Recent Sketches and Gestures for Infinite Spiral

First off, news, "Infinite Spiral" is officially live.  Explore the worlds here!  You can also enter the Spiral on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and DeviantArt. dA showcase pages 1-10 (though edits are made as necessary before they are posted to the main site).  Page 04 will go live on the homepage on Friday.

In the past two weeks, I've been working through a ton of gestures and rapid sketches just getting to know possible characters and planned characters in "Infinite Spiral".  I shared these on the Infinite Spiral Tumblr, but want to compile them here for those that follow this blog. 

This piece is simply working through body language and poses of main characters, mostly Christian and James.  Christian is more open and gregarious, while James is more timid and protective.  I want to be careful to convey that through postures and movements, as well as facial expressions as they are introduced.  This gives room for this to change as the characters develop.

Words in the Air

James Hartwell is one of the main characters in "Infinite Spiral".  He is called Wicked or Named One, and no one knows much about them.  Most in his world with that qualification are part or mostly human. His past is a mystery, and he cannot remember before the age of 11.  He's brothers in Name with Christian, who drags him into trouble more often than that.

Early after Illumination (when Wicked Children get their 'Wickedness') James sees words in the air (which is part of what I'm illustrating here) ... what that turns into would be spoilers.  He also has the ability to heal, which is a rare and dangerous ability.  What other skills will illuminate as he enters the Spiral.

Another page of Infinite Spiral Sketches

Tons more gestures and sketches from the past week. Fun Christian drawings, Allie and gestures, a Kitty face sketch, and working on some ideas for how Matron Ava Fairchild ought to look (the whole bottom corner is full of thoughts).

James Hartwell Sketchdump

I was out of town (visiting family, vacationing from tech), so did a ton of sketching in lieu of my current page I'm working on. This is the first sketch dump from the last 5 days of crazy drawing, the focus James.

Top is a moment between James and Rory I'm playing out. There are several James sketches with different expressions, a sketch test working out thoughts for a scene in the Infinite Spiral that is scripted, a silly moment between Christian, James, and Allie, a wood elf that James, Rory, and Christian may encounter much later in the comic in Gelthor's forest (teasers!), James using his powers, and Gavin (he snuck in there ... apparently going Super-Saiyan or something). Christian is in the very bottom right corner again messing with that yo-yo. Suspicious.

Have fun with these!

The Beginning

I've been quiet this week, in large part because I've been getting a start on Infinite Spiral.  I happy to be providing a sneak peek today of the cover and first two prologue pages.  Within the next couple weeks, I'll be looking to start the official site, and updates will be continued there, leaving this blog more from other art and process pieces (one of which will be coming this week based on the cover I'm sharing today).

When Rory Perkins sets out to catch fireflies one evening, little does she know her curiosity will cause her to leave her own world behind forever, journeying into the Infinite Spiral of realities. Transformed, and far from home, she finds companions in James Hartwell, a lonely boy with a forgotten past, and his brother-in-Name, Christian Rafferty, a charming trouble maker that seems to constantly drag the trio into a whirlwind of chaos. What will they find in the Infinite Spiral? What will find them as they travel through it?

Read more for the pages.

Character Profiles and Test Pages

Edit:  I lied, I kept working.  See the original below, but here is the new version, still rough colors, but I was impatient and wanted to see if it would come together.  I think it did, but I'll sleep on it.

I've been an illustrating machine the past couple days ramping up with character profiles and this:

Now the line art is a little quick, but it is a test page (which is not even done, I'm just teasing), just to see how everything is working for me. If I like what I'm doing, I'll get serious.  I also have a couple more decisions to make about format, as I honestly have to wonder if a traditional size is best if I'm shooting for web.  However, if I ever want it printed ...  Yep, decisions.  I'll likely stick to the more traditional format for now.

Also, read more for the latest character profiles:  James and Christian.

Worlds in Your Eyes: James and Rory

I've started exploring the interactions between the three main characters more, but I had yet to explore just Rory and James. If you look at my other art you can make some assumptions about why their interactions are so important.

Here, Rory is just mesmerized by looking in James eyes under the light of the aurora, and has bursted the bubble of his personal space looking at them. People don't like to look in James's eyes for too long and he's not used to making eye contact. Rory is determined she can see the thread of the universe in there, which might be what bothers everyone else. However, Rory also has a rather extraordinary imagination.

Holy Backstory: Headmaster Dorian Lamprey

Whew, now I'm filling in the first antagonist character designs. Ok, I admit, the Headmaster of the Asylum for Wicked Children is a tad Snapey right now (I had to watch Deathly Hallows Part II before I did this design). I'll be working that out. But, for your reading pleasure, the full history of the Headmaster-the first antagonist in the "Infinite Spiral" is now revealed.

 

I actually love that his palette is very similar to James. I think this is very appropriate.

BASIC INFO
Name: Headmaster Dorian Lamprey
Race: Quarter Named One/ Three quarters Human = Wicked
World(s): The world of the Wicked
True Name: Ira (watchful)

 

Read more for the full backstory.

Give Me That!

What the heck, three in 48 hours?  I must be on a roll.

This popped in my head this morning and I couldn't help but draw and render it out (my wrists now hate me, so I am done for awhile).

The Wicked Children: Infinite Spiral

Here is are the other named children that live in the Asylum for Wicked Children with James and Christian.   This is a fairly rough and early sketch, with rough and early colors so I can begin to turn them around in my head (particularly those like Kitty that were fused with another old character of mine).