A.F.E. Smith
  • Home
  • Books
    • Marked series >
      • Dawn Rising
      • The Dark Knife
    • Darkhaven novels >
      • Darkhaven
      • Goldenfire
      • Windsinger
  • Shorts
  • Gallery
  • Contact

Animals and alchemy: part one

11/12/2014

2 Comments

 
I've been designing a set of Darkhaven-themed bookmarks to go in my fabulous mailing list giveaway. Originally I'd hoped to have them completed by now, so I could share them with you, but that didn't happen because … well, life. But I have drawn the basic designs, so I thought I'd talk a bit about them now and post again when they're done.

(That way I get two blog posts out of it as well. Cunning, eh?)

Griffin sketch
The first thing to say is that trying to design stuff whilst wearing a baby is not the easiest thing in the world. Tiny likes motion. I basically have to stand there swaying from side to side (except when I'm walking up and down the room), which doesn't really contribute much to the accuracy of my lines. And for the same reason, I can't use anything more high-tech than … well, a notebook and a biro.

(To be honest, I'm not sure why the biro. Even in the realm of low-tech art materials, there are better things than biros. But it's what I had to hand.)

Still, none of that should matter, because the next step is to scan the designs and use them as a basis for a set of computer graphics – at which point I can refine and tweak them as necessary. Of course, that also requires time away from Tiny, which is why I haven't got round to it yet.

Phoenix sketch
So what is the relevance of these designs to Darkhaven? As you may know if you've been following my ramblings for any length of time, the ruling class in Mirrorvale – the Nightshade family – have the ability to shapeshift. Traditionally, each of them takes the form of one of five creatures: firedrake, phoenix, unicorn, hydra or griffin. Thus there will be five bookmark designs in total.

That covers the animals. But what of the alchemy? Well, each creature is said to embody one of the five material elements of Mirrorvalese alchemy: flame, wood, ice, steel and wind. In alchemical notation, each element has a colour and a sign associated with it, which will be incorporated into the designs. But for more on that, you'll have to wait for part two of this post!


    Enter your email address here!
    Enter your email address here and click on Submit.
Submit
Or sign up to my mailing list!

2 Comments
Tricia Drammeh link
13/12/2014 08:10:04 am

The sketches are very nice. I can't imagine trying to get anything done while wearing a baby. My oldest daughter constantly needed to be held and rocked, so I can sympathize with you. The moment I tried to set her down in her bassinet or crib, she would begin wailing. Unfortunately, this left me with very little time to do anything. Good luck with your bookmarks.

Reply
A.F.E Smith link
13/12/2014 11:09:01 am

Thanks, Tricia! Yes, Tiny is exactly the same and I'm becoming quite adept at writing/editing while I wear her. She does at least sleep in her cot at night, though :-)

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

      Enter your email address and click on Submit to receive notifications of new posts.
      Enter your email address here!
    Submit

    Archives

    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    About Me
    Artwork
    A To Z Challenge
    Barren Island Books
    Books
    Character Interviews
    Characterisation
    Darkhaven
    Editing
    Events
    Excerpts
    Fantasy
    Flash Fiction
    Giveaways
    Guest Posts
    Marketing
    Maths
    Pedantry
    Point Of View
    Prophecy
    Publishing
    Reading
    Recommended Reads
    Reviews
    Rules Of Fiction
    Science Fiction
    Serious Stuff
    Sunday Showcase
    Tentacles
    Ugh
    Worldbuilding
    Write Every Day
    Writing

    Or subscribe to my mailing list here!

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Books
    • Marked series >
      • Dawn Rising
      • The Dark Knife
    • Darkhaven novels >
      • Darkhaven
      • Goldenfire
      • Windsinger
  • Shorts
  • Gallery
  • Contact