The Bear King: Bjorn's Run Cycle

A run cycle for Bjorn with Lene ridding on his back.

I haven't animated anything in a really long time, so this has been a lot of fun!! As you can see though, it's a bumpy ride for Lene.

You can see some of the process Gif's Here

A Small Preview, Bear Run

The weird lines on the belly of the bear are from a gradient that doesn't translate well in Gif format

Remake: Diamond Ace Card

Hooray! The final remake of the Ace Cards! This one has probably the least amount of influence from the original. Below is the comparison!

Remake: Club Ace Card

The Ace of Clubs. Just one more card left! This one is the least futuristic looking of the set. But I think I had the most fun with his costume!

Remake: Heart Ace Card

Another Card from my Ace Remake series. I think of the Ace Cards as the lone wolves of the deck.  Below is the original compared to the remake.

Remake: Spade Ace Card

I've been threatening to do it for a while, but here is it, the remake of a piece I did 4(?) years ago. I did a series of Ace Cards. At the time, the goal was to draw a series, featuring males, with an emphasis on costuming and color. In the remake, I took these elements, but also expanded them to include environments that they live in, full body versus portrait, and a cultural reference for each card.  Just 3 more to make!

Going back to remake them, I think of the personality of an Ace card. They have allegiances, but they can be tricky, and not always to be relied upon. Sometimes they are your greatest strength! But sometimes they abandon you, and are the lowest card in the deck!

The Bear King: Erlendr Valemon

This is Erlendr Valemon, the human form of the Bear King Bjørn. 

When Erlendr was young, a curse was laid upon him that turned him into a white bear. Lene, of course, doesn't know this, and until she accidentally triggers the second part of the curse, only sees him as a bear. 

When designing him, I wanted him to resemble a polar bear, even as a human. So I gave him a long neck, sloped shoulders, and shorter legs. 

The Bear King: Bear and Lene Sketches

Sketches for The Bear King. Here are images of Lene in her refined and polished costume, running around. I've decided to place her and her family in Western Telemark, and so her costume is derived from that. On the right are images of the Bear King himself, who goes by the name Bjørn. The middle bottom are a few little doodles of Bjørn and Lene together, to give a nice size comparison. And in the top left is a sneak peak at Erlendr Valemon, The Bear King's original human form!

Sketchbook: Landscape Paintings

A few landscape paintings I've made over the past few months. I kept forgetting to scan them, but here they are! Gouache was the media of choice

 

This painting and the one below are the same trees, painted a few hours apart

Hanama Bay

Fabiola Garza's Lucia

Just for fun, I made some fan art of Fabiola Garza's Lucia! She's so cute, and has such great hair! I love Fabi and her art so much, how could I resist?

Castle:The Little Mermaid

I made this a while ago. Thinking about what the different Princess castles might look like. This one was for The Little Mermaid.

I Love You Because I Love You

A series I decided to make in honor of Valentines Day. It's called 'I Love You Because I Love You'

I Love You Because I Love You #1

I Love You Because I Love You #2

I Love You Because I Love You #3

I really love doing these 'monochromatic' images. I always try to show and suggest as much as possible without resorting to outlines. It was enjoyable this time to try making a 'text texture'. It's not something I've tried before, but it was really nice and methodical. You can tell I had a better handle on it by #3 versus #1. I have a couple more sketches, but I don't know if I'll develop them into full images for the series. Please enjoy, and Happy Valentines Day!

A Girl's Wedding

A bit of a break from what I'm currently working on. I once had a conversation with a friend about how she hoped that, one day, she and her girlfriend would be able to get married. To which I cried "Oh yes! And one of you should wear a white wedding dress, and the other a full length black dress!" I have made this in honor of her and all couples of any kind that hope to someday get married!

EDIT: After sleeping on it, I went back and made a few changes. The above is the new final, the below is the original before changes. Fun for the comparison! 

The Bear King: Vidar

This is Vidar, a Fossengrimen (or Nix), a magical water creature with exceptional musical abilities. Legend has it that they appear in the form of beautiful young men, or horses, or cats, and if you are kind to them, one of them just might teach you how to play an instrument as beautifully as they do.

During her stay at the Bear King's Castle, Lene goes wandering about the grounds one day and meets Vidar in a magical grove of willow trees. As a Fossengrimen, Vidar cannot leave his waterfall, but this does not stop Lene from befriending him. Eventually, he is the one who gives her directions on how to find the lost Bear.

Traditionally Nix play violins or lutes, but I wanted Vidar to date back a little further. Instead he plays a seljefløyte, a Norwegian Willow Flute. These flutes are made out of willow bark, but can only be made from a Spring Willow, one that is still full of water. Normally, the flute will slowly dry out, and you have to wait until next season to make a new one. Of course, as a water spirit, Vidar has an everlasting seljefløyte. 

You can listen to the seljefløyte sound here!!

Vidar also serves as a foil to The Bear King. Where as the Bear, we find out, is a human trapped in a fae world, Vidar is a Fae that is, in a way, trapped in a human world. Forced from his home in the South generations ago, Vidar is incapable of leaving his waterfall. He must wait for salvation to find him, where as the Bear goes out seeking it himself. Vidar appears human, but isn't, while the Bear appears inhuman, but is. 

The Bear King: Willow Trees

More trees for the Bear King. Specifically, these are for a character that will be introduced soon. He lives in a small wooded area, made of nothing but willow trees, by a waterfall. In this area, it is always spring or early summer.