Sorry, I just had to do it

My Kinda Valentine's

Comments

• February 16, 2010, Ken St. Andre (4 comments) writes: that's a real beauty and the beast combination. Only question is: which is which? Reverse it, Moonwolf, and draw a predatory Babe leering down on a helpless Alien.

I was in a silly mood this morning, trying to avoid having to think about having to venture out into the snow to restock some supplies since there are more storms on the way, and decided to render a personal assistant for Yasmine Galenorn’s personal assistant, GeekGyrlFriGEV.

Now, I know she’s a bit young, and might need the occasional burping and stuff, but I figure it’s best to start her training early.

So congratulations, GeekGyrl – you’re a momma

GeekGyrlFriGEV's Personal Assistant

Comments

• February 8, 2010, Justine Greene writes: @MoonWolf95 oh wow.....That is AWESOME! Thanks for my assistant! Does she have a name? (For those curious: http://bit.ly/bZ1zla here she is)
• February 8, 2010, Justine Greene writes: Hey Moon Stalkers, check out the adorable dragonling @MoonWolf95 made for me http://bit.ly/bZ1zla She needs a name-tweet suggestions to me!
• February 8, 2010, Tweets that mention Render: A Geek Gyrl-Friday’s Assistant » Moonwolf’s Lair -- Topsy.com writes: [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Justine Greene and Justine Greene, Moonwolf. Moonwolf said: Ohhhhhhhh @GeekGyrlFriGEV ... There's something left on my blog I think belongs to you :) http://bit.ly/bZ1zla [...]

I was in email with Yasmine Galenorn’s wonderful administrative assistant FairyFindings this morning, and in the course of it mentioned a couple of other renders that aren’t really part of the Sisters of The Moon fanart I did.  I promised her I’d dig through those rough drafts, and I came across this prototype.

Remember that old quote about interfering in the affairs of dragons?  Well, this character from the Otherworld series pretty much sums that up – if you’re anyone other than Camille, that is.

This is Smoky, or at least that’s the only name he’ll allow in public.  He usually goes around in a human form, with very – and I do mean very – flexible long white hair, and clothes that seem to never ever be in need of cleaning from their immaculate white condition – even right after a bloodbath!  He also happens to be soul-bound to Camille – eternally “married”, as is Morio, a fox-demon, and is very protective of her.

Did I mention he thinks he’s found a way for Camille to have his baby?

Dragons, especially cranky white/silver ones in the Otherworld universe, seem to be notoriously camera shy, and hard to catch off guard.  So the best I could get was this brief glimpse just before being reminded dragons don’t sign model releases, up close and very personal.  I also discovered dragons really need to try using mouthwash.  I’m just glad I found that out from the outside!

On the bright side, I told him that Fairyfindings said he should take any questions to her – after all, she is Yasmine Galenorn’s Administrative Assistant

Shy Smoky (prototype)

No postwork done since it’s just a “doodle”.

In seriousness, this one was one of those ideas I had that looked good in the dark recesses of my mind, but the product as it was rendered never matched quite what that mental image was.

One of the reasons I like doing non-human characters is it is harder to project emotions in non-human renders, and my mental image did that.  Trying to bring it into reality was just fail after fail, so I put it on the shelf for another time.  I never throw any of my prototypes away, in time something will click and I can go back to one and make it work, so this might just come out in the future anyways.

Never give up on your images (or your writing ideas for that matter), just give it time and let your muse come and slap you around the head a few times pointing you to how to make a “good” idea a “great” result.

It seemed a little unfair to do renders of Menolly, Delilah, and Ariel, but to leave out the last of Yasmine Galenorn’s Sisters of The Moon from her Otherworld series of novels.

The problem is, how to properly do justice to Camille, the first one of the three half-fae/half-human to be written of in Witchling.

Camille’s got extra considerations.  She’s a witch and Priestess of the Moon Mother, with an affinity for lightning and Death Magic, but (except for the Death Magic) her talents sometimes have a habit of … backfiring.  Enough that everyone around her who knows her tends to cringe and cross their fingers the Moon Mother will shine on her and not let her spell do nasty things to them (or Camille herself)!

So should I do a render of Camille with such an “amusing” thing going on?  Or, should I give her the respect she’s earned and do a straight pic?

I decided on the latter, if for no other reason than the Sisters tend to stick together, and none of them individually do you want to annoy, let alone all three at once – and then there’s the subject of Camille’s husbands – who I may or may not risk my sanity doing renders of in the future.

With all of this in mind, I present to you all my impression of Camille D’Artigo.

Camille

Remember, Camille, Menolly, Delilah, Ariel, Sisters of The Moon, Otherworld and everything behind them remains the copyright of Yasmine Galenorn.  The copyright on the art remains mine.  Stealing her words, or my art, is still theft whichever way you look at it.

Comments

• February 6, 2010, @FairyFindings (3 comments) writes: Just lovely! I think you have a good grasp on Camille, & I doubt you have any reprisals to worry about from her hubbies. ;) Of course, no one can speak for those guys. LOL My recent post Before Imbolc Passes…A Haiku for Brighid

I’ve been having a bit of an art block recently, with life intruding, the death of one of my storage drives and trying to recover that for a project, and the weather.

So, for rest and relaxation, I fall back to my second favourite pastime (after doing renders of Giger-esque aliens) – Doing renders of the characters in books I love.

I’d done one of Menolly, one of the Sisters of The Moon from Yasmine Galenorn’s Otherworld novels a little while ago, and figured since I’m on a roll, stick with ones I have a visual of firmly in my head.

Of course, I have to start off with another one of Menolly.  It’s not just that she’s a half-human/half-fae now-vampire with great taste in hair … OK, maybe it is.  But the girl has attitude, and I like that in my undead

Menolly

The other one I wanted to do this time around was Menolly’s sister, Delilah.

Delilah’s kind of complicated.  Like her sisters, she’s half-fae/half-human – but she’s also a were-cat.

Now most people hear “were-cat” and they immediately think “Oh, were-lion” or similar, but no – Delilah’s shape-shifted form is … a tabby cat.

*waits for the snickers to die down*

That all changed in the past though, when Delilah was volunteered to be one of the Autumn Lord’s Death Maidens (and, the only living one at that!).  Delilah acquired a second form in the process – A were-puma.

All those who snickered, please wait, I’m sure you’ll get harvested soon enough

However to add a new twist, Delilah’s discovered that she’s not exactly alone – she had a twin sister, Ariel, who died at birth, but has been watching over her “all her life” and now appears to her in the form of a leopard.

Yeesh, just when you thought your life was getting complicated, you get snagged by an Elemental Lord and discover you have a twin you never knew!

So, it only stood to reason that they should have a picture together.

And yes, I know, I haven’t done a render of the third D’Artigo sister yet – Camille.  That one’s coming, I promise.

Menolly, Delilah, Ariel, Camille, Otherworld, OIA, and everything to do with the series are copyright Yasmine Galenorn.  The image copyright is mine.  Stealing her words, or my art, is theft whichever way you look at it – just remember karma is a cast iron bitch.

Comments

• February 2, 2010, Ken St. Andre (4 comments) writes: heh! They are both too well dressed. Only the tiger seems comfortable.
• February 6, 2010, @FairyFindings (3 comments) writes: Love Delilah & Ariel! Gorgeous; love Ariel's eyes gleaming in the half shadows. My recent post Before Imbolc Passes…A Haiku for Brighid

OK, I’ll admit it – to go with my well documented love for Giger-esque aliens, I have a thing for vampires too.

Oh come on, they’re just as misunderstood and cute and cuddly and friendly as Giger’s creations!

Fine, be like that!

Yeesh.  See if I ever get around to dusting The Stranger off!

Anyways, in the field of vampires, there’s one that I absolutely love, and not just because of her dress sense and hair style.

OK, maybe those have a lot to do with it, but that’s not the point.

The vampire’s name is Menolly, and it just happened to be Yasmine Galenorn, her creator’s, birthday yesterday, so it gave me the perfect excuse to drop all pretense of professionalism and turn into a squealing fangirl for a day creating a render.

(Today I get to go fangirl again, but over Avatar – life is good!)

Apologies to Menolly for her sister Delilah sneaking into the picture – have you ever tried to stop a werecat (or any cat for that matter) getting into places it’s not supposed to be?  I happen to like my skin where it is

Click for full size as always.  Happy birthday Yasmine!

Waitin' For Supper

Menolly, Delilah, Otherworld Agency, etc are all © Yasmine Galenorn.  Image © is mine.  Remember, stealing her words or my pics is theft whichever way you look at it.

Comments

• January 18, 2010, Ken St. Andre writes: RT @MoonWolf95: Blog: Render: Waitin' For Supper http://bit.ly/52PSZ6
• February 6, 2010, @FairyFindings (3 comments) writes: Menolly is my fave D'Artigo, too, and I think you've done her proud, here. I like the look you've captured on her face; not always a successful endeavor in computer renderings but you got it. My recent post Before Imbolc Passes…A Haiku for Brighid
• February 6, 2010, Moonwolf (11 comments) writes: I love Menolly - and she's kind of the one to blame for me discovering the OW books. Everyone kept telling me I *had* to read Witchling because Menolly was "me" (or I her) so I gave in - the rest, as they say, is history.

I’ve uploaded three of the renders I did based on parts of the vampire Promise novels I’m writing to the graphics site.  I also added the short story snippets I wrote when I originally created the renders to the first and last ones.

They are, in order:

• A Promise Sealed With A Kiss
• Grey Death
• Awakening To Eternity (Not safe for work)

(Awakening is flagged NSFW due to minor female nudity)

Go take a look, and enjoy the teasers (the stories, not the nudity)

OK, the fangirls are out in uber-force again for New Moon, the latest in the Twilight franchise, so it’s time to dust off an old favourite and wait for the screams and cries of heresy!  (Click the image below the fold for the full sized version)

Just Say No ...

This is your brain on Twilight

Comments

• November 29, 2009, @Trollgodfather (1 comments) writes: Ick. Very good art, but ick.

With gratitude to all the stick jockeys who fly into all kinds of hell to keep the faith – everyone goes come.

With special thanks to one specific crew that made this pickup in ‘91.

A print version of this is now available at my deviantArt store. Profits from sales of this print through that store will be donated to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a well respected charity in the US that provides scholarships and help to the families of fallen Special Forces troops from the US< as well as immediate financial help to wounded Special Forces troops returning from combat.

I know it’s not a “popular” topic, one a lot of people shy away from, but please, if you have a mind to, consider supporting the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, either through buying one of the prints, or by donating directly.

And yes, this is something personal for me.

It’s a week to the US Presidential elections, and buried amongst the negativity and acrimonious statements being made on the campaign trail, people are forgetting the ramifications of the energy “policy” being promoted.

Ever since the whole idea of shattering the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge open for energy exploitation has been around, it’s bugged me.  The push to ruin one of the last pieces of untouched land has been motivated purely by FUD.

Let’s remember a few things here:

• Any energy (gas or oil) won’t be seen from any drilling for decades – it’s not going to change the economy or price of energy any time in the near future.
• Given the total mismanagement, fraud, and outright theft of existing land funds by the US Government that’s supposed to be for the People, does anyone really believe any of the money the US Government collects from drilling in ANWR will ever really reach the People whose land is being stolen yet again?
• Who really benefits from this idea?  It won’t be common people, it’ll be the oil companies – like they’re not already raking in billions of dollars in profits already that won’t be taxed?

It’s easy for people to say “We need the energy”, “we need oil independance”, but the fact of the matter is, drilling in the ANWR won’t produce anything for decades, and the people all screaming for such drilling aren’t the ones having land appropriated for the purpose.  It’s very easy for them to be all for this idea – they’re not the ones going to have pollution and heavy machinery across the street from their homes.

Is the answer to decades of short-sighted stupidity and ostrich-like behaviour by the United States more of it with another “sounds good on paper and distracts the sheeple from the real issues” proposal as ANWR drilling?

Maybe it’s just me, but if something isn’t working, you don’t just sit there and keep doing the same thing over and over again hoping that this time it will work.

This is an artistic impression of what the real result of ANWR drilling will be – but it’s not that far off the mark.  Is this the legacy people want to be remembered for in a hundred years time?