Mel Far made this Okal Rel themed pottery project in class. The lid has Monatese, Turquoise hued leaves. The sides have rel symbols and names of characters.

Labels: art, Mel

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Catherine posted this to her ORU stuff page on facebook with the following comment:

"I finally got enough of a mental pic of Amel to be able to draw him last night. It's from Far Arena when Alka lands on him, when he's wearing the blue t-shirt and shorts. He's on Rire on the common grass."

Labels: art, Catherine T. Vogt, facebook

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Catherine T. Vogt posted this update of the hearths of Fountain Court on facebook on an ORU stuff page. It shows the period circum Part 5: Far Arena. Catherine attends Saturday morning readings, where she's been exposed to draft passages of Part 6: Avim's Oath. The problematic hearths are Gold and Lilac/Blue Hearths. After Part 3: Pretenders, the question of who has what title among the Golden Demish gets thorny - Ev'rel and D'Therd stick handle things. But D'Therd's wife, Tara'n'eel (also D'Ander's half-sister) is the figure head. There's resistance to the idea from the Vestas, as plays out in Part 6: Avim's Oath and was glimpsed in the cranky behavior of Princess Chandra in Part 4: Throne Price. But this is how things stand after Part 4: Throne Price and before the end of Part 6: Avim's Oath.

Labels: art, Catherine T. Vogt

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Artist Richard Bartrop sent me a sneak preview of his cover-in-progress for Opus 4, the fourth Okal Rel anthology. (The goal is to have these stories through editing, contracts out and back, the art in and paid for, and the book in production with Absolute XPress by the end of the summer, with print versions available by no later than Xmas 09.) I'm sharing a slice of the draft preview here.

Labels: anthology, art, opus 4, Richard Bartrop

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Pictured here is one of the three banners created by Michelle Milburn for the Absolute X-Press website. Thank you, Justyn Perry, for putting them up.

Labels: art, Justyn Perry, Michelle Milburn

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ORU contributor Mel Farrow pointed out to me today that after many months of just a few friends talking with her on the ORU fan club site she created on Deviant Art, there are signs of visitors appearing. Very exciting.

Visit Mel's Okalrel-Fanclub on Deviant Art at http://okalrel-fanclub.deviantart.com . Mel did chibbie art for the OR Encyclopedia and for use on buttons. She is also a regular at our Saturday morning readings, wrote a wonderful review of the series for Over the Edge, the UNBC student newspaper, masterminds cosplay with Tegan to produce ORU picutres and is writing a story for an upcoming anthology.

Speaking of Saturday morning readings ... we just finished today's. Krysia brought a new friend, Miranda, who is an artist and is gamely getting into the stories. Holly had to do yard work today so we didn't get an Artemis Fowl installment. I read the last chapter of Part 6: Avim's Oath. David stayed for breakfast but had to go to work at the playhouse before the reading began. Angie showed him her ORU website before he left. He was impressed, just as I was! Thinking we should get it up on the main site, after it is finished, and label it "Angie's Route" to getting to know the ORU for newbies. Miranda is reading Part 1: The Courtesan Prince and is at about chapter 3. Angela is re-reading Part 2: Righteous Anger, in which Horth is about to be exiled to SanHome at age 11. The gang pointed out, after I read from Part 6: Avim's Oath, how the books are getting "lighter", compared with Part 4: Throne Price and Part 2: Righteous Anger. Part 7: Healer's Sword is about busy, productive change in the ORU and on the light side, as well, in as much as it features marriage, romance, babies and the cultural exchange. But it will have its nasty moments. The last three books head into darker waters, but I hope to keep up the sparkle on the interpersonal front established in the "middle volumes". Lovely to hear the Saturday morning audience lament "There's only three books left!" when I bragged about being halfway through Part 7: Healer's Sword But it will be a relief, at the same time, to have the whole saga delivered. Still hoping to get there by 2012.

Labels: art, fan, Mel

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Working on the layout of the Gold and Silver Orphanage established by Luthan and Amel between Part 3: Pretenders and Part 4: Throne Price of the Okal Rel saga, and featuring as a setting for the first time in Part 6: Avim's Oath. David Lott did the layout and scaling in Open Office. I've puttered at some shading in Photoshop. Not quite ready to sign off on it, but when we do I'll put it in the gallery on the main ORU website.

Labels: art, David Lott, Map, Orphanage

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Sharing an e-mail from Richard Bartrop, an artist who has done work for the Okal Rel Universe.

Labels: art, Richard Bartrop

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Labels: Angela Lott, art, okal rel

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First installment of ORU column "Thoughts from Another Universe" appeared in the debut edition of the UNBC arts journal The Northern Log. The article was called "Artwork by Any Other Name" and discussed the 'contribute at will, get paid when it fits the economic model' approach to giving creative folks who like the ORU a creative role to play without getting hung up on the distinctions between fan and pro supporters. Art needs a place to breath and play.

Labels: art, Northern Log

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Working on prints for the art show to go up on display at the launch for Pretenders on September 30, 7-9 pm at the Prince George Public Library. David has quite a line up on the agenda, with a short presentation on fencing in the movies by Craig Bowlsby, readings, video presentations and fencing demos. To get a copy of the full picture of Brianna's sketches click the small image. Brianna Thomas did these as a warm up for the House of Em graphic novel which we still hope to get into production one day. Maybe when Part 6: Avim's Oath is finished.

Labels: art, Book Launch, Brianna Thomas, Courtesan Prince

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Artist LW Perkins is working on cover art for Far Arena, part 5 of the ORU saga. We are corresponding about possible subject matter.

Labels: art, Far Arena, LW Perkins

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My appreciation to Patrick Shettlesworth for his tutorial on coloring line art in Photoshop. It is going to be a big help working with sketched art. This example is a detail from a "young Horth" cartoon by Mel F. I used the tutorial to get the coloring done much faster and cleaner than the way I was doing it. One day, when I have book 6 done maybe, I'd love to put some time into turning some of Mel's "crack" cartoons or other work into a sort of cartoon sampler as a means of getting us both some experience with the comic/graphic novel media. Meanwhile I putter. :-) "Crack" art, I'm informed, is the sort which pokes fun at characters.

Labels: art, Mel, Photoshop

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Did some work this morning on a picture of a grab rat drawn by artist Lisa Proulx for use in the overhauled guide to the Okal Rel Universe. And I'd like to thank Peter Keres for his article Coloring Pencil Drawings With Photoshop at FARP (Fantasy Art Research Project). Peter's article taught me a new trick about using the Guassian Blur filter.

Labels: art, Lisa Proulx, Photoshop

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On June 16th Lynda invited art students from D.P.Todd Secondary School to create Okal Rel Universe art for the launch of Pretenders on September 30th 2008.

Labels: Appearances, art

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On June 11th Lynda invited art students from College Heights Secondary School to create Okal Rel Universe art for the launch of Pretenders on September 30th 2008.

Labels: Appearances, art

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Labels: art, Mekan'stan, ORU Collection, Richard Bartrop

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Mel recently gave me some "chibbie" art -- which is a sort of anime style -- featuring characters in Righteous Anger. I'm puttering at getting it up in the gallery whenever she's around to supervise my work in photoshop doing the coloring. She has also agreed to take on the organizing for a student art show at the launch for Book #3: Pretenders, September 30, 2008, at the Prince George Public Library. Go Mel. One less thing for me to worry about as I slog away at porting titles with some help from First Expansion friends.

Labels: art, Book Launch, First Expansion, Mel, Pretenders

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Mel gave me this notebook to capture thoughts about the Okal Rel Universe. I would sketch in it, too, but I don't draw like Mel does. :-) The anime-style chibby of Amel on the cover is actually a separate picture we applied with Photoshop and some editing help by Tegan to remove the lines of the ruled paper Mel drew the original on. I have a bunch more chibby from Mel to get into the gallery and she is keen to do some interviews with characters for the podcast I keep threatening to set up.

Labels: art, Mel

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Three cheers for Gary Renshaw, the voice, video and project talent behind the launch of the first "Flight Cycle" story on http://youtube.com

Our goal is to do about one a month, soliciting art to illustrate each installment. Plan to have some web pages up explaining details by the end of the holidays. In the meantime, anyone who knows an artist who might like to contribute should contact Gary Renshaw at gary@okalrel.org

Hiding Low takes place between the end of Pretenders (coming from Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing in the fall of 2008) and Throne Price, already in print. It is the story of Amel trying to hide among commoners and low lifes of the empire. If all goes well, when I am done with Hiding Low, I will start the second story of the "Flight Cycle". There are three, all together, which cover Amel's adventures on the run from Ev'rel after stealing baby Erien, the "Throne Price".

Labels: Amel, art, Flight Cycle, Gary Renshaw

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