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Rogues of Bindar - Book cover

Chris Turner, Author
Chris is a prolific author of fantasy, adventure, and science fiction.
His books include: the Rogues of Bindar series, Future Destinies, Fantastic Realms and Denibus Ar.

http://innerskybooks.blogspot.com/ (Turner's personal blog)
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Innersky (E-book shop)

Chris and I met at an outdoor art festival. He enjoyed my work, and I harboured the secret suspicion that he was a pirate minstrel.
I was nearly right, because vast worlds of characters and far away lands live inside this man. Although he is an accomplished landscape painter, he asked me to paint him book covers. Throwing ideas back and forth this cover was created.

Illustrations in marker

Uploading my sketchbook by request. Some of these were made while riding OC transpo.
Coloured with Prismacolour and Alpha markers, kept in a little model train box. I love to let little kids colour with me in waiting rooms and such. Their parents assume I've got kids because I carry markers and Rubix cubes around with me. Sure, it's all for the kids...



Elven Military Captain, Efram Ellenbogen racing, a chunky baker, and a self portrait - I had to vent some serious confusion.



Caitlyn Fiona O'Brolgin



This was drawn with one eye on the train back to Ottawa after saying goodbye to Efram at the station. Old ladies on the train thought I was crying. Truth was I'd managed to sear my eye with incorrect contact fluid that morning.



Driving past a junior high a girl stopped at the crosswalk had the most incredible hair. She looked like a taller version of the main character in the upcoming film Brave (dreamworks?). The hair colour here is incorrect, I don't own a shade of fall leaves and fire.

The Nightwatch

The Vapourous Vixen Yerba Matte

Sketching in Bellevegas

I've been staying in Belleville to concentrate on a children's book I'm illustrating. The change of scenery has had a marked difference on the artwork I'm producing. Because the computer here has a tiny screen forcing one to squint, markers have become more appealing.


The hiring process of self deluded Portuguese gangsters.


Living in sin isn't so tasty when it's my turn to cook.


These are not my characters. I've been on a comic binge lately. I found Fall Out Toy works to be particularly inspiring. It's a robot comic based on Fall Out Boy's music. I don't see how it relates, and was surprised to learn this.
The markers blended very nicely in this. The fluidity of moving from one copy to another was a lot of fun.



So here I took the Fall Out robot and posed her with one of her companion bots. There had been talk of visiting the humane society that day.


Making the most of the nude man roaming the apartment by squeezing in some life drawing. I was giving a back rub when I paused to sketch the foreshortened torso.

Pride Parade

The world's best worst dancer.


Synchronicity
She told me we first met many months ago, I mentioned I was poly. She looked it up and now she is too.
Both thinking the other is too scary to talk to because she is dressed as a punk vampire at a kink party.
Not recognizing her, she is the first girl I offer a lollipop to at the dyke march.
Praying I didn't lose her number and walking into her while both wearing little more then blue body paint.
I had the confidence to chat her up this weekend because I literally kicked some ass at a party. Eerily that was her ex.
Coincidence? I think not.
Clearly this is a plot by the government to get me to expose my extraterrestrial heritage.

Digital Life Drawing

We were asked to use a chalk brush to paint these.
The chalk brush is rectangular. Why would anyone paint a human body with a square shape?




Carla is modelling here,my thanks go out to her.

Frost Bite

Final school projects of the year.
Goodbye college, you were fun. Maybe we'll meet again.



Frost's bite is a hell of a lot worse then her bark

There's a bit of a cool story behind this one. I was selling art at "Opera Unmasked." A modern take on classic Opera. Onstage were thee mostly nude women that were being body painted as ink splatters were being projected onto them. At one point they came into the audience. One of the muses was a bald beauty that crouched by the stage, she cocked her head to look up; and I immediately thought of Dren (Splice). This led to the idea of showing the inner self exposed through a bald open head.



A mischievous elf riding a steam engine unicycle.



Charlotte's commute home. Long day at work, whatever that is.



Capital slam poet Array of Words, Kingston team
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNC7ZS6yL1E


entitled: LohelOLOLOL

Capital slam poet Loh El, Ottawa team.
http://www.myspace.com/lohelrockstar
http://raisingtherevolution.wordpress.com/blog/

Shadow of the Moon

Once there was a young sorceress who lived in a tower by the sea. Using her arts she learned to speak with all manner of things, including the animals and the trees, and even the Sun, which she took great pride in. Her conversations with the Sun were her favourite, since her pride was matched only by the Sun which rose above all. She found the Sun to be quite beautiful, and before long her heart was stolen by the Sun's intensity, but the heat and beauty would always leave, and the Sun would never stay the night. Forsaken night and night again, the sorceress grew anxious, and sought a way to make the Sun stay with her.

The Sun was enticed to venture near the sea one day by the Sorceress's promises of a gift. The sorceress grabbed the Sun with all her might and pulled it down to the water, but the Sun saw her deception and sent its reflection to the sea instead.

Abandoned and distraught the reflection tried to leap into the sky. Fire and steam erupted towards the sky as it sunk into the silken waters.
That night the Sun set, but its reflection did not follow.

Pleased with herself, the sorceress swam out to meet the Sun's smouldering reflection. She found its flames extinguished, and its colour had bled into the lake. She sat dejected atop the cold dead star; now nothing more then a pebble in a pond.

Unsatisfied with her trophy, she returned to her tower to seek refuge in ancient books, looking for a spell that might help her tame the Sun she longed for. She studied all night, and fell asleep as the sun rose.
The orange-pink shafts of light stained her eyelids as she woke. Outside the sunset spilled itself on the golden waters. Her heart sang like a tiny bell at the glory, and broke; when it set.

Turning away from the starry sky, a diffused glow caught her eye. The sunken sun glowed softly from its cradle. Out of disgust she drew the shutters, blocking out the vestigial stone that whispered of her failure.

Day after day she rose and set with the sun, calling out to the star to join her, but despite her attempts the daylight refused her invitation. Time and time again she was left with nothing but her iniquity to distract her thoughts.

Scowling out at the at the pale abomination, her abhorrence grew greater each night, until finally driving her to fever. She swam out to the great orb and climbed atop to stamp and scream. She howled of the sun's injustice, and ground her heels into the globe's surface.

When from exhaustion she could no longer stride the surface, she settled to sit and scream herself hoarse. Croaks subsided into dry sobs, which too fled her. Bitterly she accepted that her great power was ineffectual against the burning star. She had been callow and childish to think she could ensnare the sun. Recalling the flames and steam, she apologized for being the cause of its pain and now-wretched existence.

The rock listened and forgave her.

From then the Sorceress avoided the Sun's haughty glare. Instead she made her peace with her mishap, and studied late into the night, all the while the glittering sphere kept her company. Growing used the the dim light, she could no longer gaze at the morning sun as she once did. The blaze seared her eyes and condemned her to darkness.

And yet, somehow, this was preferred.

She became gracious to the silvery light, for its quiet understanding and absolution. Over time the amity grew to affection, which in turn gave way to subtle enchantment. Without knowing it, she had healed her broken heart, and fallen in love again.
And this time her love was returned.

Pressing against the glossy surface she curled into a ball and slept, her warmth impressing upon it. The stars peered down and saw the sea smiling up at them. Admiring more closely they found a bright crescent hung in a body of reflected stars. So fitting did it seem that they begged the company of such resplendence. Too concerned with letting the sorceress rest, the sun's lost trinket did not reply. However, the sorceress was not as deep asleep as she was thought to be.

The next night she swam out to her dear friend with an ancient book held atop her head. Laying a tender hand on the grey gem she began her incantation. This beautiful mistake had illuminated her faults, her nights, and her heart. In her vain attempts to submerge the recalcitrant sun, she had created something ethereal and benevolent. Her dearest friend began to stir, then lift. Though it broke her heart, she watched the moon rise for the very first time.

Because love is not ownership, love frees.

And when that love is returned, it reflects on the world around us.

When the Orb realized what the Sorceress had done, it was thankful and loved her even more for it, vowing to share this gift of freedom by stealing away with her beyond the sea and saving a night every month just for her, and his reflection was left behind for her when the stars danced around him.

Mucha Muna

Happy Birthday to my best friend!
Love you girl!



VIKING!

Does sheer wonder ever keep you awake?

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150253140037298&set=a.432616577297.235620.511757297&type=1&theater
Art should speak for itself.

And then there's this spiel.

Here we have a satyr and a centaur. Satyrs are known for their sense of play and mischief.
Chiron was exceptional in that he was the most civilized and intelligent of all centaurs. In my retelling of Eros and Psyche, Chiron plays the spurned girl’s new lover. This is after Eros turns Psyche into a satyr
as punishment for bringing a light into bed and discovering who her mystery lover was. Here we see a satyr rouse a centaur from sleep,having lit up the waterfall as she slept to surprise her.

The story as I tell it; spans across time. Which is why lamps from across antiquity are gathered here. In homage to Psyche’s curiosity. The lamps cascading down the natural waterscape signify Chiron and Psyche’s wonder and curiosity. These lamps reflect a culture that have lovingly adapted to the wilderness. This is how the soul of mankind strikes balance with the mystery of night and with one’s inner beast.

Side note, Chiron's character also plays Daedalus (and Stephen Hawkings!). Daedalus is famed for building the minotaur's labyrinth and for inventing wings for his son Icarus. Whom he told to not fly so high that the sun would melt the 'glue/wax' holding them together. The themes surrounding this character in his many lives are balance and his creative inventions.

Seeking Truth in Beauty

Eros and Psyche. I'm rewriting the story to span centuries, and include a gender bending third lover. I have great expectations for this story. More to come soon.


Here are Psyche's human and beast forms.


Pearl Cohen, reading Queerotica at Venus Envy.

Robot Zombies

These were done for Silly Robot.ca. This art is for merchandise at a zombie convention.

Alien Landscapes

Alien Landscape - Here we see 3 stages of an alien life form's development. The adult takes root and it's tentacles form a cathedral. Inside a womb fills with amniotic fluid giving birth to eggs. Later the sac breaks and the eggs flat through the air. Eventually they develop into humanoid creatures which live in cities of the dried bones of dead adults.

Landschneckt

Landschneckt
16th century German defender of the land

Empress Theodora and General Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire.

Theodora was empress of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire and the wife of Emperor Justinian I.
Theodora is perhaps the most influential and powerful woman in the Byzantine Empire's history.

General Belisarius was instrumental to reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire.
He is also among a select group of men considered by historians to be the "Last of the Romans."

Progress in the last year.

This is a remake of the below comic. This is a recolour of a comic book page I did a year ago. The story (that I never completed) followed a young girl who ends up working as a maid servant at a kinky cafe. This is mostly due to my love of sexy girls in aprons, and love of a great mochachino. I could have rendered this without the linework, but I felt it had a certain charm.

This remake is also part of my weekly series for http://www.sillyrobot.ca/

Female Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Priest of Amun

New Kingdom Era of Ancient Egypt.
Hatshepsut is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. A true Woman King for 22 years; 1479 to 1458 BC.

Hatshepsut established the trade networks, thereby building the wealth of the eighteenth dynasty.

Neato facts:
Both men and women Egyptians wore transparent, pleated robes.
. Both men and women wore wigs which they changed every-day.
.The wigs were made from human hair or wool, and on special occasions curly wigs were worn.
. Being wealthy did not mean more jewellery, instead gold was worn with more transparent clothing.
. Slaves generally were naked



Thumbnails

Manifest Destiny

Hansel and Gretel: The Last Dessert

"You poor dears! Lost and Hungry? That just won't do. Come to my bakery, I'll give you some sweets."



"Hansel, it's very naughty to throw breadcrumbs at your sister. If you won't sit in the corner, You'll stand in the display case until your parents get here. Gretel, watch him while I put the kettle on."


"Pssst! Gretel, let me out."

"Why should I do that?"

"That old witch plans to eat us! She'll bake us into one of her pies."

"Hansel, you watch too many Tim Burton films." She retorts.

"Sweeny Todd is a true story!"

"No, it's a musical. I'm not listening to you."

The baker woman enters the back room. "Gretel! Would you tend the fire?"

As Gretel checks the oven she overhears the old crone; "Here you go Hansel, have some gingerbread. You're nothing but skin and bones. I'm going to fatten you up!"

Over his shoulder Hansel shoots Gretel a look of terror.

"Did you need help sweetie?"

The little girl freezes as the witch nears her and stammers; "I-I don't think the fire is hot enough, you should check." The cannibal cranes her neck into the flames.

Faced with the ultimate decision of life or death little Gretel places her bets.

Her story is never questioned.

Hansel and Gretel

The project was to illustrate the german fable of Hansel and Gretel in the dark twisted style of Tim Burton.



Rather then give her a candy house in the woods, I opted to depict her as a bakery owner. Sweeny Todd anyone?



Hansel locked up in the shop. I can't wait to put in my characters once I've settled on the final design.



Here I'm trying out this new vector style. Repeat and heart idea is not mine, It's from a postcard I've held on to since my very first heartbreak. The postcard is designed by Jessika Dorosh.
Tucked into my bed frame; it serves to remind me that love and heartbreak is a cycle. Being afraid to love someone is silly, because heartbreak is inevitable. The impermanence of relationships makes them so much more beautiful. When in love, this philosophy helps you see that problems can be fixed, bumps overcome. When heartbreak comes, this serves to remind me that it will pass and with time, a different love will come along. All purpose motivator.

Learning about vectors

Secret of Kells has an amazing yet simple style. I have been inspired to master the smooth lines they require.


Rant:
I watched a lot of tutorials yesterday on how to use the pen tool, how to texture relatively flat images etc. Then I came down with a fever and had the same dream on repeat trying to ink a dog-dragons head. Photoshop dreams are so annoying. I could wake up and create the image I had dreamt up, but by morning I'm sick of seeing it on the back of my eyelids.

The Hunter and the Hunted

Little Odele is hunting for water bears, while she waits for her father at the dock. Like small children, these Maris Ferre (latin) are known for their curiosity and playfulness. Often chased off because they scare the fish, then thieve fisher men’s catch of the day. Prone to stealing small bits of delicious foods. The stolen treasure is then smuggled in their flippers back to their hidy-hole or den. Nesting inside a cavern or nook in a Cliffside they gum their dinner to death, for they must absorb nutrients through their tentacled tummy and chin. Water bears can also be seen scaling seaside cliffs holding on with their lecherous underside. Enabling them to clean the algae off the surface. Fins have evolved into makeshift wings cushioning an unlikely tumble from great heights. Odele has made a mess of the kitchen floors, while her father was hard at work. Her plan is to lure the unsuspecting creature to her homestead, and have him soak up the mess before her father returns.