Words On Water

Cindy asked me to do a thing for a group she's a part of called...well, you can figure out what it's called. It's kind of a writer's group/bookclub, with readings and sometimes music...I''m gonna call it "creative people getting together to be creative and talk about creativity." This drawing here needs a bit more work, I think. You get the general idea, though.

If you 'd like to know more about 'em, here's the Facebook

Here's Cindy singing the theme song she wrote at a book launch they hosted (They don't always meet on a boat. That was special for the launch):

Development is Fun

 Had a request from Glenn and Elizabeth at Kid's Playhouse Productions to do a drawing for their Irish Festival Play, "The Raven of Éirean Mhór". My daughter is in the play and they asked if the parents could do some volunteering. 

I said, "I can draw some stuff. And lift some stuff." I said this because drawing and lifting are two of the things I can do. Another thing I can do is put stuff down again. They asked if I could draw them a picture for the poster, and I said "Sure." 

I'll probably do some lifting and putting things down later on.

I did some thumbnails to explore some ideas. 

They told me the play is about a girl who is in mourning, and that she encounters a raven who acts as a kind of spirit guide.

They mentioned they were looking for a feeling of wildness. There were going to be fairies, the perilous folktale kind as opposed to the more civilized Victorian-Disney type.

They also said that they were were looking for "Darkness and Light".

Trees and woods were also going to figure prominently.

All those pencil ones I did later. The first thing I scratched out was this one with a ballpoint on the notepad by the phone while we were discussing it. Turns out it was the one they wanted to go with. Sometimes first instincts are best, I suppose. All they requested was to have the girl's back to the viewer, and make the raven more raven-y (as he does look a bit eagle-y here). They clarified that the raven should be big and impressive and dangerous; we're to be uncertain whether he's a friend or not.

I do little idea thumbnails on whatever I can find all the time, but I usually don't show them around. They were cool with this though, scotch tape and all, so I finished it up.

Made a coherent drawing with actual paper and pencils.

Coloured it up, Bob's your uncle. Kept it simple for reduction and reproduction purposes.

You may notice all these are labelled "Erinmoor". This is because I heard the name before I saw it written down.

Past my bedtime now. Prose losing it's watchimicallit. Eloquence. Yer on yer own.

Small Sketch and Short Verse

A moment now to to tarry here
And carry here
A very queer
and puzzling, troubling wary fear
Of everything I've done

I'll laugh and shed a merry tear
To parry sneers
and bury here
The bland and ordinary cheers
For all the fights I've won

Fun Link

Generate a a monster, draw a picture:

http://orteil.dashnet.org/randomgen/?gen=creature.txt

Have Fun!

Gonna Paint This.

Yeah, sure you are.

The Blith

In ancient days forgotten now
Times drowned in seas of years
The Blith set out 'cross orange skies
O'er shadowed plain and mere

Betwixt the tow'r of Ult-ut-Dhrag
And the stones of Iakel's glyphs
Would skirl with panicked yammerings
The bloated, fetid Blith

Oh why such noise, thou noisome beast?
Why stumble through the air?
Why beckon with thy ill-shaped limbs
Or gaze with mindless stare?

Dost thou mourn those other brutes
Dim shapes of vague days past?
Or dost thou howl victorious
Because thou art the last?

Ne'er would the Blith its end reveal
Merely coil, twist, and sag
Past the stone of Iakel's glyphs
To the tow'r of Ult-ut-Dhrag

Things I Will Do Next Time After Attempting To Jury-Rig A Line Tester Using Curtain Rod Hardware And A Step Ladder:

1. Secure the camera better so the first three drawings don't jitter around all over the place giving everyone seizures.

2. Turn off the Auto Focus so half the images aren't blurry.

3. Replace the batteries in the camera so they don't run out before you're done.

4. Post it using something other than Blogger's lousy player. Seriously, what is that? (After I posted it I saw I was You Tube. Maybe there's a setting somewhere so I can fix it, I dunno.)(I think it's a bit better, now.)

Yes, I know I could save myself a lot of hassle by just drawing stuff into Flash, but where's the fun in that? 

Morcalavir the Inscrutable

Ever see a bald elf wizard? Me neither. It seems like an Idea Whose Time Has Come.

Why Inscrutable? Not sure. Perhaps he's very difficult to scrute.

Classic spell, or symptom of a skin condition?

Another classic.

On the other hand, the more I draw him the more he reminds me of Charlie Brown.

Here's a bonus elf; more of a standard elf really:

There is so much about this picture that bothers me, don't even get me started. I've been told I shouldn't criticize my own drawing so much, so seriously, don't get me started.

Are you trying to get me started?

Well don't.

Sooper...

...mayn.

In case you're curious, 5th edition is quite nice so far. The DM has made some minor tweaks, but that's the way this game is supposed to be and the fact that it's flexible enough for him to do that is a good thing. The combats are smooth and fast, the character background stuff is fun, and if things are ever slowed down due to someone looking something up, it's usually because of me because I'm one of those annoying people who does that.

My apologies to the rest of the gaming community.

And just so you know: Jessica is the kind of Teifling Paladin that when face to face with a Bugbear can talk him into letting her kill one of his guards and have Casey's Monk pummel the other one to death right in front of his furry face BEFORE THE FIGHT EVEN STARTS. Then the Bugbear slipped and fell to his death down a garbage hole. Man, I was jazzed about that.

Work Windows

The building I work in is on the site of what was once a mill. A big sprawling thing that employed many of the people in this town before it closed. They've demolished most of it since then, but looking out the North windows you can see what's left of it hulking and rotting there.

If you look beyond there's some trees. Something to break up the post-apocalyptic vibe.

On the other hand, the South side faces the river. In the summer the sun sparkles on the water, and boats of various sizes glide up and down. There's green woods on the opposite shore, and the whole is much more picturesque.

In the break room where I take my lunch most days, you get a good view of a concrete column sticking up out of the water that was once part of a pier, but is now being reclaimed by nature.

You can tell it was square when it was new, but the tides and current have scooped out underneath, and rounded the corners down into nonexistence. Depending on where the tide is you may only see the top, or you may see all the work the water has done. It's very calming to look at for some reason.

This is in the summer of course. The winter turns it all into tundra, but we're in New Brunswick after all.