Tag: dream angel

Happy 4th Anniversary, Dream Angel!!

Happy 4th anniversary, Dream Angel! On this day, 4 years ago, your first book became a finished reality. Now, 4 years later, you boast 23 books and a second edition of that first book. Your first story, some years ago, won second place at the county fair. A Barbie dressed in a handmade costume as Katrilina won first place and was stolen. Your first hand drawn comic was featured in a college newspaper.

dreamangel600There’s been more than enough ups and downs these last 4 years, but through it all, you’ve remained unforgettable to those who’ve enjoyed your stories. Although this year, the book release schedule has been slowed down considerably, patient fans will find the books to come worth the wait. Your counterpart Techwarrior had his first anniversary this year. Your newest counterpart Hillbilly Hoot has yet to celebrate his first anniversary next year with more books, but today’s about you.
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Through your many forms and various ideas, you’ve endured the years. Happy 4th anniversary and many, many more to come! You are indeed the shining golden goddess of the dawn.

Here’s your anniversary present, fans!

Now, to the good news you readers might enjoy: there’s a coupon floating around today only!! Here’s the code: 4thanniversary2016. It can only be used once per person, but 30% off is pretty good, so have some fun!! Simply put the code in during the checkout process to get the discount. Sorry, it doesn’t apply towards shipping – that’s something I can’t control, but it’s 30% off your entire purchase! That counts for something, right? So, head over to the shop and put it to work!!

All together now: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, DREAM ANGEL!!

What have I been learning lately?

What have I been learning lately? A fair question and quite a valid one, considering how quiet it’s been for the most part. Well, since books have hit a standstill, I’ve been learning new things about lights and cameras. Grabbing every tutorial on the subject I can when I can. Anyone who’s read the earliest Dream Angel books will agree those are indeed weaknesses. True fans wouldn’t have those early books any other way, considering the visible evolution of the art through the books. Improving the art has always been and will always be a goal of this artist.

Now, I’ve noted that a leading complaint about CGI art is that it’s “stiff and lifeless.” Well, alongside the lights and cameras, I’ve been on the hunt for ways to solve that problem, as well. On the one hand, the stiff outfits with morphs are much easier to control and less taxing on the computer when rendering. Although, sometimes, a realistic drape is far more dramatic. I figure I might be able to use both at appropriate times to achieve the effects I want in the scene. Sometimes, a dynamic drape just doesn’t cooperate the way you want it to and it’s not an easy thing to control. I do wish to get some tutorials to help with mastering it, of course! So, the stiffer object with the morphs can take over in the meantime while I’m learning. Fair enough, right?

Taking time to learn new things is just as important as releasing new books, right? Admittedly, it’s been a couple months now since the last book was released, but I believe you’ll find the wait well worth it as books to come will benefit from what’s being learned. So, to finish up, I’ll share a couple of the recent renders and let you see what’s been going on behind the scenes.

Let’s have a look at those new

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Now, let me point out a couple things.

  1. Starting with the first image, lighting is good, but could still use some dramatic flair.
  2. Second one, there’s some drama going on. I’m willing to bet some color adjustments or other tweaks would take it over the top.
  3. The third one, with Techwarrior and his villain Cryptolock going at it is pretty dramatic. I’ll bet there’s some room to tweak it further. You’ll also notice that cape of Cryptolock’s is pretty stiff compared to the
  4. next image and its dynamically draped cape. Between the two, his scenes may well be considerably more dramatic and with dramatic lighting to match… Well, I think you can imagine the improvement.
  5. The next one has Techwarrior in his new dynamically draped outfit. Not so “stiff and lifeless” is he?
  6. The last is the newest with the “chibi” figure I recently found. Nothing dramatic here, just Dream Angel and Nyxus showing off with the new figure. This new figure is quite good, but there’s still going to be some hand-drawn chibi figures for comedic emphasis throughout the books. They’re intentionally cute, but good for the overly emotional chibi style of character infamous to manga.

As you can see, despite being quiet around here, there’s still plenty going on behind the scenes. So, what do you think? Any ideas, tips, suggestions?

So many books!

There’s so many books here already that it’s hard to keep track!

Let’s try, shall we? Our flagship series is Dream Angel standing at a fabulous 24 books 180da#1 (counting the second edition of Dream Angel #1180da2nd#1). The second series is Techwarrior tech1-180 with a fantastic 4 book setup waiting to blow readers away. Last, but not least is the smallest, and newest series, Hillbilly Hoot 13221633_1091311364240861_3680558582007933730_n and while he’s only got one book at the moment, it’s a wonder to behold.

What’s going to happen next with these three wonderful series?

Well, more books, of course! For the time being, new skills are being learned to improve the quality of these books. The study of lighting a scene has taken center stage, for one. It’s true what all the tutorials have been saying: “lighting can make or break a scene. Lighting is 90% of the art. Master that, and you’ve got a stunning scene!” What’s that mean? It means new books are put on hold to allow time to master that 90% and really step up the artistic quality of the books.

“But the books are already so beautiful artistically!”

There’s always room for improvement. Mastering lighting is one step closer. True, even someone who’s mastered their craft is always looking for ways to do it even better, but it helps to have the basics solidly learned. The learning process continues and happily, the results will continue to improve with time and practice.

Keep your eyes open for more eye-popping art to sneak in on the activity pages! You won’t want to miss it!

Thoughts time! What do you think of the books so far? Have you read any of them? If you haven’t, you really should hop over to the shop and grab a few! The earliest books might be a little rough around the edges artistically, but they improve gradually and you might be surprised by the most recent books.

Good news, Techwarrior fans!

Good news, Techwarrior fans!

A rough script for Techwarrior #5-12 has been completed. When the series was started, a 12 book run was proposed, so having the script complete makes it one step closer to rendering. Now, before you get all excited, note that this series is a collaboration. The script has to be approved before rendering can start, and that takes some time sometimes.

Once the script is approved, however, expect books to begin appearing regularly through the 12th book. This is good news for Techwarrior fans, is it not?

What about Dream Angel and Hillbilly Hoot?

Dream Angel at this point is a larger collaboration. Getting the minds involved to do their part has been a slow process I’d hoped would be done long before the book’s time to be rendered. It hasn’t happened that way. The current story arc has been more than a year in the making. Having fellow creative minds involved has in fact slowed down the usual pace for rendering and releasing. Fortunately, things are beginning to pick up gradually and the writing may soon be completed for the arc.

Hillbilly Hoot is another collaboration and health issues have been slowing it down. Life has kept the minds involved with these books quite busy, so it’s difficult to keep a regular schedule at times. Fortunately, these are independently created and released, so there’s no publisher schedule to keep, merely a personal one.

Still fun to be had!

Have you checked out the activity streams page lately? There’s some cool blitz art challenges going on there! Even if you’re not the artsy type, the idea’s to draw what you see and I like to think anyone can do that, no matter how bad they might think they are at drawing! So, come on! We don’t judge! Just have fun with it and enjoy! Despite what people might think, even tracing can be artistic and I can say from experience, it helps with learning to draw, as well.

How stories are written…

How stories are written isn’t always an easy question to answer. Matter of fact, usually the best advice is to write what you know. In school, you’re encouraged to pre-write and plan what to write based on a subject for an essay. Granted, stories aren’t that far removed from essays – matter of fact, they use the same basic structure – but sometimes, you just don’t know what to write, right? How then, to write a story?

Sometimes, all it takes is just to start writing and let the ideas flow – much like right now for me. Now, I’ll grant that some of this might not even make sense, but you’d be surprised how helpful nonsense can be to writing a good story. See, I’m one of those unusual sorts that can’t pre-write a story or essay and have it still make sense. Something gets lost transitioning between the pre-writing and the actual writing. Once that was discovered, I was told to skip the pre-writing and my writing skyrocketed.

Within the Dream Angel story line, there will be a ring. One Nyxus wears constantly to increase her power. First thought that would naturally come to mind is Lord of the Rings, of course. The One Ring has quite the story attached to it, but Nyxus’s is different from even that. The next thing to come to mind is He-Man and the Widgets’ Corodite adding to Skeletor’s power. That might be closer, but still different from even that. There may even be other things along those lines that are close but not the same. Her ring can be used to find pieces of something, but she doesn’t know what it is or how the ring can be used to find it.

Please, if you’ve got ideas, share them!

The finale of the triple release party!

Parties are fun, don’t you think? Well, now we’re seeing the finale of the triple release party. First, we saw Techwarrior #4 released on Saturday, then Hillbilly Hoot #1 on Sunday and today, Dream Angel #23 finishes out the trio.

What’s next? Well, that ought to be obvious by now: more books! More plush action figures! More goodies! I seem to have a never ending to-do list. Characters need to be made into plushes from the new patterns, new 3D techniques to learn, books to plan… Then there’s, dishes, laundry, vacuuming, cooking and mopping on top of it all!

So, we’ve made it through all three book releases. Is there any other news to impart? Why yes, there is. The soft weapons will soon be added to the shop with very large bold warnings that they’re most emphatically not for children 3 and under. Soft though they may be, they’re still small accessories! Rather than being for kids, these are better for older collectors more than to be played with. Things like the bow and crossbow do work, and do a nice job of sending the arrow and bolt flying across a room – which could hurt somebody. The pistol and dagger are quite small, too.

Now, older collectors and kids would enjoy these weapons because they’re magnetically attached to the doll’s hands. Characters like Larissa – who’s a police Lieutenant – would benefit from the gun belt made of faux leather, since it would help emphasize her law enforcement status. Reprobates would look more menacing holding a spear or sword. Being soft is simply a plus for these, since it should be harder to hurt someone with them.

So, thoughts?

What do you think of the new books? How about the triple party? Looking forward to seeing new plush characters and the weapons in the shop?

Triple release party coming soon!

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Come join us at the Facebook party! It’s been a lot longer in the works than usual, but finally, we’ll see a triple release party for Dream Angel #23,

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Techwarrior #4,

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and announcing the all-new Hillbilly Hoot #1!

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Although the latter two have been largely ready for a couple weeks now, the idea was to have a big party for all three to celebrate the new series.

Dream Angel was supposed to be done a couple weeks ago, but other things ended up taking priority. Nevertheless, it’s rapidly approaching completion with a good possibility of the party being this Saturday. This is one party you won’t want to miss!

These books are all amazingly rendered with great care and attention to detail. Well, don’t take my word for it, check them out for yourself when they’re released!

In other news, the redesign of Daybright and Firebright plush characters has turned out adorable. The sample Daybright I made has a full armature even inside the ears and wings. The plan is to finish off Dream Angel, have the triple release party and finish off the last of the details for the sample before posting pictures, so keep your eyes open for those to appear and beware: He’s a thief! He’ll steal your heart at first glance!

There’s plenty of charming darlings just waiting to be adored in the shop. Not forgetting key chains, travel mugs and other assorted goodies! There’s lots of cool stuff to do and see on this site, so don’t be shy!

Opinion time!

Are you excited about the triple party? What do you think of the redesign for Daybright and Firebright with the armature? Granted, you have yet to see it, but be imaginative for a moment. It’s a blue Pegasus unicorn with a complete armature that makes it poseable. Here’s Daybright in the shop as he is currently. Now, imagine a more realistic redesign with the armature.

Storm of awesome coming!

There’s a storm of awesome coming! One you won’t want to miss at all! Dream Angel #23, Techwarrior #4 and Hillbilly Hoot #1 will all be released soon in a fun triple party.

All three of these have knock-your-socks-off fun just waiting for you. Dream Angel’s in trouble again in #23 as her friends and family have been captured and she’s left almost alone to save them. Techwarrior is visiting an old friend when trouble starts again for him in #4 and Hillbilly Hoot is the premier book! I don’t dare spoil it other than something is missing!

The art has taken a definite jump for the better lately and stories are better than ever. Sweeping landscapes, huge battles and awe inspiring villains await in these books.

These books are so full of beauty that the computer can barely handle it! Scenes have taken 12 hours or more to prepare for rendering and much longer than in the past to render. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an excellent computer with enough power to do the job of course, it’s just been having trouble because the scenes have so much going on.

In other news, the plush action figures also look awesome! The new 11″ Arora/Dream Angel is a redheaded knockout. I’ve also acquired a new horse pattern for Daybright and Firebright that’ll be appropriately modified for them. These more realistic characters feature a soft body with a strong wire armature inside the body so they can be posed. Even the horses likely will sport these wire armatures once the pattern is modified and finalized.

This storm of awesome will definitely take you by storm. Don’t take my word for it, though! Stick around and find out for yourself!

Cool news!

Cool news for anyone eagerly anticipating Dream Angel #22 and the printed edition of Techwarrior #3: Dream Angel #22 will be released tomorrow morning live in the shop and Techwarrior #3 has been submitted for listing in print on indyplanet!

What of Hillbilly Hoot? Well, that one’s gradually coming together. It’s good to know that these books are getting back on track and looking absolutely breathtaking!

If you’re wondering, I’m just getting warmed up for the year. You might have noticed I missed the February and March releases for Dream Angel. Well, that just means I was gearing up for bigger and better than ever stuff. New toys for making rendering faster and better, learning new tricks and coming up with all sorts of awesome goodies you’ll love.

So, the year got of to a sluggish start for book releases, you’ll find it’s worth the wait and if you stick around to enjoy the fun, you’ll find some very impressive visitors popping into the story of Dream Angel. I don’t dare spoil it, of course, but you’ll find some fun surprises just around the corner as the excitement builds!

Techwarrior #3 is live!

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Techwarrior #3 is live! I know this one’s been anticipated for quite a while now and it’s finally ready. In this book, we see the scope of Techwarrior’s world and meet a new friend. Well, instead of spoiling the story, it’s a far better idea to encourage you to just go get it in the shop! If you’d prefer a print version, it’ll be a few days before that’s ready, but it’s coming soon!

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What news for Dream Angel #22? Well, with the completion of Techwarrior #3 comes the halfway point of Dream Angel #22. This time, Nyxus has made a bold move in the form of a mass capture of Dream Angel’s friends and family. Will she be able to save all of them? This one is looking at an April 7th release and has some incredible scenes in it.

The story of this cover is almost a funny one. See, that background was a birthday present from me to me. Ironically, it’s a scene I’ve wanted since Dream Angel #6. If you haven’t read that one, you ought to, as it has a quite interesting earthquake in it. At the time I was rendering Dream Angel #6 and Dream Angel #7, the scene was far too expensive to afford sadly. Thus, as readers of the series will find, I had to improvise. Not that it’s a bad thing, just that this scene would have been seriously impressive for those books. It’s ironic since this scene didn’t go on sale until my birthday this year which was fortunate since I did actually have the money to get it finally.

You might also be interested in the third series that’s coming along gradually. Yep! Hillbilly Hoot is beginning to come together. The script is written, the character library still needs to be completed, but it should be ready for production soon. Curious about the cover of Hillbilly Hoot #1? Here it is:

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So, three fabulous series all very enjoyable and all-ages friendly. That’s hard to beat, is it not? What do you think of these covers? Discussion’s open to polite, helpful comments! If you’re not sure, read the rules, please!