, sparkly and obscenely scene stealing. So over all, favourite show I've done so far.

We even had a great Halloween with a couples costume of Riff Raff and Magenta from Rocky Horror. It was indeed frightening... how awesome we looked!!! It was a fun night. We even did some pumpkin carving which I haven't done in years!!! And then I got gastroenteritis! lol

John's first Thanksgiving

I had two Thanksgivings! Neither was on Thanksgiving day, a phenomena that seems possible only once you live away from home. One with the Uncles Mark and Mickey. John got to join us for his first Thanksgiving experience. The other at my friend Lindsay's which is always outstanding! If you've never had her coleslaw, you've never had coleslaw! So much food. So many leftover. So joy. The weirdest thing was that Black Friday made it over to Britain. It was just bizzarre.

My hall all decked

Christmas this year is looking to be a good one too. I'm spending Christmas Eve with John, Christmas day with Mark and Mickey, and before that there are a host of catch-ups, coffees, cocktails and cooking sessions that will be happening with friends. I love this time of year because everyone tries just a little bit harder to be more sociable. The trick is to plan some 'ME' time in there as well. :)

I've made a lot of new friends (a lot of them awesome people John has introduced me to), kindled better friendships, hopefully maintained the relationships in my life that are worth keeping, and I'm focussing my energy on the people and things that matter most to me and make me happy. Getting older is a weird mix of gains and losses that I'm slowly learning to navigate better by understanding that as long as you focus on the gains more your whole perspective on life becomes a lot happier.

I hope you're all happy and whole this season and here's to a new year!

Enjoy!
‽

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Chapter deadline

As Christmas rapidly approaches I'm nearing my deadline of having the first 10 chapters drafter. I'm well into the action of Chapter 10 so excited to be almost at my goal!

The first ten chapters of Spirit Shear I think are very different from Black Star. Firstly, we know Gemmy and his world so there's no need for gentle introductions. So we're straight into the action of the book right away. Secondly, I get to develop the other characters more. And with the addition of new characters there's a different dynamic at work. 

As a teaser, here are the first ten chapter titles and their glyphs. Hopefully they convey the bigness of this book's conflict. 

Enjoy!
‽ 


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Phoblits - better than elves

Introducing the Phoblits (Pronounced - Po-blitz).

These little guys are Hoba's helpers on Arbeas. Like Santa's elves they help deliver toys to boys and girls and often play tricks on them. The five we've let out of the box this year are: Scrappy, Sappy, Happy, Flappy and Nappy.

Unlike Christmas, gifts are hidden throughout the house for kids to find and that's thanks to these little gremlins. They decorate this year's Holiday card bringing as much cheer as tiny anthropomorphic blobs with funny faces can bring.

What's a gremlin:
They're spirits that have been bound in service to Hoba (and Arbea) as penance before they can travel on to the spirit world. Therefore, they're not just holly-jolly little beings that make nicey-nice. They all have their own personalities. Think of them as ASBO workers who mean well but don't always manage it. And since Hoba is a trickster god, their idea of a good deed is not always carried out in the way we'd expect.

In ancient times, they were the spirits that led children (or straight-up kidnapped them) in to the woods to be taken by Hoba. Now they just hide presents, eat cookies and occasionally tie girls hair to their bed posts.

My favourite is Scrappy. Mostly because he looks like the most trouble.

Other blog posts on this year's Christmas card:
The holiday Arbeas differs from Christmas in many ways - 'Christmas colours'
Hoba is better than Santa I think. His mythology is wayyyyy creepier - Hoba is better than Santa


Enjoy!
‽




Buy 'Black Star' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook

Christmas colours

So, I've rounded Chapter 9 and my goal is to at least get the first 10 done by Christmas. Shouldn't be a problem between all the holiday parties (Thanksgiving tomorrow, Channukah on 18th, Tree trimmings, food prep and gift making and wrapping).

But, one thing I need to do by week end is get this Holiday card finished and off to the printers!!

Now that Hoba is designed and sorted the actual character work has begun. In Gemmy's world their holiday colours are Gold/orange (for light), Purple (for wisdom) and Green (for spring). So, it's been fun designing holiday themed clothing that would look festive in their world and ours.

Mhetli and Sem's holiday outfits

Mhetli is more in the spirit and Sem pretty much does her own thing.

It's been fun using more traditional means of illustrating. One thing I've really enjoyed is using the light box and doing final drawings in ink. I have the filthy hands to prove it!

They produce suck crisp clean final drawing that are beautiful in themselves.

I've still been doing digital colouring in photoshop but have been using a 'marker' technique to get closer to Kishimoto-sensei's style. But, hey, I've still got to be me. :)

Here are the ink drawings of Gemmy and Hoba for the card as well:

 

Enjoy!
‽


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Darumas and Santas: My Kishimoto Christmas

Does Santa visit Arbea?

Nope. We got this guy - Hoba

Hoba visits bringing presents to children of Arbea

Seal of Hoba

In the old religion of Arbea, Hoba (or Hermit Hoba - the Striped Sage) was the trickster aspect of the god Arbea. He was originally depicted as a hermit who carried a staff made from a broken branch. Atop the twisted staff sat the symbol of Hoba (or the last cold snap of winter when it gets coldest just before the spring which is where the hermit gets his name). Miraculously from his broken staff there are two leaves sprouting.

The god Arbea manifests as Hoba after the long winter when there are no harvests to sacrifice to him for his appeasement. It was said that Hoba would come to your house and steal your children as tribute before he would allow spring to return. So, people would trick him by creating straw doppelgänger of their children for him to take away instead. This would appease Hoba and spring would return. It was how parents convinced their children not to go play out in the snow past dark even though the days got shorter.

In modern times Hoba is as you see him above - a jolly wendersell (travelling salesman) who brings toys to children. Families make dolls (or cookies shaped like people) so that Hoba knows which children to leave presents for. He visits on the holiday Arbeas which is similar to our Christmas.

Hoba is inspired by Japanese Daruma dolls which are mini representations of Bodhidharma. I've always been intrigued by culuture and how we can take something as solemn as a Bhuddist monk and turn them into essentially a charm for good luck. So, I conceived of this little egg-shaped man who brings presents and worked backwards to get to who this man really was and how he got from menacing monk to mirthful myth. There's so much more behind every folk tale.


Also, here are some sketches of how the gang will look now that they've had their Kishimoto inspired makeover for this year's Christmas card. It's going to be epic!!!

So, what do you think of Hoba?

Enjoy!
‽




Buy 'Black Star' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook

Animakeover for Christmas

Well, it should be Manga makeover, but you get the gist.

So, it's time to start designing my annual Christmas card. Every year I try to think of what the biggest things in my year have been but also if I could have one thing for Christmas what it would be. I then theme my card accordingly.

I realised this was a year of new things and renewals. So, for my card this year I decided to renew my childhood adoration of manga. So, I'll be taking the characters from Emersus Project and drawing them in the style of Kishimoto-sensei's world famous manga, Naruto, which comes to an end next month after 15 years!

Gemmy - Kishimoto style

Mhetli, Sem and Mercy

Gemmy and co started out as manga characters way back in the 90s when I first conceived of the story. I was absolutely obsessed with Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. One of my more recent manga loves is Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto (or Kishimoto Masashi). So, I've been rereading The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki where Kishimoto-sensei takes us on a step-by-step journey through his illustration process.

So, this year I'll be walking in Kishimoto-sensei's footsteps to make my Christmas card. Here's the rest of the gang as if they'd stepped into Kishimoto's world. More character designs to follow.



Other blog posts on this year's Christmas card:
The holiday Arbeas differs from Christmas in many ways - 'Christmas colours'
Hoba is better than Santa I think. His mythology is wayyyyy creepier - Hoba is better than Santa


Enjoy!
‽


Buy 'Black Star' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook