† Old Things Made New †

That's right folks, and I don't just mean this blog....

I've recently been continuing work on a concept that a friend and I worked on during high school. It still lacks an official title, but I have the majority of the story down along with a couple of introductory pages.

Disclaimer: As we were still young and romantic when we first worked on this, it still somewhat oozes cheesiness. I have gotten my buddy's permission to continue writing without her, but I have decided against changing her original names and themes. Instead, I have tried using it to my advantage...

Here's a brief on some of the characters to give you an idea of the story, I won't give away too much of the plot in this post just yet! :

Spirit -

Female lead. She is the beautiful Grand Fae placed as the Guardian of Crystalflake Forest (Forest of Corjetuvlök, I decided to make the English names translations from a language I'm developing for this story). She is calm, level-headed and formal, which sometimes creates the mistaken impression of coldness and impersonality despite her actual kind and considerate nature. And also despite her fragile looks, she is seldom bent out of shape. When she falls in love, however, her passion far easier gets the better of her... (*sniff sniff* Do I smell FORESHADOWING?!)

Cyprus -

Female support. Hot-headed, impulsive, passionate and quite unladylike - faaaar the opposite of her best friend and ruler, Spirit. She is feisty and bombastic with a heart of gold. She acts as the comic relief to Spirit's rigid and cold aura. She is an Elven dragon-tamer and traveller from the Southern Meadows, Spirit's bosom buddy, and also Spirit's bodyguard. Indebted to Spirit during one of her travels, she offers her services as a companion and guardian. They form a tight bond and end up levelling the scale of extremes (in their personalities).

Marcus -

Male lead. Similar to Spirit, he is also calm and formal-looking. Being the elder of twin siblings, he is the respectable, mature one. He is also heir to the Honan throne. But his coolness is as much for show as it is sincere. He secretly appreciates the attention he receives from the adoring female public and is well aware of his beauty, though he does not make a show of himself. He sometimes plays the role of the "prettyboy" and can act quite girly behind closed doors. He is smart, assertive and true - as is expected of a good future King, but he has one major flaw: Mortality. But he has passion and learns to know love, which helps carry him through when he is faced with the inevitable reality of dying young.

Persius -

Male support. Marcus's younger twin sibling, Persius, seems quite similar to Cyprus though truly in comparison, he is the responsible, mature half. As big-mouthed and sword-happy as he can sometimes get, he is far more serious. He could easily be mistaken as the older brother as he seems more mature and responsible, he is also the more "manly" of the two, so-to-speak. Regardless of all this, due to his far less pressured upbringing he frequently still reminds everyone that he is the younger one by his rude and almost intrusive in-your-faceness.

Jono -

King of Honan Country and long-time friend of Spirit. He is a single ladiesman and would often jokingly try his luck with Spirit. But since Cyprus's arrival on the scene, the two of them would quarrel feverishly over who is the dumber whenever he tries... He is funny, sarcastic, cute and quite childish. But he is a good ruler and a fabulous person. The two girls love him as a close friend (despite Cyprus's jealous rantings).

Marissa -

Antagonist. A Witch from the Southern Meadows. She is ambitious, resourceful and very, very cunning. She threatens the peaceful balance between all the countries with a scheme so selfish and dirty that it could destroy life as they all know it.

** Now I know you're all thinking Fairies with big pretty wings and tattered clothing and stuff. That is where I'll stop you by saying that Spirit is NOT depicted as a typical clichéd fae character. Her wings aren't visible unless she sprouts them, and she is a Grand Fae, which would rule out short leaf/petal-dresses and the like. She just sports an unnatural, timeless beauty as an indication that she isn't mortal. Cyprus has pointy ears, and that's as far as it goes. 

Well! That's the low-down on all the main characters. That is also all you're getting out of me this week! Next time I'll do a little piece on their world and maybe show y'all a map and all! Until then, I'll leave you with a couple of pages to peek at! 

Enjoy! 

† Chilly Down Time! †

Howdy folks!

Been a while since my last post! The new dayjob mingled with tons of personal activity makes for difficult art-making. Etsy's been put on hold for a while until I feel a bit more inspired to carry it through. Sewing is an activity that requires patience and accuracy - something I seriously lack when I get aggro. But fear not!

I got Manga Studio recently, so I've been toying around loads. I only have a few proper paintings and a few doodles to show for it, though...

Feast your eyes!

"Ophelia"

"A Ghost of Modesty"

More line drawings can be seen on both my Facebook and DeviantART pages! :)

I've been feeling a bit stressed out lately, about various personal things. But mostly because I can't decide whether to continue with my illustration studies or not. I am also torn between going to Auckland(AUT) or Wellington(Massey) next year... But seeing as I've never seen Wellington, my dearest partner and I are going for a short visit over the weekend to take a nosy-around and to visit his Dad. I'm so excited! But I think I'm looking forward to the actual road trip more than visiting Welly, hah!

So here's for hoping that things will feel(and be) clearer by this time next week!

Until then, be safe!

Ta!

† New Etsy Item †

Hey folks!

I've completed the next item, it's not for sale anymore unfortunately, as it got booked pre-completion. I'm still posting it to keep a steady portfolio of all my products, though!

View the pictures for "Sea Critter" Shoulder Bag as well as other items and artworks on my facebook page or in my website's gallery. :)

New project starts today, and it's gonna be a stunner! ;) I've got another idea up my sleeve for the item after as well, so hopefully things will churn out quicker.


As far as an update goes, that's about all I have for ya... So be safe and behave yourselves until the next post! ;P

Ciao!

+A General Discussion and Etsy Update+

Well! A new week, a new post!

I've finished the next painting for my new etsy project, so hopefully the new item will be completed and ready to list by tomorrow evening! I filmed a part of the process(totally on impulse), it's all ready and edited to post on Youtube with my other "Making of"s - something I also started on impulse after getting my new webcam. I always think it's interesting to see how other people work. It just shows that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to do art, it all just depends on the artist and their taste - freedom, that is what art is all about (to me anyway).

In fact, that reminds me: recently I've had this conversation quite a few times. It's a topic that might be sensitive to some, most likely. What is this thing we call "talent"? Most people like to think of themselves as talented in some way or the other, but do they know what it actually really is? Does anyone? Some have their own take on what they think it might be. But most people who don't give it any thought would probably say that it is the unique ability to do something that others are incapable of... If not incapable, incapable to do it at the same level... Right?

Wrong. Anyone can paint, build, sculpt, calculate, even spell if they really put their minds to it. If a paraplegic person can learn to walk, doing something that would be thought of as "talented" seems like a walk in the park! The question isn't whether they can do it or not, it's how well they can do it. I often get comments on my work saying "I wish I could draw like you" or "I wish I had your talent". The latter being fair enough(I'll get around to that point in a moment), but anyone can draw. All it takes is hard work and practice. As for "wanting the talent", you might already have it! Don't expect to miraculously be able to pick up a pen and be like Da Vinci. Not gonna happen. Because, in my opinion, talent isn't the ability of doing something completely unique, it's just the ability to learn faster. That's why, whenever I get those "I wish I could draw" comments, I just smile and say "Anyone can draw, it's about drawing well - and that only takes a bit of elbow grease, not a miracle". Some still look around for excuses, but 90% of them walk away with a new light on the matter. Some even feeling better about themselves. So really, nothing is out of bounds, it's all about how far you're willing to reach to grasp it.

Anyway, apart from all the mushy philosophy, general update has been made. :P

Now if you'll excuse me, I have fabric to choose... v.v

'Til next time.

Cheers

A Fresh Start

Hah! I've tinkered around with the code for my layout to suit the look&feel of the rest of my sites/profiles. I hated the old template, blogger seriously needs some decent black templates.

Anyway.

I've been hard at work creating a look to merchandise my artwork. You can view my other sites(linked on the sidebar) to go check it out :) I also redesigned my website to make it a little more user-friendly. So now that that's all done and dealt with, I can get around to designing my business cards accordingly.

And speaking of business, I recently opened up and Etsy.com shop account after having a wrestling match with a sewing machine. I made a cute little vintage shoulder bag with a genuine painting quilted on to the front. I quite like it, but marketing something like that seems useless in New Zealand. That's why I decided to do some research and set up a shop for a global audience. It's still under construction, but you can check out the link to the bag auction here. Yes I know it's pretty much dead, but as I said, I don't think Trade Me is quite the right place for it. I have a few other designs in mind already, and also an idea for cute little bobby pins. I'll try and keep this highly inactive blog up to date with it as I go. :)

So go now and tell me what you think of the fresh new look! I might still fiddle with this layout for a bit until I'm happy with it, but for now it will do to suit the profile.

Until later - Ta Ta!

Tee-design and general updateness...

As I've said on my website, I'm currently busy with a secret project that I'm going to try and complete by the end of the year (or at least close to complete). I'm busy with the prep for it and a few other things I have planned up my sleeve, but there are still a few planning glitches that need smoothing out before I can properly start... To give you a clue: books. And also animation, as I have agreed to help out a friend of mine with one of his personal projects. Now I just need to figure out a good schedule! I'll try to keep my blog as updated as possible, though I'm not terribly active here.

Also, I hate accounting.

Go vote for my first tee design, Aliss in Gothland!

Cookies to those who do! I'd appreciate any input, rating runs for the next 7 days!

That's all for now... I think.

Cheerio, dearies!

A New Beginning

Hello!
Okay, I'm new to Blogger, so I'll take some time to figure out all the features and tools before saying anything profound and meaningful. I will share a little info on myself until the details are smoothed, however: I am an aspiring illustrator and photographer from South Africa, though I currently reside in New Zealand. I enjoy all things vintage, romantic, gothic, macabre, fantasy and even scientific.
My taste in music often causes controversy, (Opeth is by far my favorite band - if I could marry them, I would) and most people do a double-take when I walk down the street. :)

That's all for now!

Ciao! ;)