Elves and the Dragons' Court

Here are a few more sketches. The two elves are Viornen and Yaraa, the two people responsible for Jahrra's defense training. Below that is a sketch of the Dragons' Court, a rock outcropping that Hroombra brings Jahrra and her friends to. The Dragons' Court sketch has already been traced over with black ink.

Enemies

Alright, back to the pencil sketches . . . The first sketch is that of the dreaded Witch of the Wreing, a fabled hag said to haunt the dark forest covering a good deal of Oescienne. The second represents Eydeth, the boy at the school in Aldehren who is always tormenting Jahrra and her friends. In this particular sketch, Jahrra gets back at him and manages to humiliate him in the front of the entire class.

Spider

So, I thought the blog was looking a little drab without any color, so I thought I'd stick this random guy in there to mix it up a bit. This is just a simple color pencil drawing of a cartoon spider.

Friends and Family

Some more chapter sketches for The Finding. The first drawing is of Jahrra and her two friends, Gieaun and Scede after a big victory against their arch enemies, Eydeth and Ellysian. The other image is that of Jahrra's foster parents, Abdhe and Lynhi.

The first of these two sketches is a rough drawing of Gieaun and Scede (Jahrra's best friends) sitting on the window sill in Eydeth's and Ellysian's kitchen after a mishap at a Solsticetide party. This was the first of these sketches that I drew; for some reason the scene for this chapter came to me first.
The next sketch is that of my interpretation of a unicorn (they are small and delicate looking, with smooth horns that curve back, making it easier to pass through the dense forests). Jahrra and her friend stumble upon these magical beasts and this is the first time Jahrra is enticed into the dreaded Wreing Florenn, the huge forest that covers most of the Great Sloping Hill of Oescienne.

Oak Trees and Dragon Scales

Here are some more chapter sketches. The first is the rough pencil drawing for chapter seventeen, Dueling with Dragons. In this chapter, Jahrra is challenged by her then nemesis Jaax, a Tanaan dragon. Jahrra manages to dislodge a scale from one of his toes, thus we have the image of a dragon's scale resting in the grass.
The second image is just another gnarled oak tree. It is supposed to reflect the original cover, where a similar tree is featured with the green hooded stranger leaning against it. When I add color to this one, I'm not sure if I also want to include the light shining from within . . . but I probably will.

Animal Characters of Oescienne

These next two chapter sketchings are of two of the main animal characters in The Finding. The first is a head sketch of Hroombra, Jahrra's Korli dragon mentor. The second is a drawing of Phrym, Jahrra's semequin (a horse that descends from unicorns) when he was a foal.

Sketchings for The Finding

Several months ago my cousin emailed me with the suggestion that I provide chapter illustrations for The Finding. I thought it was a great idea, and so I began the long process of creating the perfect image for each chapter. Although these illustrations are not in the current edition of the first book in the Oescienne series, they'll be available here for view and also on The Legend of Oescienne fan page on facebook.
For now, I've only found time to get the sketchings done. When I've had a chance to color them in, I'll post those as well. When I'm finished with book one, I'll get to work on book two. Even if they never make it into the books, I like the idea of having them available for the readers to get a visual of my world.
The first sketch is that of Jahrra and her arch enemy, Eydeth, just as they are about to climb up a canyon wall in a race. The second sketch is that of Jahrra's cabin when she first came to Oescienne.

The Ninth Cove

In The Beginning, Jahrra and her friends discover a hidden cove along the coast. Tucked away in a corner of that cove is a cave, and the cave, they discover, holds secrets.

The Belloughs of the Black Swamp

The Belloughs of the Black Swamp is where the Witch of the Wreing lives. In The Finding, my protagonist must face her fears and enter the swamp to prove or disprove the existence of the fabled hag.

Blood Rose and Kruelt

A floral design featuring the blood rose, a symbol of Ethöes, with kruelt written in the background.

Marsh Cat Bookmark

An omnivorous cat found in the swamps of the eastern provinces of Ethöes.

Kerbel Bookmark

Great-tailed Kerbel: this was one of my more popular bookmark designs.

Northern Tebbor Basic Sketch

The Northern Tebbor is a large hoofed mammal found in the province of Felldreim.

Ghorium Sea Droul

Another basic sketch of a wild beast of Ethöes. The Ghorium sea droul is not a dragon, though it looks like one. It lives off the coast of the province of Ghorium where great towering rocks provide their homes amid a turbulent sea.

Some More Bookmarks

A couple more bookmark designs.

Morli Dragon

In Ethöes there is only one type of dragon that is considered evil, and that is the Morli dragon. These battle bred dragons are the soldiers of Cierryon, the tyrant king.

Boarlaque

The Boarlaque is one of my favorite inventions. This beast is based on my interpretation of Grendel, the monster in Beowulf.

Red Hooded Figure

Although I was happy with the dragons on both The Finding and The Beginning covers, I wanted to make this image to go along with the original image of the first book. Of course, both the green and red hooded figures play a role in the Oescienne books.

Green Hooded Stranger

This drawing was meant to be the cover art for The Finding, the first book in the Oescienne series. After printing a few books and considering it for a while, I decided on going with a different cover featuring a dragon instead.

Smaller Creatures of Ethöes

More drawings from the sketchbook. These two are small, quirky creatures that are notorious for their annoying curiosity. The weasel-like creature is called a Twevel and the bird is a Fetzel Bird.

Ethöen Birds

Two more bookmarks featuring birds from Ethöes

Gryphon and Draffyd Sketch

Two rough sketches of more wildlife found in Ethöes. The first is just my concept of a gryphon. The other is a creature I invented, the Draffyd, an animal that is similar to the gryphon, but combines a dragon and a vulture instead of a lion and an eagle. Don't mind the writing in the pictures; these are in my sketchbook which is full of these sketchings. Someday I hope to get them all up on the blog. The writing consists of my notes on the animal and its description.

Creature Bookmarks

The bookmarks in their completed state. Each is a creature I imagined living in the world of Ethöes.

Bookmark Sketches

An original pencil sketch of some bookmarks I designed.

Scrub Jay

One more bird picture. I happen to be a big fan of the scrub jay, a common 'pest' in the American Southwest. Most people don't like them because they are noisy and territorial, but I can't help but be impressed by their intelligence.

Mother Mockingbird

Here's another picture of the birds. For these I sketch first in pencil then outline in pen and color in with colored pencil. Using the higher grade paper, not the sketching paper, gives it a smooth finish.

Baby Birds

I'm going to take a break from the Oescienne sketches for a while and post a few pictures I've been working on for a children's picture book. I won't go into much detail, but let you make up your own minds about the story line.

Castle Guard Ruin

Here is another image from the world of Ethöes. As you can see, I've got a good number of these, but I like to give myself a visual on paper as well as in my head. This particular images is a view of the Castle Guard Ruin where Jahrra and Hroombra live in Oescienne.

Kruelt Alphabet

I wanted to create an image for my website that would allow readers of the Oescienne series to see what the Kruelt alphabet looked like. I decided to go with a worn looking scroll with blue fire behind it. The fire is significant because it is with the magic of blue flames that Hroombra first writes out the letters of the dragons' language for Jahrra in The Finding.

Jahrra and Hroombra - Sketch and Colored Image

Here is the sketch and final product of the cover for the second book in the Oescienne series, The Beginning.

Jahrra and Jaax Sketch

Here is sketch of Jahrra and Jaax before adding color.

Hello World!

Hello world! I just created this new blog, so be patient with me as I play around with it and see how I want things to be. I hope to use this blog exclusively to post my drawings and sketches, so my first test post will include an image of one of my illustrations.
This image is a drawing done in pencil and later colored in with colored pencil. It is the illustration I created for the cover of my first book, The Legend of Oescienne - The Finding.