figurines Archives - Page 8 of 10

Because in the end, you have to show, not tell.

A bit of a departure this week, I’ll be showing you more- and less- than the figures that “figure” in my tales. I freely admit I don’t always have the right one; sometimes it would take more than one anyway. But this is what concerns you- there’s another picture, one that all our readers see before deciding to download our work. Our covers are also worth a thousand words, as they say, and you have to show them this one, like it or not.

WHAT:

My faithful publisher has gone to great lengths to help boost my career; I should have known it was only a matter of time before Katharina Gerlach got around to a digital makeover for my tales. The first two books in my series Shards of Light are on tap today; see what you think.

WHY:

The Ring and the Flag was the first tale I published online (together with Three Minutes to Midnight, not part of this series). I cobbled together a cover based on a map of the area that Justin, the hero, operates in. I knew it wasn’t professional: but the image in Justin’s mind, of that land igniting in civil war if he failed in his mission, was a good one I thought. And the map itself hinted at some level of detail in the world I was introducing. Enough apology- here it is, and now the new cover by its side.

Notice several things here. The new copy is better-shaped, looks more like a book cover and less like a poster. Plus, the smokey flavor of the first one, the scorches and brown marks, just failed, full stop.

Big make-overs are easy to see and appreciate. As for the critter in question, it is indeed a gryphon and that is indeed an important part of the plot. Here’s mine:

The hero of this tale, Justin, I’m not going to show you. And I’m not going to tell you why yet either. Suffice to say, the tale continues and there may come a time. It is enough, for me, that I can see him.

With Fencing Reputation, the hero Feldspar presents a different problem. It’s not that his figurine isn’t right. It’s that there are too many of him! But first, the cover-compare.

What can you say, right? The difference is subtle, yet clearly better even before you get to the common elements with the one above (like the Hope symbol in the corner, common type-face etc.)

By exploiting a common feel for the series (two tales still to go in Shards of Light and I’m in love with both covers already!), I hope to raise visibility and bring the story-arc together. Even the color scheme is similar; I think they look like series-covers now.

As for Feldspar himself, the question is, what does he really look like? And the answer: depends what the job is. He is, at some point in a typical week, everyone you see here:

HOW:

I’ll try to stop repeating myself to faithful readers of the series. I used the wooden tray this time for a more natural look, but I think the sheen is actually a bit of a problem. Did not try to add light; maybe I should spring for a good desk lamp like the ones in the Pixar logo. As for the covers, of course Katharina took care of all that and credits the design course she recently took, but I’m well aware of the time and effort, and let’s face it, knack that this work requires. I can stare at a cover all day and my dull brain just says “done”. But when Kat showed me these… I began to pick up on the differences.

Hey, maybe I should get a makeover too? I guess there are limits… but give me your thoughts about the rest of it! And if you’re new this week, welcome and feel free to look back at the previous It Figures entries. I’m hoping they will spur you to some new thoughts about your own writing or reading. What would you expect from these tales, judging by their new covers?

Because in the end you need to show, not tell.

Another week, a new figure, and quite a story to tell, really for the first time. Ebann is, in many ways, the antagonist who got away.

{Don’t forget you can click on each picture and see the image really large, then click Back to keep reading.}

WHO:

The Dread Lord Ebann was an anchoritic sorceror living in the Hills Hunchant west of Mon-Crulbagh. Due to the inattention of its previous lords, he was able to carve out a small, non-human foef in that forbidding terrain, cowing a tribe of gargoyles into servitude to dig him a subterranean fortress and laboratory, where he delved in the earth for gems and minerals used in his experiments. No one suspected his existence until the new knight of Mon-Crulbagh, Q erlak Barleybane, came through with an adventuring band known as the Tributarians, on the Dreamquest chronicled in The Plane of Dreams. They left the place a mess…

WHY:

First of all, look. Just look at this guy. Quintessential evil or what? I can almost hear the theme music from The Empire Strikes Back. Ebann was always one of the most evocative villains I observed in the Lands. To this day I have no idea where he came from; turns out he was human, so I assume he was a cast-off from the Mages Guild, somebody who went too far even for the tastes of the day under the previous emperor, Viridian. The barony of Dargor where Mon-Crulbagh is located turns out to have been a nest of Demonbenders, and Qerlak’s overlord Beryllian has his hands full even now trying to weed that out. But I sense that Ebann wanted to be alone even if his practices had been welcome above ground. The layout of his under-rock fortress, or lair, suggests a strong streak of paranoia. He expected attack someday and was surprisingly well prepared. Ebann’s helm allowed him to see through the magical darkness and shadow spells he could produce. Other defensive enchantments included a battery of alchemical weapons. The key turning point came when Qerlak and the Tribs bargained to give his gargoyle-thralls their freedom once the Dread Lord had been defeated. Only a few of Ebann’s closest bodyguards stood by him at the crucial moment: so even with his traps and gas-bombs (sleep, of course), he had no chance.

I almost regret his defeat because it left me so little time to really examine Ebann’s history. His horrid talisman the Skullcun had some kind of hypnotic power that fortunately never came to bear (the dwarf Solo smashed it the instant Ebann fumbled the thing). Did he obtain it from the Plane of Dreams? There was a blackwood staff that Ral Partha forgot to include, but the raised fist, I admit, really makes the character so all is forgiven.

When I chronicled The Plane of Dreams, I turned aside from a more standard treatment of the battle and the bad guy, because the nature of the Dreamquest itself seemed to demand it. As interesting as Ebann’s methods, lore and tactics were, the really important development took place only after his defeat. The party, exhausted by several days without sleep, foolishly helped themselves to their adversary’s wine. And since Ebann was a recruited vassal of Nightmare, his final trap was sprung from beyond the grave. That’s the perspective of the tale, as seen by Solo, and as for how it came out… I urge you to read it and see!

It would be very interesting to go back and study his earlier days, learn some of the things I don’t yet know, but trust are there. Then again, so much of what the heroes encountered on the Dreamquest seems to have vanished on their return. Folks like Elias Fennet and the peasants of Mon-Crulbagh did not remember why the adventurers went into the swamp and hills in the first place. Maybe it was all a dream… and Qerlak has been too busy, in the months since, to send an expedition to the site of Ebann’s fortress. But the Dread Lord had unearthed many gems, some of which were quite useful to the Dream Seer Galethiel in her researches. Perhaps Sir Barleybane will attend to that someday, after this unpleasantness with neighboring Pritaelseran is past.

HOW:

The Nokia Refocus lens is working marvelously now and I am on balance very pleased with the range and resolution I can achieve. I shot most of these against a blood-red background (thanks to my good friend Bruce Leddy for the tapestry! actually the back lining of the tapestry you gave us as a wedding present lo, these many years ago). I only have one decent figurine to show the gargoyle-guards Ebann suborned: they were strong enough to wear chain and carry full shields without encumbrance, which in combination with a stony skin made their deaths a tough sell for the invading heroes. Always wanting to improve the value of the shots, I added some architecture pieces which give the flavor of the Dread Lord’s subterranean chambers- everyone except Solo became a bit claustrophobic before the end, but then they were exhausted at this point in the quest. For an added bonus, I present a good fig of the nearby Trolls who were the party’s last obstacle before accessing the Chamber of the Troll-Kings and thence the Plane of Dreams itself. Note how everything he’s previously fought becomes a new part of him- armor bits, spike shields, mangled weapons. Trolls- like the undead- are a daunting proposition- either beat them or quite literally join them.