Orctober 2020 the first

⚔💚 A very blessed Orctober the first, everyone!! 💚⚔

As you can see from my prompt “list” above, since this year has been….this year, I will be taking things very casually for both this challenge and next month’s, too.

There are only three goals:

• Draw 31 Orcs (one per day, or however works best for you!)
• Within that 31, draw at least 2 favorite Orc characters from things you love
• Within that 31, create 1 Orc of your own!

Please feel free to use my “list” as well – if you do, please tag me, and anyone who completes it will get a special treat in the mail! And if you want a fuller list, may I recommend supplementing with Molly Ostertag’s “Tolkientober” prompt list?

Either way, hope you all participate in the month as much as you can, and if you do, remember to use #orctober and HAVE FUN!!

(And it should go without saying that I’ll be using mine as world building for my “Tock the Gnome” Orcs, of course, with a smattering of Tolkien Orcs and WoW Orcs thrown in. Hope you all look forward to it!)

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

Sunday Gnomedays 9-27-20

A Gnome of Middle-earth has tea with a good Hobbit friend.

Time again, with a very casual mention of something I’m working on…..🧡

In-between other projects and life demands, I have been intensely taken by some Tolkien inspiration – namely, the fact that in his early drafts of the tale of Beren and Lúthien, he referred to the kind of Elves (not men) that Beren came from as Gnomes.

…..🎉🤩🎉

What he meant in using the term was to indicate a thirst for knowledge, so as more people misunderstood that and assumed he meant something like Garden Gnomes, he chose to drop it and call them the Noldor instead.

BUT.

Here I am.

In this day and age.

To reclaim this idea – to wonder about and construct a reality of Middle-earth that included Gnomes, as we know them!

“Gnomish Noldor of Middle-earth,” or G.N.o.M.E., will explore the history of the Noldor from their birth as Elves and transformation into Gnomes, to their fall from the Valar’s grace (thaaaaaanks Morgoth and Fëanor) as well as their journey back into Middle-earth, their nature afterwards and the bloodlines impacted.

I’ve had this idea for a while, ever since I got a copy of “Beren & Lúthien” years ago (and drew about it once before), but it’s only started coming together (seriously, like a calling) these past couple of months. Gnomevember is coming up soon (💚) so I am hoping to do a lot of drawing work toward it as part of this month’s challenge, but I don’t want to force or rush it, so we’ll see.

Still, consider this a soft-launch announcement of my work on the project, and I hope you look forward to it as much as I’m enjoying this exploration!

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

“Tock the Gnome” page update!

Ding ding!! A new page of “Tock the Gnome” is now up for reading!

Read here ❤

Or start from the beginning here ❤

~

“Tock the Gnome: The Rescue Quest” is about a Gnome woman named Tock, who lives in a Steampunk culture in a high fantasy world. Driven by a Fairy Tale about a trapped Elven princess on a floating island, she convinces her friend Bumble – an airship pilot – to join her quest to rescue her. They hire extra firepower from unfamiliar lands, and together they seek the island and the princess. But what they seek may not be quite what they expected…

Contains queer characters and romance, size-positivity, Faerie, spiritual magic, conundrums and tomfoolery.

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

Commission – Book Cover, “Way of the Fist: King’s Champion”

My dear friend the amazing H.M. Barone is at is again, which means I’ve gotten to help her out with new cover art!

“Way of the Fist: King’s Champion” is the first in her new, fantasy-based series (which has actually been in the works for a looooooong time) ❤ Though I loved shaking things up a bit with her spy novels, “The Zoey Jane Files,” it was nice to return to this genre for her (and to learn many interesting things about this world she’s building – things I hope I pointed to in subtle and intriguing ways with this art work!).

I wanted to share some of my design process, too, since some of the darker tones hid certain elements of it, especially in the central characters’ garb:

This series is obviously martial arts inspired, in part, and for the uniform of the order of those characters (Meithose on the left, center, and Blythe on the right, center) I wanted to bring in some more fantasy-style notes.

I am really pleased with this design – it hits very Peter Pan/Robin Goodfellow/Faerie Trickster energy for me. I wish I had done certain things differently to make that more visible on the cover, itself (but on that note, I hope you enjoy seeing this behind-the-scenes look at things!).

There’s also a LOT of characters involved here, and they went through a bit of a design evolution as well:

And lastly, gotta share a closeup of my beloved Orcses (and Goblins and Trolls, too!).

(They, of course, were my favorite part to do – and I hope that a certain grey shape encourages you to pay attention to what’s going on with them 🤫)

Check out the book (and her previous works) here!

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

Sunday Gnomedays 9-20-20

Time again 🦋 Butterflies and a star, a crystal ball and hope.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like all I can do these days is lean on symbolism and the optimism of floofy dresses.

Whatever you’re feeling today, I hope this helps.

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

Sunday Gnomedays 9-13-20

Time again 🌼

Sometimes hope is just the spark of magic that is believing in the power of Story, even when everything else looks dire as eff.

May you have a moment of that hopefulness today, everyone!

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

“Tock the Gnome” page update!

Ding ding!! A new page of “Tock the Gnome” is now up for reading!

Read here ❤

Or start from the beginning here ❤

~

“Tock the Gnome: The Rescue Quest” is about a Gnome woman named Tock, who lives in a Steampunk culture in a high fantasy world. Driven by a Fairy Tale about a trapped Elven princess on a floating island, she convinces her friend Bumble – an airship pilot – to join her quest to rescue her. They hire extra firepower from unfamiliar lands, and together they seek the island and the princess. But what they seek may not be quite what they expected…

Contains queer characters and romance, size-positivity, Faerie, spiritual magic, conundrums and tomfoolery.

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

Sunday Gnomedays 9-6-20

Time again 🔮

Feeling a bit melancholy and less-than-usually magical, lately. It happens. But looking at this again now, after drawing it, I see a bit more hope in her face than I did originally. And that makes me hope a bit, too.

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

Sunday Gnomedays 8-30-20

Time again 💜

Also, I turn 36 today.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my age, now officially being on the “wrong side of 35,” as Jane Austen would say. I know a lot of mainstream society or whatnot would tell me that I’m supposed to have outgrown the things that interest me, that light my soul.

The kind of work that I do.

BUT – if to be grown up is to abandon all wonder at and belief in the magic of the world, I pray I never do. And I hope, no matter where you fall on the scale of what’s “grown up” or what isn’t, my work brings a moment of that whimsy and delight into your day. 

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl – That magic exists in ALL of us. But it’s UP to us to recognize it.

Please believe, as much as you can.

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi

Fanart Friday – Amrâlimê, Yavanna & Aulë

I started a new small sketchbook recently (as opposed to the big ones I use for commissions), and every time I do, I do something very self-care on the first page. It usually has to do with whatever encouragement I feel resonates with me at the time, what I’m most inspired by at the moment, and includes a quote along with whatever I choose to draw.

This time, I drew Yavanna and Aulë, my two favorite of the Valar of (you guessed it!) Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, as embodiments of what they have power over – but still very much in love, united. I’m also still very much on a Kiliel kick (…..❤) and the more I absorb fandom of them, the more I feel like they are Yavanna and Aulë incarnate.

As such, the quote comes from my faaaaaavorite fic series so far, Moonraykir‘s “Even Dragons Have their Ending.” I have been inhaling story after story in it, but I’m pretty sure it comes from the third part, “So Comes Snow After Fire.”

If you’re into world-building and the work Tolkien’s done in general, and adventure True Love stories a la “The Princess Bride,” go check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

~~~

Patreon ~ Etsy ~ Ko-fi