Book 2 Chapter glyphs

Now that the edits are done and the book is away to be copy editied it's time I started work on the finer details of the book.

It's amazing how easy it's been to create glyphs for the chapter titles the second time around. I'd already created an ancient hieroglyphic writing system for Gemmy's world for the first book. I've had to create a few new ones as some of the more basic concepts weren't covered yet. At some point I'm going to do a proper compendium of the glyphs and their meanings.

So, here's a peak at the content of Book 2 in chapter headings. Book 2 is definitely much more action packed than the first!

Hope you enjoy!
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Buy Book 1, 'Black Star' on Amazon in the UK and US
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Dino might

So, how does one get around on the island of Rheza? Well, get yourself one of these:

Maza - the dinosaur bird

Better than a Ford raptor, the mazatotl (or maza for short) are the transport of choice for the Rhe'zans.

The word mazatotl literally means 'stag bird', but the maza are more like a utahraptor vs an emu vs a bald eagle than an actual stag. They're very aggressive birds and are hard to tame. The Rhe'zans believe that it's only through mutual respect that one is allowed to ride a maza. As all birds of prey are regarded highly in Rhe'zan society so the maza is the pinnacle of that respect. It's a fierce hunter, a fast and true steed and pretty deadly.

The resemblance is uncanny

Maza mowhawk

I've been sketching the maza a lot. I wanted it to look fierce but also plausible. I went through phases where it looked a bit like a peacock and a griffin Some of my initial drawings were a bit too fluffy with downy tail feathers and 70s Storm from Xmen mowhawks.

Ultimately what helped settle it was the description in the book that says the maza looks just as much lizard as it does bird. So, I stopped looking at pictures of eagles and buzzards and started looking at my favourite creatures: DINOSAURS.

some early sketches

Despite what Jurassic Park tells you, the velociraptor was actually a puny little pack-hunting punk that was indeed vicious but nowhere near as big as what you see on the screen. The steed-sized bipedal dinosaur that actually did exist was the Utahraptor. I drew (hehe get it) a lot of inspiration from this feathered predator but kept the facial features of a more modern bird of prey. I also kept the equally deadly emu feet. I thought about using ostrich feet but they are too gross. Seriously, they look like when pigeons get those clubbed feet from stepping in tangled thread or gum.

So, after ditching the peacock like feathers and head and tail plumes the maza came together as a pretty deadly and kick-ass addition the world of Arbea. Next animal to come out of my creature shop will be the gorek which also appears when Gemmy and Sem arrive on Rheza.


Hope you enjoy!
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Final drawings

Well folks, here it is: The first completed drawing for Spirit Shear

The guys away on summer holiday

Come explore Garz Isle

Sem gets a makeover

It's not just the first drawing I've completed but the first illustration in the book! This time Gemmy and Sem are on adventure away from home. To get there they'll have to travel the length of the country. And, while Gemmy practices using his powers electromagnetically levitating a penny Sem sleeps with her face pressed against the window.

The other two are scenes from the book. They're all in varying states of completion. But, much like the writing, I'm drafting them and getting them to a fit state then moving on to the next. I'll then go back and edit and improve to bring them more to life if I can.

It's going to be a long trip and an even longer summer for me doing drawings and editing the book. Let's hope I don't look as exhausted as Sem by the end of it!

Hope you enjoy!
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Buy Book 1, 'Black Star' on Amazon in the UK and US
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Outlined in ink

Being a comic book kid I love the look of a nice crisp pen ink drawing and I've finally found the drawing pen for me!

Every artist has a favourite brand of pen/pencil that just 'gets them'.

I'm a Staedtler HB pencil man. Always have been. Always will be. But recently, as I've been doing more refined ink drawings with the light box, I've not quite found drawing ink pen or marker that has the kind of control and creates the type of line I like.

Enter the Mitusbishi Pencil Co Uni pin marker.

Sem ready for a fight

Sem's hair a tangle
of tresses!

It comes in 0.05mm, 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm and 0.8mm and draws like heaven. It goes on smoothly but has grip (unlike a regular marker). It dries quickly and crisply and you can even erase pencil under it without incurring the wrathful smudging! According to the site it's water and fade proof but I have yet to test the validity of that.

As far as I'm concerned these are the pens for me and I've already gone ahead and bought a stock of them! After some experimenting I've found .2mm works well for drawing and using .05 and .1 for detail. The .05 has been particularly handy when drawing the details and fine lines in hair to really give it the depth and body I want. But, I love all the widths. 

Mercy and Gemmy saying "see ya' later"

I've begun using it to do figure studies for the final illustrations. I can't wait to break out the light box and really get stuck in to making some of the final illustrations. For this book I've planned 12 and, unlike Book 1, they'll be action shots of the characters in scenes from the book, not just portraits. 



Enjoy!
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Death bird

The first round of edits on Draft 1 are done... and so begins the drawing storm.

Round 1: Mhetli

Sem and Gemmy got their Rhe'zan cloaks and now it's Mhetli's turn.

I wanted Mhetli to look like a giant bird of prey. On Rheza birds are revered as hunters and the island even boasts several species of carnivorous raptors. So, it seemed fitting that our verdant vindicator would be decked out bird style.

In the book his cloak is described as: "dark green and had maza feathers on the shoulders and bottom for ‘swift and silent travel’. It made him look like a very deadly bird, Gemmy thought."

Deadly indeed with his two large Rhe'zan swords.

A colleague asked how I come up with the designs for costumes. Well, there's lots and lots of sketching. I mostly doodle on scrap paper when an idea comes to me. For things like this I like the details to be meaningful so spend a lot of time 'inside' a drawing before properly drawing it out.

Thought process:
With the cloak I knew that I wanted it to be split at the back so it could look like wings. Functionally, since it's a warriors cloak, it also couldn't be too long in the front so that helped dictate the shape.

Next, I wanted to get the back right. Similar to Sem's cloak I wanted it to be representative of an animal and have a face. When sketching it though it looked a bit too much like a bug so I need to add some elements to the tails to make it look more like wings. I tried stripes which worked best, however, I went with the zig-zags to represent feathers as it was more in keeping with the Aztec motifs of the others' cloaks.

Finally, it looked a bit bare on the back so I added the triangular symbol which is actually a Rhe'zan glyph for strength and unity. It is the symbol of one of the Rhe'zan gods Ce’ahuli. It is given to all guards, warriors, and protectors on Rheza. Incidentally, it is related to the glyph of the Emersus Project. 

So, that's how Mhetli got his Book 2 gear.

What do you think?

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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Do you believe in magic?

If each of the books has a theme, Black Star is definitely 'science' and Book 2 is definitely 'magic'. With this in mind I've decided on a working title for Book 2 - Spirit Shear. 

In Arbea, magic is referred to as 'mysticism'. The symbol for magic is a composite of the Arbean glyphs for power and 'spirit shear' which is a combination of the symbol for 'heaven' and 'destruction'.

The concept of 'spirit shear' comes from the archaic idea that the use of mysticism is some how drawing on the power of the gods. 

Enjoy!
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Tatt-t-tatt-tat-too

In preparing to get stuck in to Book 2 I'm reviewing the outline.

I'm super super excited to get to work on it. It's definitely much more action packed from the first book and *spoiler* we see a lot more of Mhetli.

You're going to find out a bit more about who he is and what exactly happened to him in Black Star labs. He's going to spend a good lot of the time scrapping and scraping and we'll get more than a few flashes of his nasty tatts that were embedded under his skin to help him control his powers.

I decided to spend a while exploring exactly what that would look like so here's a sketch of exactly how extensive Mhethli's metal network of subdermal tattoos is.

Enjoy!
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Mhetli's subdermal tattoos

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Angus, falls and perfect bloggin

Recently took a trip to Angus in North East Scotland and it was a great experience. There were a lot of lovely scenes. The forests of Angus are very evocative and mysterious. I prefer its leafy deciduous forests, dropping off in dramatic cliffs into rocky falls or beaches.

Two sites in particular struck me. First was the Reekie Linn Waterfall. It kicked loose some ideas for the landscapes I'm creating in Book 2, namely a rock pool that Daryn takes Gemmy and Sem to. The pool itself lives inside a cave set behind some falls. The second scene that inspired me was St Cyrus beach. Lots of great rocks and crevices created by low tide on the beach. We even saw dolphins! It was idyllic.

These sights have helped really bring what I'm writing into focus. Who knew you could compilate aspects of Scotland into a tropical rock pool?

view from the falls

View of the falls

Some flowers in the house

Inside Cave at St Cyrus beach

Cave at St Cyrus

Tiny rock pool at beach

Enjoy!
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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!
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Tricky: Book 2

Over Christmas I sat with friends sounding out some ideas for the new book to try and flesh out the finer plot points.

One of the biggest blocks centred around a new character who ends up dividing Gemmy and Sem’s loyalty. But who is he and how does this knife wielding, rock-fishing* coaster convince Gemmy and Sem to get from point A to B in the plot? It’s a tricky one. In the outline I’ve been referring to him simply as ‘Tricky’ because, so far, I can tell he’s going to challenge me as a writer. I know Gemmy and Sem - who they are, what they want. ‘Getting to know’ a new character is tough. But what I learned from writing book one is that you have to know who these people are to get the story to make sense.

Tricky with his rock-fish blade - Pencil on paper

Gemmy and Sem (and even Mhetli) were easy because I love them as they are made up of bits from people that I know and love. Tricky’s not so simple as, honestly, I don’t think he’s the sort of person I’d want to get to know. But, that’s half the fun. And, it’s my job as a writer to find the means to garner him some sympathy.

I can’t say too much about him lest I give away the whole plot of book two. But, here’s what I’ve gleaned so far.

Digging the Aladdin pants - Pencil 

One friend asked, ‘Is he ultimately good or ultimately evil.’ ‘Ultimately’ he’s trying to do the right thing, but sometimes his means of accomplishing his ends can be morally ambiguous. He’s trying to right a wrong. And, for the people he’s trying to help he’s absolutely doing the right thing.

Once I figured out exactly what it is he wants I then had to figure out what he’s willing to do to get it. Another friend pointed me in the direction of (Nerd alert!!) Dungeons & Dragons character alignment. Reading the descriptions has really helped clarify for me not just Tricky’s motivation but exactly how he sees the world and why he does the things that he will do. It will also make for some interesting play between the main characters and him. I can already tell he and Gemmy will not get along! Oh dear.

Now that all these ideas are in place the outline for book two has been flowing quite easily. Here’s some new sketches of Tricky. Now all I have to do is sweet talk my mate Darren to come up with a proper name for him. :)

Enjoy!
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* Rock-fish are like clams and grow on the sides of coastal cliffs. Rock-fishers repel down the cliffs and harvest them using large heavy blades.

Book Two begins

The journey towards Book Two kicks off with a quick sketch of a new character.

This kid meets up with Gemmy and his family as they take a long needed beach holiday (especially after the events of Book 1).

He's as yet unnamed and I've promised my mate Darren a crack at naming him.

Who is he? Well, he's a 'coaster'. No, no, not the kind you put under a drink. But, a person who lives on the sunny beaches of the Garzian Isles in south-west Arbea just taking in the surf and sand, living the easy life 'coasting' by... a beach bum. He and his family stay near where Gemmy and his crew are holidaying and he strikes up a quick friendship with Sem.

Any ideas for a name to help Darren out?

Enjoy!
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