M Helsdon Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 (edited) Latest. Like most of the others this is a mash-up of historical armor with a dash of fantasy. The 'hauberk' is Bronze Age Near East, whilst the helmet is a bit Hallstatt mixed with something else. Unfortunately the detail on the scabbard isn't very clear - it's several Runes and a depiction of Orlanth. Drawing the scales with central ridges may have been a mistake, but I felt they should be shown. Now the only space left is on the copyright/Author's Note page... Not certain if that's a suitable space to use... To actually use these sketches in the book I would need to do around another eight, to add two more pages. And this one pretty much finishes off the second box of 0.05mm pens, so I need to decide whether to do any more. Edited October 6, 2019 by M Helsdon 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qizilbashwoman Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 9 minutes ago, M Helsdon said: Now the only space left is on the copyright/Author's Note page... that's where the footsoldier of the all-female-identified Sister's Army goes! Forbidden from drawing blood with their decorated ceremonial weapons, they are called the "flower warriors" - but they are siegebreakers, army-killers, and a terrifying foe. There are nonhumans in the ranks, too. Time to play crazy dress-up: perfectly well-armored, they carry only parasols (helps with the arrows) and magical implements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Qizilbashwoman said: that's where the footsoldier of the all-female-identified Sister's Army goes! Forbidden from drawing blood with their decorated ceremonial weapons, they are called the "flower warriors" - but they are siegebreakers, army-killers, and a terrifying foe. There are nonhumans in the ranks, too. Time to play crazy dress-up: perfectly well-armored, they carry only parasols (helps with the arrows) and magical implements. The Guide notes that the 'soldiers' of the Sister's Army are male and female. I am stumped for the nature of their 'uniforms' - perhaps a mixture of Mexica, Balinese? Would have to ask @Jeff for guidance. Edited October 6, 2019 by M Helsdon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qizilbashwoman Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, M Helsdon said: The Guide notes that the 'soldiers' of the Sister's Army are male and female. I am stumped for the nature of their 'uniforms' - perhaps a mixture of Mexica, Balinese? Would have to ask @Jeff for guidance. I'd be willing to bet they have distinct troupes. We do know they are Darsenian-inspired at origin, the mystical counterbalance to the Dara Happan physical military. Yes, the soldiers are many genders, but they are female-identified. The Sister's Army represents the Great Mother. Quote It consists of approximate 500 beautiful young men and women in fantastically glamorous uniforms. When viewed from afar, her army is often mistaken for flocks of gigantic birds or moving miniature forests. This sounds like Carnival. I know it's famous for its nubile women in the press, but people in real women-lead societies are honestly not impressed with tits and ass; see attached Minangkabau women. Edited October 7, 2019 by Qizilbashwoman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 Afraid have pretty much lost all drawing time today (eleven hours in A&E with my mum - that's ER - until she was admitted to a surgical ward). It is likely that the next sketch will be of a Sylilan Odalying. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Godspeed Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 That's terrible, I hope your mom is doing okay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qizilbashwoman Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 12 minutes ago, M Helsdon said: Afraid have pretty much lost all drawing time today (eleven hours in A&E with my mum - that's ER - until she was admitted to a surgical ward). Oh no, I hope she recovers quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drablak Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 16 minutes ago, M Helsdon said: Afraid have pretty much lost all drawing time today (eleven hours in A&E with my mum - that's ER - until she was admitted to a surgical ward). It is likely that the next sketch will be of a Sylilan Odalying. Our thoughts are with you and your mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Darvall Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Thinking of you. Just went through the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brootse Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 My condolences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 Thank you for your comments. Surgery scheduled for tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 1 hour ago, M Helsdon said: Thank you for your comments. Surgery scheduled for tomorrow. Best wishes for both you and your mom, then. Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 Whilst waiting for the hospital transport to bring my mum to her home (surgery deemed to have too much risk), started work on the next sketch, of which this is an element. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Godspeed Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 I can only send my best wishes to your mother, and hope she's being taken proper care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Sir_Godspeed said: I can only send my best wishes to your mother, and hope she's being taken proper care of. Thank you. After a discussion between two surgical teams, surgery was determined to be too high risk, so she's been discharged with more pain relief. I'd suspected this might happen as when she had to have an amputation two years ago, the anaesthetist warned me she might not come out of the operation (and that was a life or death decision) and the surgeon later said they nearly lost her three times on the table. So this is about the best outcome possible. The NHS have now saved her life several times. Have made a few digital changes to the picture above: one of the paws was too small. Edited October 10, 2019 by M Helsdon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share Posted October 11, 2019 Interim rough. Positioning and shading not finished. Odayling and alynx. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 On 10/4/2019 at 2:19 PM, Qizilbashwoman said: You have such lovely art, I'd love to request a Sylilan Odayling or something equally non-"Heartland". Still Theyalan, still classified "hostile barbarian", but focused on gods essentially unknown in Kerofinela. The Two Cafols are supposed to be very strange places. I bet you could draw some really interesting armour. I suspect that this 'Shafesoran' probably isn't interesting enough for your criteria, but everything I can find about them in the Satrapy Army suggests the Odaylings fight (very enthusiastically) as psiloi and peltasts, but mostly as archers. His 'armour' is exotic in that it is a bearskin kilt and wolfskin shoulder piece. The term 'Shafesoran' derives from an incomplete Lunar Army essay by Greg that turned up in my search for information, where this term is used for the 'Air People' of the satrapy, as a polite conceit to not describe them as Orlanthi Storm People. No idea if this is still canonical, but it was a nice touch which I decided to adopt. There's room for one more sketch on the 'copyright' page, but my next work won't be shared here as it is a banner for a political march next week... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 14, 2019 Author Share Posted October 14, 2019 (edited) Intended to spend yesterday doing a poster for next week's march, but my paints had gone dry, so did this instead. It may seem odd to include one of the Grace Priestesses in a book about Armies, but these priestesses accompany Esrolian troops to bless them and curse their enemies. Am now looking at ways to populate another two pages to allow the last five sketches to fit into the book. Means some areas might be expanded; started a new text box today about the logistics of the Invincible Golden Horde - not, I think, as boring as it sounds. Image may be NSFW. Edited October 14, 2019 by M Helsdon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Godspeed Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 I read Esrolia: Land of 10k Goddesses a while ago, and there is a piece that talks about how Ernalda in Esrolia has a more limited role than elsewhere, as there are more named goddesses to cover some of things she does elsewhere, and so Esrolian Ernalda is often associated more simply with good fortune - are these priestesses dedicated to that version of Ernalda, or am I reading too much (or too little) into it? Also, I am quite fond of logistics, so that sounds fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 14, 2019 Author Share Posted October 14, 2019 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said: I read Esrolia: Land of 10k Goddesses a while ago, and there is a piece that talks about how Ernalda in Esrolia has a more limited role than elsewhere, as there are more named goddesses to cover some of things she does elsewhere, and so Esrolian Ernalda is often associated more simply with good fortune - are these priestesses dedicated to that version of Ernalda, or am I reading too much (or too little) into it? This is based on information Harald kindly shared with me. The Grace Priestesses are of the Great Temple of Ernalda in the Sarli district of Nochet, and can bless the Esrolians and curse their foes. This is the principal Ernalda temple in the city and one of the largest in the world, with hundreds of priestesses. I imagine they are priestesses of Ernalda first, and then of her avatars/related goddesses. The impression I get from more recently published sources, is that Ernalda has a very significant political/economic/divine presence in Esrolia, but could be in error. 8 minutes ago, Sir_Godspeed said: Also, I am quite fond of logistics, so that sounds fun. There are quite a number of Logistics text boxes scattered through the book, because the quantities of food, water, salt, firewood etc. an army requires is enormous. Added to which, supply lines and foraging distances significantly affect operations, as I expect you know. My 'details' are derived from a number of real world sources, but expect that an expert could tear my assumptions to pieces. Edited October 14, 2019 by M Helsdon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Godspeed Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 8 minutes ago, M Helsdon said: The impression I get from more recently published sources, is that Ernalda has a very significant political/economic/divine presence in Esrolia, but could be in error. You're probably right. The interaction between and roles of the different Earth Great Goddesses is complex enough in and of itself, but probably even more byzantine in Esrolia and Nochet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajagappa Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 5 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said: there is a piece that talks about how Ernalda in Esrolia has a more limited role than elsewhere, as there are more named goddesses to cover some of things she does elsewhere, and so Esrolian Ernalda is often associated more simply with good fortune - are these priestesses dedicated to that version of Ernalda, or am I reading too much (or too little) into it? Reading too much into it. This is Ernalda's home and she is THE preeminent deity. Many of the 'named' goddesses are simply names of or pieces of Ernalda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 16, 2019 Author Share Posted October 16, 2019 (edited) It was a desperate battle... Three quarters of a page of text and five sketches to place in the body of 'Armies & Enemies'.... Eventually a quarter of a page of text was added (shared between two chapters) and the sketches found a home in the 'Gods of War' chapter (which necessitated a new but short paragraph) and now... One more sketch is needed - but it will illustrate an armour and helmet design not shown in the book... Sadly, the text box about the logistics of the Invincible Golden Horde didn't find a home, and now languishes in the reject file: in summary, basically even if supported by a fleet of barges on the Oslir, the IGH had to keep moving or starve, and emptied every field, barn, granary, destroyed every orchard, despoiled every village, town and city in its path, and the inhabitants of sourthern Saird either fled, joined the horde, were enslaved or died of hunger. What the dragons later did simply devastated an already ruined land. Edited October 16, 2019 by M Helsdon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 (edited) Latest. Pens pretty much exhausted and not much white space left so am unsure of what the next one will be... If there is a next one... This is, very roughly, sketch 101 (though have created >150 illustrations in total). Getting tricky to find poses other than 'holding a sword/axe/spear etc, so here's a Hiia Swordsman cultist wiping his sword clean. When first starting to draw these illustrations, initially thought of drawing four basic poses to use as a template, which would perhaps have made things easier, but would grown repetitive in the layout. Edited October 20, 2019 by M Helsdon 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Helsdon Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 (edited) As anticipated, I am paying for going on the march on Saturday (won't name it, but you may have heard of a million people marching in London on Saturday): mainly hips and knees, as the arthritis goes 'live'. Suspect I won't be doing any more sketches this week... With its annotation moved, the latest neatly finishes a chapter: only a line or so left blank. Edited October 21, 2019 by M Helsdon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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