Art 34: Jaentyr Generations
As requested, one of Rowan with his father, Halbryn. The old king wound up looking less like a wizard and more like Theoden,whoops, but overall it’s satisfactory to me. The colour scheme of the clothing is based on that described in part one of Bound To The Flame: gold vest for the king because he’s king, and I wasn’t sure whether to put Rowan in blue (because he’s a healer) or silver (because he’s a prince), so I just said, Screw It, Do Both.
Sheikah
Posted on February 9, 2014, in Art. Bookmark the permalink. 17 Comments.
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Awesome! 😀 The color code is mostly in the hall of images, but this works great! 😀 I love the artwork! Another note; they’re located in present-day Scotland, so formal wear probably equals kilt. ;-P But day to day… I think Ertraia is a little different, and Rowan has been wearing leggings whether I like it or not. 😛
I still can not get over how amazing this is.
Are you doing these with Photoshop??? I want to download it and learn to use it, but I need advice on which programs are good for artwork and which aren’t.
Sure am! I actually haven’t tried any other programs. I know an artist who uses Macromedia Flash7, but most seem to prefer Photoshop. Personally, I think Photoshop is pretty simple to get used to using, while at the same time it leaves a pretty wide range of tools at your disposition. I’d say go for it, but only if you’re serious about getting full on into digital artwork.
Thanks. 🙂 I’m actually hoping to learn how to digitally enhance my hand-drawn stuff… like, I draw a picture, and then use Photoshop to edit it. 🙂
Speaking of which… I think I need an opinion. I want to add limits to the magic in my story, so my characters don’t seem all-powerful. I have already decided that some people have an innate gift to be able to use magic and it’s a gift from God (because they’re all Christian.. ;-P); anyone who attempts to use magic without having the gift and turns to satanic arts, or uses their own gifts for evil, is banished from the kingdom or hanged, for obvious reasons. Those who have the gift also tend to have a “sixth sense”, and some have the “second sight.” They also tend to have an extreme resilience against magical attacks, even without using a shielding spell. I was thinking about them being able to change the accidents of any given object, bring about any potentiality, but not be able to change its substance… For instance, a tree might be grown to block a path, but a tree can not be changed into a troll to protect said path. I know, I’m delving a lot into Aristotelian philosophy; it’s probably going to be the basis of magical theory for this story. 😛 But other limits? Iris, my best friend, suggested “No manipulation of the classical elements!” I don’t know about that one… elemental magic seems to be a focus of most of these stories. 😛
Hmm. Maybe you could try something like, “It’s really hard to use the gift, you have to be really good at it to be able to use it in significant ways: same way people with high stamina win races. Those who aren’t that good at magic (the chubby kids jogging along at 2 km/h) can’t do very powerful stuff; they can, like, light a candle with their fingertip and then they get exhausted. The powerful magi, who devote their lives to their work and train constantly, are incredibly powerful — like, Saruman-powerful — but there aren’t that many of them because basically nobody else has the endurance to train that hard, or are that naturally inclined towards it.” In terms of magical physics, your idea of non-substance-change-iness seemed pretty good — but you have to remember that your rules aren’t set in stone as long as you don’t explicitly state them in your writing, so that if you have to bend some of those rules later in an unexpected plot twist, no nit-pickers notice. 😉
Hmmm… I also came up with the idea that it took a lot of training and skill to control the Aristotelian elements, and even more ability and focus to influence living creatures, or (for instance) accelerate and control plant growth. 🙂 So most less powerful and/or untrained magicians have only telepathy and accident-changing at their fingertips.
If I forgot to mention that in the first draft, that’s what second drafts are for. ;-P
Hah, yeah, that sounds good. Have you considered giving different people different affinities towards different elements, Avatar-style? It could be interesting, and could open up new possibilities for plot twists (e.g. competing houses that use different elements, etc)…But it might also be distracting in relation to the main plotline, so…Maybe not.
That sounds interesting! Maybe an affinity for a certain element is defined by personality and in some cases bloodline. And the most powerful Master Wielders can use all four. Rowan is very balanced, so he’s probably capable of using all four, which he would likely have even if he didn’t have the potential to become the most powerful sorcerer of the day, but his mood probably defines which element he’ll use; when he’s disgusted or contemptuous, he’d likely use air, in a rage he’d use fire, in a less destructive mood earth. I think water would the one he’s most comfortable with, though. I think that it would take strenuous training to get up to par with all four; most people can only use one or two, at most… Halbryn is a rare example of someone outside the direct royal line who can use all four. (Yes, it was Melilana Caerlen who ascended the throne; technically she has all the power. Halbryn Jaentyr acts as her chief counselor and captain of her armed forces. Rowan, being the heir to the throne, is technically a member of his mother’s clan, rather than his father’s, hence the way his surnames are arranged: Rowan Jaentyr Caerlen.) Only the greatest Master Wielders, who have mastered elemental magic in all its forms, can use lights (it’s far easier to manipulate shadows), control life and growth, and change the way that magic eddies and flows around them, essentially shaping it. If Rowan reached that level, he could probably control a battle with another wizard simply by blocking their magical abilities.
Whoa, long reply! Oh well, long explanations are fun… it’s how I world build. ;-P
Heh, yeah, you mentioned that… So it all sounds excellent! As long as you don’t make a fire-wielding faction the kingdom’s jackasses. Because that plot is already taken 😛 and maybe you could even have an even wider range of elements, Pokémon-style, with ice and steel and stuff? Or maybe that would just be too confusing. Either way, great ideas, especially surrounding light and shadow (I would love to know the science behind that idea!).
Also, does it make sense if I’m basically picturing Melilana as looking like Melian from the Silmarillion? 😉
I don’t know… Lightning is pure energy, so it might be another “elemental” one, and ice, and stone…
Well, scientifically speaking, it’s easier to cast a shadow than create a light. ;-P
And Melilana… hey, I didn’t even realize that their names were alike! X-P If you look up Tahl on the Star Wars wiki (Wookiepedia… get it? :-P), cross her a little with Galadriel… yes, she’s like Melian. 😛 Qui-Gon was the inspiration for Halbryn. ;-{P
Ah, yeah, I can see that. Cool 😀
Lightning would have to be separate, because it’s not quite the same thing as fire. Fire is simply any given material rapidly oxidizing, while lightning is a massive discharge of static electricity…
Fire-wielders as the kingdom’s resident jack-asses? Ummm… no… they’ve done their best to minimize internal threats, so the main challenges they face will be from rogue sorcerers who were banished banding together under the banner of an as-yet anonymous warlock. ;-P
Just a thought, but I have another character to add to the pantheon who it would be nice to have some concept art for, and she’s proving difficult for me to draw. Her name is Rheadwyn, she’s a Knight of the Realm and has served faithfully for many years, is absolutely trustworthy, but more rugged than prepossessing… kinda like a girl version of Aragorn, crossed with Siri Tachi. 😉 She’s a little like a Ranger archetype… battered but still around, completely determined, extremely reliable, strengthened by her trials… She’s a little bit younger than Melilana and Halbryn, but not by more than seven years or so, and isn’t particularly pretty, but I’ve imagined her as being that you can tell from her face that she is kindly and trustworthy. If you can help, that would be great… if not, that’s fine too. 🙂
Thanks again for your awesome work on Rowan and Halbryn! 😀
Hmm…She sounds fun to draw! I’ll see what I can come up with 😉
Thanks! 😀 That’ll be awesome!!! 😀
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