Approaching the Portal Stone

Linwei invokes her arcane energy as she nears the center of the Stone Circle

Linwei portrait in Photoshop

Flame & Frost

Twilight: flight - Asrelyn's imp, Balizar

 

Concept design for Saetarspillir, Linwei's future sword, at this time still lost in Edinobi, the City of the Dead. The sword's name means 'peace-spiller' or 'truce-breaker.' There is much yet untold . . .

To rescue Asrelyn, Linwei is forced to meet the Witch-Hunters in battle

As I'm coming to the end of rendering the final black and white art of this fight-sequence, time spent doing colour pieces in Photoshop has taught me to leave the background sparse or even blank at this stage (as seen in the page above). It's time-saving to draw in structures and add moody lighting behind the action during the colouring phase.

Recently finished one of the more complicated pages but the result is close to what I had in mind. Linwei, Seedan and Levenus get transported by a Standing Stone . . . onto a bridge inside a cavern, before a tall tower.

 

Detail from the third main panel

Private Commission: Tommi Five-Chins, halfling, master chef and walking kitchen arnoury

Private Commission: Pencil and Graphite stick on Bristol Board (24.6 cm x 36.4 cm)

2-page colour sample: A Stranger to the Rescue

Colour samples of the graphic novel, pages 6 - 7. Levenus springs from hiding, shouting at the guardian beast to grab its attention, so he can line up his shot with its face. The monk, Seedan, having regained his feet is momentarily wary of this newcomer but the dead beast has landed on Lunwei . . .

. . . so he rushes to roll the beast off of Linwei, with the stranger's help. While the three recover and make their introductions, a strange creature glides down into a nearby tree and begins spying on them.

Pages 5 - 9

 

Pages 13 and 14

 

Soaked to the bone, Linwei and Seedan return to their base-camp with their new ally, Levenus.

Linwei & Levenus get to know each other a little better and spy 'Smoke Faerie Henge'

Serapa and Lord Arkenspire spot the Imp

Lord Arkenspire and his mercenaries

Linwei challenges the beast . . .

Hands, daily studies

Drawing hands takes constant practice in imho; they're singularly the most difficult part of the anatomy to get right. Here's some daily sketches.
Hands are the most difficult because they are more dexterous than feet, capable of infinitely varied shapes - they got us where we are today

Life Drawing of Rosie

Facial study for Linwei

Aged 151 and quick to smile, Princess Linwei Dharadau is young by elven reckoning, with much to learn. Being the younger sister to her brother, Elmond, she holds no claim of ascendency to the throne of Yarrovae. Her passion for arcane magic is seen as suspicious by the court, so her Father has sent her on a sojourn, hoping she can find an answer to the reality-warping power of the Asnothain invasion.

Linwei character design (rough and inked)

I did away with the scale mail skirt in the end and simplified and lengthened her leather boots to just below the knee. The removal of the skirt was more than just an aesthetic choice; it seemed impractical, restricting her right leg.

Life drawing (15 mins)

Early character designs: Seedan Gor

Seedan Gor is a monk of Linwei's elven tribe, the Yarrovae. Seedan has ranged far and wide and knows the Wilderlands well, the territories where Princess Linwei  begins her search.

Life Drawing 2012

Early Design of Balizar, Asrelyn's Imp

Balizar was created by Asrelyn. He has functioned as a companion to her in her long years of exile within a dimensional prison. Long ago, trapped in this pocket dimension, the resourceful Asrelyn found a bat, lizard and a rat. Using her sorcery, she fused the three rodents and breathed a fragment of her soul, creating the Imp she calls Balizar. This creature is her eyes and ears out into the world, able to pass through the membrane that separates her from her birth world, Eareth.

Life Drawing of Suki

February 2013

Heroes and Villans: Early designs

Now that they have a troll with them, the Vile Ones are happy.

Clockwise from top: the mysterious Asrelyn, faithful Seedan the monk, Alaura, leader of bandits, Levenus the gunslinger, and the ex-gladiator turned bandit Sigmund. Center: Princess Linwei (the protagonist)

The beginning of a deadly fight...

'Run your highness! Run!' The guardian is awoken from its sleep of ages, enraged, bound to protect the ruin by glyphs few now know.