createspace.com

Did some light research today, regarding self publishing. I'm a realist and I know it's a difficult thing to get published in this volatile economy. I, however, am not a patient person and when I feel my book is ready to be shared with the world I don't think I'll be able to bide my time for the day that a major publisher decides to pick it up.

I will definitely send some copies of the manuscript around, but once I've exhausted my list of preferred publishers I will then pull the trigger on publishing the book myself with the help of www.createspace.com

I just found out about this company and I'm excited about the possibilities. The company is technically an Amazon company. So what better way to release my book than the worlds best online book seller?

A great feature about this website is the community. One thing I've been tossing around in my head was figuring out a safe way to share excerpts of my book and get honest feedback. I've only shared the manuscript with two people so far, but I know I will need more if I am going to create something with any chance of being commercially successful.

There is still much work to be done before I cross that bridge, but at least I know I have options.

Hello Alchemy

I don't recall exactly how I stumbled onto this video (http://youtu.be/y4OwR1Pj_DU), but watching it inspired me to finally look into the open drawing project called Alchemy.

For the uninitiated. I encourage to try it once and see if you like it. I know after the first time just tinkering with it I was hooked.

For more info on Alchemy and instructions to download and install it, visit: http://al.chemy.org/

I created this tonight after 5 minutes with Alchemy. I had trouble with the face, but that's because I'm not used to the fill shape tool. Give me a few weeks and I'll have a better handle on it.

N0R4

In the spirit of fantasy classics like the original Clash of the Titans I am going to introduce a new character to my novel during the rewrite. N0-R4 (Nory for short).

Nory is a unique automaton created by Estro Salius. His main function is to serve as a long range scanner. He is an invaluable asset in the search for ancient ruins. Unlike other automatons, which have mostly been discovered and re-purposed, Nory has been completely designed from scratch by Estro. He will go on to become a major character of the novel, albeit one without a single line of dialogue.

As of this writing I was considering giving Nory a matte black paint job with small hints of gold color, but he's a technically a robot and Estro's constructs are capable of re-configuring themselves on the fly (pun intended). So I'm giving adaptive color. This will make him almost invisible against the sky. That just makes sense to me.

Before viewing the spreads below I urge you to visit the page of Aristotle's Voice. Like his page and please like his songs, especially A Journey Home. The track was inspired by these paintings and together they will immerse you into the world of Giaos.

Learn how to place music on itunes at ReverbNation.com

Spread #1; pages 1 and 2. Nory patrols the vast wilds around Estro's research station.

Spread #2; ages 3 and 4. Nory is almost home. 

Spread #3; pages 5 and 6. Nory approaches the research station.

Spread #4; pages 7 and 8. Nory lands and we get the first clear look at him.

Onyx Ape version 2.0

In my previous blog I said that I wanted Obsydia's forces to be made of mostly stone and what not, but after strong consideration it wouldn't make a lot of sense for the enemy of the world (as Obsidia is in my novel) to have forces that would be so easily dispatched. So I have re-designed the beasts.

This design is more reminiscent of a robot, and though my novel is technically fantasy, it does have certain Aesthetic allowances more common with Science Fiction.

I will give credit to my friend Mikella Touchstone for reminding me about the Warmachine tabletop game by Privateer Press. In this game the there are various factions that make use of machines called Warjacks. Warjacks run on furnaces with exhaust pipes and that's something my automaton's have in common.

The Onyx Ape version 2.0, standing near the edge of the divide; a tumultuous region of Giaos riddled with unpredictable geothermic activity. 

The Onyx Ape

This is another character/creature concept sketch for my novel. This monster looks menacing and for all intents and purposes it is, but one thing this picture is lacking is a scale reference. So I'm going to be clear about this now. The Onyx Ape is not very big. NOT BIG. In the pose seen below the top of the smoke stacks are no taller than five feet.

The idea behind this automaton is that they are similar in gesture to a chimpanzee or young gorilla. The arms are not very thick, but they are not meant to be overly powerful. They are, however, extremely fast and that's where the true danger lies.

Obsidia, the villain of the book, has an army of these machines. They are crafted using raw materials from her base underground so they lack the durability of steel and the stone sections of their bodies can be destroyed relatively easy.

That is not to say that they don't have metal in their bodies, because they do, but the metal is mostly used for the skeleton and certain areas that require reinforcement.

This is the first sketch of the Onyx Ape that I actually like. I will be designing exploration sketches with different "builds" I'm not sure what the final look of the monster will be.

Lose Control

Some of you may not know that I am a vocalist on top of being an illustrator and graphic designer. I used to belong to a band for over 8 years. That life is behind me now, but I still have a deep love for music and singing. This song is one that I've been working on with my best friend. He goes by the name Aristotle's Voice.

Before you listen to the track, here's a little back story; A few years ago. Long before I reunited with my wife and even before I moved to Vegas, I used to live up here in Fairfield, CA. During that time I worked on collaborations with various artists. My favorite being Doe The Unknown Rapper. I would sing hooks for some of his songs and other hip hop artists that he ran with. One day we decided to write a song for me and he would help me with the lyrics.

So check it out. I hope you like it.

The audio quality suffers a bit for being a streaming file via the internet. To hear the high quality stereo mix, check out Lose Control on the Aristotle's Voice Reverbnation page.

Song Credits:

Lyrics - Saul Estrada (aka psypher) and Doe The Unknown Rapper

All Music - Aristotle's Voice

All Production and Edits - Aristotle's Voice

Mixing and Mastering - Aristotle's Voice (Yeah... he's got it like that!)

Daedalus Floor Plans

So I've spent quite a few days plotting out rough floor plans for the Daedalus Airship. I'm no architect, but I've done a lot of research and maritime vessels don't have overly complicated floor plans. Come to think of it. Floor plans in general are pretty simple. Just lines for walls and some simple door graphics, and stairs.

I didn't go into detail about the furnishings, but that's something I can work out in SketchUp.

Here's the side view of the the ship. I drew this over the top of the sketch from last week.

The Upper Deck is where the bridge(pilot room) and Estro's Room are located.

The First Deck is where Estro's personal lab and the Captain's quarters are located. Which presents a new character that I never wrote about. The Captain of the Daedalus. I'm going to have to brainstorm about this person.

The Second Deck holds the Water Filtration system, Anaya's room and some special guest rooms.

Deck Three has a upper half of the Engine Room and half of the states rooms.

Deck Four has the lower half of the Engine room and the rest of the states rooms.

Deck Five has the Armor, the upper science/research labs, two mess halls, the lounge, galley(kitchen), and pantry.

Deck Six has the briefing room, the lower science/research labs, the hospital, and six recovery rooms for injured or sick.

Deck Seven is the lowest deck and has Stern deployment(used for Men at Arms), four holds, and a large loading bay.