Tag: concept art

Art – Academy Project by RedheadTrickster

I hope you liked my last art post, because I wanted to share a new one to celebrate Valentine’s Day. This time, I’m sharing an illustration of the two main characters from the Academy project:

This Art Nouveau illustration has two panels, like two tarot cards or a stained glass window. Inside each panel there's one of the main characters, both facing the opposite direction, but linked by a long scarf the character on the right is knitting and the character on the left has wrapped around his neck. The young man on the left dresses in red and black. His features and clothes seem Asian, and he's gazing up at the sky, holding out one of his hands to catch the snowflakes while the other hand is touching the scarf. The one on the right is looking down at the scarf he's knitting. His skin and eyes are lighter, his hair black and curly. He's wearing a blue and white uniform that looks like a tailcoat. The background is framed by Art Nouveau shapes and depicts different elements from the story: floating lights that look like stars, white cherry blossoms, purple gladioli, and two crocheted circles behind their heads, a bit like a halo.

As I said on the project’s moodboard post, this WIP started as the High Fantasy version of the Alcalá project. Of course, the stories are VERY different by now. The main thing they have in common is that the characters are university students, but in this case it’s a university of magic.

I thought this project would be easier to write because it wouldn’t require the great amount of research Alcalá needs, but then I decided to create a very complicated magic system, so it’s going to take a while. As you can see, I continue to be my worst enemy.

Anyway, these are the main characters of this enemies-to-lovers set in a fantasy world with a university, magic, flowers and knitting. I love the they-were-roommates trope, so I wanted to add a pinch of it to this project as well. I’m hoping it will increase the tension and pining.

This beautiful artwork was done by RedheadTrickster, whose Art Nouveau style fits perfectly with this project. Please do check her art and commission information on the following site:

Art – Oracle Project by Juliet García Art

It has been a while since my last art post, but I come bearing good news. This time, I’m sharing an illustration of the two main characters from the Oracle project:

Two characters are tending a horse and a mule that are putting their heads out of some precarious-looking wooden stalls. The sun is setting behind the mountains in the background, and a warm orange light bathes the scene. The horse is closer to the back. A short young-looking man with blond curls and fancy clothes in green and gold is slipping the horse a carrot with his only hand while he whistles. Closer to the front, a big fellow with darker skin and a scar near his right eye is scratching the mule's chin while holding a bucket with more carrots. His hair is long, straight and black, his eyes are brown, and he's wearing practical clothes and a leather armour.

As I said on my previous word count posts, this WIP is my oldest one. It’s been going on for over 10 years, and I’ve mentioned that I started it in 2014, after my decade-long hiatus. But did you know that some parts of the story were recycled after I scrapped an even older story?

That old story was going to be an Epic High Fantasy trilogy, but the new one is a Fantasy Romance and I’m so glad I decided to change it! I’ve always enjoyed opposites-attract stories, so the new main characters couldn’t be more different from each other.

I’ve spent so much time with them, they feel like family to me. And they’re the reason I started writing for real! I needed to get them out of my head if I wanted to be able to focus on anything else, so I started writing about them, and now we’re here.

This beautiful artwork was done by Juliet García Art, whose style is perfect for a story that’s heavily influenced by Epic Fantasy sagas, as you can see. Please do check her art and commission information on the following sites:

Art – More chibi characters by Helen T Kord

Remember I shared some chibi characters made by Helen T Kord a while ago? Well, I’m bringing you two more chibis to add to my commissioned art collection. This time, the characters belong to a different WIP: the Brothers project.

Two men stand below a tree in a field. On the left there's a man with long brown hair, brown eyes and a beard. He's wearing a long cape, a white shirt, a mustard yellow and dark breeches. A glimpse of a short sword can be seen against his hip. He's smiling mischievously and letting his elbow rest on the other man's shoulder. The man on the right is shorter, younger, blond and blue-eyed. He's looking away from the other man and has a dignified look while his arms are crossed. He's wearing a short cape, a white ruff, a sword, a black doublet, mustard yellow breeches and tight stockings.

Brothers is a Historical Romance set in Madrid (Spain) during the second half of the 16th Century. This project is still in its research phase, so it could change a lot, but these are the main characters for now. One of them is Spanish, the other one is a foreigner. They are not the brothers the placeholder WIP title mentions or, to be more accurate, only one of them is, so I hope I can finish this project one day and commission a mirror image with the other brother.

You already know Helen T Kord is the person with the most impeccable taste I’ve ever met, but they’re also an amazing artist who can make chibis come to life like this. And they also make portraits and illustrations! Please do check their work and commission information in the following links:

Art – Character design II by RoyalSea Art

As promised last week, I come bearing more art! This time, it’s the other main character from the Sanctuary Project:

A skinny creature with purple skin, big white eyes and elongated limbs is holding a blue bioluminiscent butterfly. The light reflects on his very big eyes. The hair is long, and black and white.

As I said in the previous Sanctuary post, this WIP was going to be a High Fantasy short story full of atmospheric vibes and aesthetics, but it will be a bit longer than I expected. I think I mentioned it is set underground, so there are characters who don’t look like your regular human. Such is the case of this (literal) cave dweller who is trying to follow his dreams… even if his friends and family don’t understand him. There are many places he wants to visit and views he wants to see and, among his people, that might be a bit peculiar.

The artwork was done by RoyalSea Art, who is amazing at character design, as you can see. Please do check their work and commission information in the following links:

By the way, they were kind enough to make a spoilerific version of this character so we could all see how he’ll look like.
You can see it below if you don’t mind spoilers.

The character looks exactly the same as the one above, but the hair is completely white.

Art – Character design by RoyalSea Art

As promised in my previous art-related post, I come bearing more art! This time, it’s one of the main characters from the Sanctuary Project:

A plump water elemental judging you with their arms crossed.

As I said in the previous Sanctuary post, this WIP was going to be a High Fantasy short story full of atmospheric vibes and aesthetics, but it will be a bit longer than I expected. I think I mentioned it is set underground, but there are characters that used to live underwater. Such is the case of this genderfluid water elemental who is always in the wrong place at the wrong time… or maybe it’s the right place and time, but it will take a while for them to realize. If you like this character, soon I will share the other main character of this project, so do come back next week.

The artwork was done by RoyalSea Art, who is amazing at character design, as you can see. Please do check their work and commission information in the following links:

Art – Chibi characters by Helen Kord

As promised in my previous art-related post, I come bearing more art! This time, it’s a pair of chibi characters that belong to the Fireflies Project:

A boy with brown hair (left) and a redheaded boy (right) looking and smiling at each other. The one on the left is wearing a black turtleneck and black trousers while he holds a ginger cat. the one on the right wears a dark t-shirt that once belonged to the other man and a red jacket with rainbow-coloured details. He's petting the head of a brown labrador sitting between them. The dog and the cat are also looking at each other, and the cat is softly booping the dog with a gentle paw.

Fireflies was supposed to be a Low Fantasy short story set in Madrid, but I don’t know how long it’ll end up being. I think I mentioned it is set in northern Spain and animals are important. As you can see, they’re so central to the story they’re even pictured here. These are the pets that belong to the main characters (also pictured in this image), and I hope you find them as deadly cute as I do!

The artwork was done by Helen Kord, the person with the most impeccable taste I’ve ever met. Please do check their work and commission information in the following links:

Art – Concept Art by Cascuda

Happy Valentine’s Day!

One of my goals last December was to commission art for my unfinished projects. I was trying to find some motivation to keep writing after a very hard year, and I decided it would be the perfect Christmas present to myself.

And today I can finally share with you the first concept art I commissioned for the Sanctuary Project:

An underground lake with an island in the center. There are two characters on the nearby shore, separated by a river. One is short, blue and transparent, the other is tall, dark and wears a cloak.

This WIP was going to be a High Fantasy short story full of atmospheric vibes and aesthetics, but it might end up becoming something a bit longer. As you can see, the story will be set partly underground and feature characters from different species. I created it as a counterpoint to my other projects, so it started as something short and fun to write, precisely because it was so different. I recycled tropes from my other projects, but subverted them, and I tried to keep it light… but it has become something longer and more serious than I originally intended.

But let’s talk about the most important thing: the amazing artist of this illustration is Cascuda, and you can find all their amazing work and commission information clicking on the following links: