Personal Art Gallery
Ava - "Awakening"
Ava - "Awakening"
This image of Ava is set at the end of book one, after the harrowing events of that fateful morning. There are things just doesn't understand, and more that she simply can't reconcile. While the walls crumble around her and the morning silence shattered, she must cope with the events, and one way or another...move forward.
Ava is the pivotal character for most of the season, and of the series as a whole; so naturally, I had to choose her to be my first 'concept drawing.' The process took a total of about 16 hours, spread over a week or so. I made a few mistakes along the way, but learned even more!
The model used was gracious and supportive the entire way, and I can't thank her enough for giving me the confidence to complete this project. I struggled initially, but in the end, am very satisfied with the results.
Wyvern's Rest - City Map
Wyvern's Rest - "Jewel of the Highlands"
My first love has always been maps! There's no better way to dust off my drawing skills than to bring a little life to the city of Wyvern's Rest!
Unfortunately, I didn't have the forethought of taking pictures of my progress...so this final scan is all I have. Lesson learned!
I actually majored in Architectural Engineering, so bringing a little aesthetics to the city was a fun experience.
"Armored Heart" - Ava Concept
"Armored Heart" - Ava Concept
Though it has its flaws, I'm excited about this piece of art because it really gave me the confidence to move forward with drawing my own concept images. Until this drawing, I had only attempted maps and various types of buildings...the idea of drawing a person scared me to death! I must have watched 100 hours of YouTube before the first pencil ever came out of its case!
I chose this reference image because at the time, I was working on a certain passage for Ava. I try to paint her with a certain amount of strength, yet vulnerable. I came across this warrior, decked out in an armored shell, yet clearly distraught...it just called to me.
I'm hoping my skills improve such that I see this drawing in a few years and see how far I've come...but for now, I'll remain satisfied that this attempt represents my first foray into the world of concept art...and I'm quite proud of it. :)
Cooper Quinn - Concept Art
Cooper Quinn - Concept Art
Next up in my personal collection, I went with a pretty polarizing character...Coop. Up until this point, I had been using a 'grid system' to accurately scale my reference image onto the drawing surface...the rest is shading and subtle adjustments. With Cooper, however, I decided to take things a bit further and 'eyeball it.'
You'll see, it started out a little rough, and I struggled with the facial features. In fact, I ended up putting this one away for a few months, then came back to it. But in the end, I'm very pleased, and have received some pretty good feedback!
I had the opportunity to experiment with different types of cloth and texture, and had fun incorporating metal bits into his 'pirate clothes.' I learned more with this drawing than the others combined...and I'm happy to display it here on my site. What do you think?
Ventera - Interactive Map
Province of Ventera - Interactive Map
The heart of every good fantasy series is a good story...and at the heart of any good story, lies a map!! As you can tell, I love maps, especially ones with a purpose. I set out along time ago to lay out the world of Kel Doran...and with my latest project, I wanted to inject life into it and allow readers to take a tour, if you will.
First up for this interactive map series...where it all began...the Province of Ventera; home to rugged hills, the Huntsmen, and the "Jewel of the Highlands," Wyvern's Rest.
For now, this map allows you to zoom in to catch all the villages and highways that run through the highlands. It also has a couple paths to see how the adventure unfolds. In time, it will be fully interactive and help tell the Dragon-Touched story. Take a look inside and see how it all came together!