OK been AWOL for a bit. Kind of got sucked into the Daz3D & Renderosity forums (heck at least they aren't MMORPGs). Been so long, both I and Firefox even forgot my password.

Well, for one, I have a lot of new images to post, Been really getting deep into the digital side of art to the point I have been stashing away what I can to build a dedicated workstation. Since stumbling upon Inkscape, Gimp and Daz Studio, I have branched out into several other applications including Bryce (a wonderfully intuitive tool used for creating scenery, Carrara (an all inclusive modelling/scene generation tool), and even Blender (a more technical modelling and 3D sculpting tool that is on par with the high end [and high priced] professional 3D software tools - and it is free).

Is it cheating? Some may think so. For me it is a way to get back into art without chugging half a bottle of Advil(TM) to loosen up the joints enough to be able to work for more than 20 min at a time.

...so as they say, "watch this space".

...OK some may be wondering about this young lady I keep featuring named Leela (who doesn't have purple hair and one eye much to the dismay I am sure of Futurama Fans).

Well, Leela started out as a character in the Shadowrun RPG a few years ago. She was not my longest running character (that title goes to my namaake) but she became one of the most interesting. Leela actually happened somewhat by accident.

I needed a character for a new campaign and I wanted someone who was particularly adept at demolitions. Being something of a Dr Who fan, I thought one of his assistants, Ace (who had a penchant for explosives) would be a good model to use. For one her appearance and personality seemed to fit the "Shadowrun style". Well, the weekend before the campaign while I was doing the finishing touches "The Fifth Element" happened to be on the telly that evening (I had also seen it at the Cinema when it was released). As I was watching I became enamoured with the character Leeloo (portrayed by Milla Jovovich), particularly by her almost child like personality and mannerisms behind which was an incredibly intelligent and powerful being.

After the film ended I sat for a moment and then deleted the character I was working on and began anew. The name "Leeloo" turned into "Leela" and in a matter of hours I had my new character. For her last name "Groznek" I "borrowed from "Star Trek - Enterprise" (the name of one of Dr Phlox's associates from an episode that aired the next evening). Instead of coming from the UK as I originally intended, Leela was Croatian - which I had occupied by Serbian forces. Part of this had to do with the accent Ms Jovovich used in the film (Milla ironically is Serbian/Ukrainian).

Hence Leela Groznek was "born"

Unfortunately her complete story is far too detailed to present here. In a nutshell, Leela was a child genius and musical phemnom. At the age of nine, she lost her family during the Serbian invasion. Her child like appearance and nature stemmed from the trauma of and injuries she received on`that day. After recovering (due much in part to a highly controversial procedure that involved certain types of augmentations and implants) she joined in the fight with the resistance cell that has taken her in and by her late teens had become the elusive saboteur known as the "Queen of Diamonds". She was "extracted" by a mercenary company and taken to Seattle where she was was to resume her musical career. Unfortunately it would prove hard for her to give up her weapons and explosives for the piano which is where her life as a Shadowrunner began.

Through the course of the campaign she wrestled with what she had become and what her life should have been. Eventually she saw there was really only one way help her countrymen, and that was to return to the concert stage where she could show what her people were capable of. She was taken in by a British noblewoman (the mother of another character I had) who helped her overcome her crippling flashbacks that led to her performance block, and finally set the young woman back on the right track. So after only about four months of playing her, Leela retired from her shadowy lifestyle, the final session culminating with Leela's triumphant NovaStar debut concert at London's New Royal Festival Hall.

Leela did make a reappearance, albeit as the central personality in my own campaign entitled "Rhapsody in Shadow" where she was abducted by Serbian Intelligence as part of a cruel political game (Leela had since become somewhat a hero and inspiration for her downtrodden people). In the end she was rescued and the demise of the nearly decade long occupation of Croatia set into motion which eventually led to peace between the two nations.

Sometimes the smallest thing can have the most powerful effect.

Looking back at all of this, I realised I had a real story here and have since embarked on a novelisation of "Rhapsody". This is part of the reason behind Little Leela's extensive presence in my gallery.

...well been a while since I updated things. Viewers may notice a Bit of a stylistic change to my submissions. Yes, I have been dabbling with digital 3D & been having a lot of fun. Is it difficult? You betcha, if you want to put a personal touch into it. The biggest complaint I usually hear about Digital art is the emotionless blank look that characters usually have. It does take a different thought process compared to putting pencil or pen to paper or brush to canvas.

The advantages, well for one I can work in colour again without creating a mess (or driving everyone out of the house with turpentine & other chemical fumes) but the biggest and best is that it allows me to overcome the stiffness and pain of my arthritis and once again create images.

Is it art? Some would say no and that's fine. For me it is how you take the medium you have and make it your own which is where it becomes original. I have only started working with this for about a month and see there is yet much more to explore.

OK now down to earth.

While on the way home tonight I had my second brush with Mortality (see 12/05 entry). On the way home from work today I found myself face to face with a taxicab that left turned right into my path with no warning or turn signal (I commute to work via bike). Staring directly into his headlights the only thought that crossed my mind is how Pittsburgh Quarterback Ben Rothlinsberger must have felt after he hit a car while riding hie motorcycle and ended face first into the windscreen.

Thankfully, I was more fortunate than the football star as I managed to slow down enough that the cab only clipped my front wheel. I even managed to keep my balance but needless to say, for a few moments, it was pretty frightening. Here was an object that was more than a dozen an a half times my mass bearing down on me. The cabbie claimed he didn't see me even though I had 20 watts of Halogen headlight lighting my way, it was also early evening, and still light out.

Basically it was a case of his not paying attention (I couldn't see if he was on his cell phone) and being careless (not signalling he was going to turn). This kind of stuff does get me hot as I am maybe one of 2% of cyclists who do follow the rules of the road and treat my bike as a vehicle rather than a "recreational toy". He did stop and wait for a supervisor to show up which was a good thing. Most of the time when I'm cut off or nearly hit they, just speed off like nothing happened.

Besides my nerves the only other casualty was the front headset and handlebars of the bike, which will require inspection and repair.

One message, If you drive, take it easy. Aggressive driving doesn't make the traffic move any smoother or quicker and only pisses others off. If you cycle, follow the laws, they are there for our protection. Not doing so is one of the main reasons why motorists hate cyclists so much. Above all, have some patience, you are still going to get to where you are going and just maybe you'll arrive in one piece and with a lot less stress.

...whew, that was a lot.

Didn't realise how much it would take to get all those drawings ready for upload. I had a few more, but wasn't satisfied with the scan quality and no matter what setting or filter I used just couldn't seem to get them to to look right.

Yes there is a distinct difference in the pictures from my pre-arthritis days as the line quality was much cleaner and I did more shading and background work.

Most of the Leela and previous KK art was done on a canvas textured paper which looks great in real life but unfortunately scans horribly as it picks up shadows from the scanner element. I am tempted to redraw some of these in smoother stock for scanning purposes. A number of these were also done as "visual aids" for my campaigns and hence lacked the detail I would have normally put into them.

As to colour work. Outside of a stint at oil painting some 30 years ago when I was in college the first time around, I never really got into other colour media. I did some colour pencil work when I was hitting the SF con circuit but most of that was doing art jams of people's characters to defray the cost of attending the cons.

I always had a deep love of pencil work for I liked the soft subtle tones more than the hard line quality of ink. It was also an easy media to do when travelling as you don't need to carry a lot of tools, paints, etc.

Overall, I am still pretty satisfied with the works I posted, even the ones I said I didn't like.

Will there be more? Most certainly as I have sketchbooks and files filled with drawings, some that go back to my early college days (early 1970s).

...oh and a happy (belated) New Year to All.

...well the holidays are finally here and with them some very welcome time off from the daily grind. (several of my co-workers a extremely jealous but that's what seniority is all about).

My home team is in the Playoffs and has a first round bye despite an embarrassing loss to their longtime arch rivals, "Da Bears". Would'a liked the NFC route to the Superbowl to go through the "Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field" but hey, at the beginning of the season the Packers were not even expected to see the playoffs let alone have a chance to host the NFC championship.

OK, apologies to all the non sports fans. Grew up in Wisconsin, and there, it's in the genetics, [along with a high tolerance for beer, bratwurst, cheese curds, and smoked whitefish chubs - now that's good eatin'].

Well, finally managed to sack that nasty virus and looking forward to a simple and restful holiday season. Not going anywhere, so no travel angst to deal with. Have been going though the portfolio to take down to Kinko's for scanning in a couple days. So yes, there will be new art (finally!).

The friend I mentioned in the last entry has also made a full recovery and is back home doing well. Apparently it was a bit of Plaque which broke loose and obstructed a blood vessel in his heart. The doctors too were quite amazed at how quickly he rebounded. He still needs to take it easy what with a couple cracked ribs from the CPR (I know how those feel).

...so in all it promises to be a very good and artistically productive good holiday (just got a trial copy of Carrera 6 to play with).

Happy Christmastide to all.