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Playful but dangerous Daybright

Daybright is today’s special feature. This even-tempered stallion might seem boring to some since it takes quite a bit to really upset his calm demeanor. Just like his twin, however, he only allows one rider: Red Nite Soldier.

daybright

According to mythology, (depending on the story you find) Daybright was one of the two horses that drew the Sun God Apollo’s chariot across the sky each day and was cared for by Apollo’s sister Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn.

So, he’s not especially interesting mythologically, he’s not especially interesting unless he’s angered in my story, why should you care? Hmmmm…. He’s cute? Just a little chuckle there. He’s more than just cute and he does get interesting in battle. Very interesting at times.

His interest lies in the most dangerous and desperate situations, though. His special ability is to become water. It doesn’t happen often and only when all other options are exhausted, but he has gotten our heroes out of a couple very tight scrapes.

I bet you’re wondering why a horse that in mythology would draw the sun chariot across the sky would be able to turn into water. Well, that’s a good question… I’ll leave that up to your imagination.

What do you think? Is Daybright an interesting character? Daybright makes his comic book debut in Dream Angel #2, which can be found in the shop. Also found in the shop is his soft, cuddly plush action figure. Who, like his human counterparts, has a full wire armature that makes him able to stand on his own and hold a pose.

 

Our lovely leading lady Dream Angel!

Dream Angel is today’s star. She’s a fascinating character with a fair variety of interesting undiscovered powers, but there are some really cool things you don’t know about her.

dream angel

Dream Angel’s original name was Destiny. She was based much more closely on Sailor Moon, too. Initially, when I first started drawing her I set the time period to right after she graduated high school – the day after.

If you’ve read the Sailor Moon manga, you know that in the first book Bunny goes racing around getting ready for school and quite clumsily. She does similar in the anime, but it was the manga I was going from. Destiny also goes racing around getting ready for school but as she darts past the calendar, she remembers she graduated.

Breezer, Katrilina and Hanaji have changed some too since then. Hanaji retained his name from this earlier story. There’s more to this early story line, but it won’t be discussed here. Actually, there have been several early stories and one even won second place at the county fair.

Her powers are largely unknown, even to Breezer and Ryu who’ve been her best advisers and mentors. So, any new abilities discovered tend to be a surprise for everyone, hero and villain alike. These moments of surprise have caused both sides to stop fighting long enough to try and understand what happened and one side or the other takes advantage of the moment of hesitation.

So, what do you think? Is she an interesting character? Dream Angel makes her comic book debut in (of course) Dream Angel #1, which can be found in the shop. Also found in the shop are 3 Dream Angel outfits for Arora Arum.

Are you of great virtue? Meet Kiryoku!

Kiryoku is a Kirin centaur. She’s half Chinese unicorn. Though there are different words and legends, the idea behind the creature remains the same: punish the wicked.

kiryokuKiryoku only appears to those of great virtue. Dream Angel has a strong sense of justice, and her friends also have many virtues. Though the Keres might see her, they cannot easily understand her.

Kiryoku’s another of the species Nyxus deemed “unnecessary” and marked for hunting. Dream Angel found her in one of the Keres’ traps. She was among the earliest allies and friends Dream Angel made.

The legend of the Kirin is from China, Japan and Korea. Kiryoku’s appearance comes from the Chinese and Korean legend, and Kirin is a Japanese word. The creature, has the head of a dragon, the antlers and body of a deer, the scales of a fish and the tail of an ox. I ended up with a mixture without the dragon parts and instead made it a centaur.

Kiryoku means energy. I’ve often depicted and described her as skilled with a sword, which blends neatly with her scaled body. This gives the impression that she’s unarmed. This falls neatly in line with the legendary creatures’ ‘punish the wicked’ nature.

Though she cares about her appearance, she’s not especially vain about it. She’ll get into the thick of the dirtiest battles and walk away with a satisfied look on her face when it’s over, even if she’s caked in mud.

To some, she might look helpless and even gentle, but being on the wrong side of her sword is quite dangerous. True to her name, she’s very energetic and very fast as well.

She’s not much for jokes, though she does enjoy them. In battle, she prefers being serious. When she met Jake, after a couple of his jokes, she couldn’t keep a straight face around him. Every time she sees him, she starts laughing. Not always loudly, but she would be found sniggering.

What do you think? Is Kiryoku an interesting character? Kiryoku makes her comic book debut in Dream Angel #7, which can be found in the shop. It’s a good idea to get the books that came before it so the story makes sense! Also found in the shop is her plush action figure.

The deception of Kageki

Kageki is a bit of a mixed-up story. Without revealing too much, you find out she’s an ally of Nyxus. From her appearance alone, you learn she isn’t one to mess with. She’s a direct opposite of Teikou no Senshi.

kageki

Kageki is the result of a brainwashing spell and bad luck. Although she’s a fierce fighter, Nyxus forgot to check the spell for the means to break it. Of course, that leaves us to wonder if there is a means to break it.

There isn’t much to tell about Kageki. She’s fierce, she’s the result of a spell and she’s the result of bad luck. From there, telling more would spoil the story.

The idea for Kageki actually came from the Sailor Moon Live Action series. Near the middle of the series, Sailor Mercury is brainwashed by Kunzite and changed into Dark Mercury. It puzzled me to some degree why he didn’t pick on Jupiter, who’s far stronger, but in the end, Mercury proved an excellent villain that the rest of the girls just couldn’t and wouldn’t fight. I really shouldn’t tell how they manage to change her back, as Kageki has similar circumstances and it would spoil the story.

Similarly, Double Dragon shares a hero-turned-villain-back-to-hero story, so I have to say it’s a good concept to start from. My hero-turned-villain is closer to Dark Mercury, though. Kageki does put a bit of a different spin on the idea, making her a fascinating character.

What do you think? Is she an interesting character? I’d love to hear from you! She makes her comic book debut in Dream Angel #8, which can be found in the shop. It’s recommended you get the books that came before it so the story makes sense! Also found in the shop is her plush action figure costume for Elizabeth Amphitrite.

A real life saver: Kiano Tadelesh

Kiano Tadelesh is an interesting character. Though his appearances in the comics are pretty brief, he points out some interesting facts to Dream Angel. Like just about everyone else, he doesn’t want to get on Nyxus’s bad side so he’s careful about what he says when he knows others are listening.

kianoHis passion lies in his desire to save lives and when he sees Dream Angel doing exactly that, he decides she’s not trying to hurt people the way Nyxus wants people to believe. Most people know about Dream Angel and everyone knows Nyxus, so Dream Angel’s presence at the scene of a disaster is no surprise to Kiano.

Scenes like this: 

Are fairly commonplace for Kiano. Although earthquakes aren’t common, he’s used to her being around areas that look a lot like this as the damage is usually the result of fighting.

I decided some time ago that with all the destruction Dream Angel’s fighting would cause, would result in injuries and of course, there’d have to be medical personnel on the scene to help them. Not long after that, I decided my books would have a good amount of diversity.

So, I fussed and played with the design of his character. Once I got the uniform right, I made him look good in it. Picking out his name was a bit more challenging, but I finally settled on Kiano, which means “The wizard” and Tadelesh which means “Tools of”. A little ironic since he uses tools in sometimes magical ways to save lives as part of his job.

What do you think? Is he an interesting character? His comic book debut is in Dream Angel #6, which can be found in the shop. It’s a good idea to get the books that come before it so the story makes sense! Also found in the shop is his plush action figure.

Discredited elite: Xalibe WildClaw

xalibeXalibe WildClaw is almost as nasty as his mistress. He’s a Reprobate Elite and a ruthless opponent. He’s the first Elite Dream Angel and her friends go up against. He’s also the one that comes close to killing Dream Angel in one of their early battles.

Had her mother not intervened with fellow officers and started shooting at him, he would have succeeded. He would have seen to it her death was swift, just like all previous rebel leaders he’d defeated.

In Dream Angel’s first three years of fighting, his fall from grace led to harsher and harsher punishment. Until he was finally demoted to dungeon guard duty. His final fight as leader of the Elite, is his comic book debut in Dream Angel #1.
As a final indignity, he loses the fight to Dream Angel’s retired wrestling legend father, Jake Arum. The heroes escape with Jake and Xalibe has to face the punishment which is his demotion.

Upon his demotion, he vows to himself to destroy Dream Angel and her friends, no matter what it takes. This begins causing friction between him and his former second, Daragon.

Daragon IronWeasel is given Xalibe’s duty of destroying the upstart rebel band. This doesn’t sit well with Xalibe, so he starts interfering with Daragon’s plans in an effort to get back in Nyxus’s good graces.

He secretly helps the heroes out of a few tight spots, but along the way learns more about them. This leads him to wonder if he’s even doing the right thing. He sets that aside and focuses on his goal, though.

Since he’s the only Elite on dungeon guard duty. He always returns before Daragon, Daragon can’t prove anything against Xalibe.

What do you think? Is Xalibe an interesting character? He makes his comic book debut in Dream Angel #1, which is available in the shop. Also available in the shop is his plush action figure.

Challenge of 3D

3D is a challenge, there’s no doubt about that. All art is. Ask any artist and you’ll find very few who can say they didn’t spend a lot of time practicing to improve and the best ones are always looking for ways to improve further.

3D is no exception. Sure, the computer helps, but it can’t do the job itself. Sorry, we don’t have robots like the ones in I, Robot. So, no artistic computer. This means a person still has to create the scene.

True, sometimes it’s just fun to play around with a scene and see what happens. The result isn’t always good, though. Creating anything is a journey.

A playful mix of 2D and 3D. The result of a lot of practice!

The fun of creating does tend to be the journey. From posing nudes to paint hair and clothes to rendering HDRI and playing with a character using the HDRI as the background and light source. While the latter sounds easy, it’s not. There’s some pretty fussy settings involved and it’s taken many hours of practice – there’s a lot of that! – to get it right.

You’ll be agreeing with Anaplkete here a lot! There’s usually one little setting that can easily be overlooked that ruins a render.

Like anything, practice is the key. As the song in Barbie Princess Power says, “take a chance, mess it up! That’s okay we’re big enough to try it again!” For anyone looking to see what happens when you practice, that movie is a good choice. There’s plenty of messing up and practicing.

The real challenge of 3D is to practice constantly. Sometimes practicing is just simply having fun and sometimes it’s messing up to learn from the mistakes. Oh yes, don’t be afraid to tinker around with the out-of-the-box models. Not everyone is a skilled modeler!

Now, modeling has its own challenges and that’s something for an entirely different article. Anyone who thinks the out-of-the-box models can’t create art… well, that’s just silly.

So, is 3D a challenge? Absolutely. Is it art? Well, what else would it be called? It’s certainly not lazy and definitely takes a lot of time to learn, just like any other art form. The real challenge of 3D is to learn it. Like anything else, master the basics and it gets considerably more fun, but there’s always something new to learn!

What makes 3D so difficult?

What makes 3D so difficult to handle is that it has a very steep learning curve more often than not. I’ve found people that assume because the computer does a lot of the work that 3D isn’t art and it’s lazy to use. Let me assure you: nothing is further from the truth!

True, some programs, like DAZ Studio or even Poser are good for beginners or hobbyists and make setting up a scene reasonably easy to do, but that doesn’t mean the rendered art will be good quality. Like pencil and paper, there’s basic techniques and much more advanced ones. It’s the difference between a stick figure with dots for eyes and a line for a smile and a fully detailed anatomically correct figure that’s nicely lit and realistic.

Anyone can draw a stick figure, but that much higher quality figure with all the details and lighting? That can take years of practice. The very same holds true of 3D art.

First and foremost, it’s very much art. If it isn’t, it shouldn’t be in movies as a special effect since it takes special effects artists to use it for movies. What are they using if it isn’t art? Secondly, it’s constantly changing and improving, so just because some amateur hasn’t yet mastered even the basics isn’t a reason to tell them to use pencil and paper.

Four years ago, I knew next to nothing about 3D art. I posed bald, nude figures in Poser with default lighting and painted hair and clothes in Photoshop. As I learned more, my methods changed. Figures began having clothes and hair, I began experimenting with lights and camera angles.

Being a 3D artist is a lot like being a movie director. You have to be able to work with all the various departments to get the scene just right. Actors, wardrobe, hair, makeup, lights, cameras and other things have to be prepared for the scene to be complete. Finding, creating and effectively rendering the scene elements is more complicated than some might imagine. Even when you think the scene looks the way you want it, it doesn’t mean the final render will have the desired result. That means post work, which can get almost as complicated as setting up the scene in the first place.

The truth is there’s a million ways a scene can go wrong. True, pencil and paper mean you can simply erase the part that’s not the way you want it, but what if it’s already inked? That means hours with white-out or something similar to correct the problem.

Lots of ways to mess up, lots of ways to create incredible art. It’s a matter of time, patience and a lot of practice.

Villain or not? Stygere

Stygere has got the longest fuse of the Keres. His mother and sisters are quick to anger, he isn’t. Instead, he stays angry most particularly at them, for all the arguing. He’s a dangerous enemy, but doesn’t often show anger toward the heroes. In fact, they have a suspicion that he wants to join them against his mother and sisters. He’s left clues to their plans that have helped the heroes out of many deadly traps.

He’s an enigma to the heroes, but among the many things he won’t admit openly is that he does want to rebel against his mother and sisters. Unfortunately, the few times he’s tried, they nearly killed him for it. So, rather than risk life and limb against them, he secretly helps the heroes without their fully realizing it. He’s considered donning a masked identity to confuse both sides. Unfortunately, he figures they’d recognize his voice and he’d simply be in greater trouble.

A small mystery that might nag at the reader of Dream Angel #2 and #3, is how Kaida knew Larissa was in trouble with Ker and several Reprobates. The heroes figure he was simply flying overhead and saw something that looked out of place causing him to land and investigate. What the heroes wouldn’t know is Stygere planted a clue. One that would attract the Pegasus centaur without anyone knowing. He also left an anonymous clue with the local police. Which is connected to the heroes’ communications thanks to Larissa. This, Stygere knows, and put to good use. It’s common knowledge the heroes and police are working together to solve crimes within the city. So he figures anyone could have left the tip and he wouldn’t get blamed.

He doesn’t want to openly help the heroes, so he flies under the radar with subtle hints and clues to tip them off. His mother and sisters are left frustrated when the heroes escape, but he’s secretly pleased.

What do you think? Is Stygere an interesting character? Stygere makes his comic book debut in Dream Angel #1, which is available in the shop. Also available in the shop is his plush action figure.

Deadly beauty: Akhlys

 

Akhlys is a deadly beauty. She’s beautiful and she knows it. She flaunts it. She welcomes guys falling over themselves at her feet.

Akhlys

The problem for those guys falling over themselves at her feet: poison gas and her temper.

Being the passive-aggressive type and vain, she often gets what she wants. When she doesn’t, the poor soul who resists gets poisoned.

Teikou no Senshi, for her natural resistance to poison, is often at the center of Akhlys’s anger. Having no fighting skill to speak of, Akhlys can’t stand that the younger girl is able to resist her poison and heal her victims as well.

Her charm and beauty is highly effective on men in particular. Among the few who’ve resisted are Dream Angel’s father and friends.

Trying to charm Jake Arum in particular, she found him more resistant than most. Not only did this anger her, it confused her as well. How could an ordinary man resist her so strongly? She didn’t know, but in her confusion, she didn’t poison him.

Unfortunately for Virgo, Torakatai, Red Nite Soldier and Blue Nite Soldier, her charm had more effect, but not for long. Upon trying to attack, she used her poison and they had to escape for help.

Even Ryu and Breezer have had to resist her charms and later, her poison gas.

Her debut appearance in comic books is Dream Angel #1, found in the shop. You’ll also find her charming and quite adorable plush action figure in the shop, as well. Luckily, her plush action figure can’t use poison gas the way she does in the comic books. All she wants is a hug instead! Will you give her a hug?