Bovodar and the Bears preview: Beyond City Walls

A glimpse of the world of Bovodar and the Bears...

There are people within it, but they are outnumbered by talking beasts.  The animals we take for granted in our own world do not merely trot along on all fours and eat from the fields or hunt each other.  Instead, the denizens of Bovodar's world are beasts who walk upright like men.  Sometimes they wear clothes.  They talk, engage in commerce, cook food, and even worship.

Read more here, or get the novel here!

Anxiety in the Garden

Prints available

Paper Doll Veronika updated as of last Friday, completing Chapter 2, for which this is bonus art. The update begins here.

I really need to systematize how I post concerning comic updates on my various internet places. The webcomic site design thingy I use won't let me make the homepage go to the first page of the latest update, only the last page of all or the first page of all. (Or at least, I cannot figure out how to make it let me do that.) So, I heartily recommend using the "Save your place" gadget on the right side of the site, including when your place is all caught up.

Anyway, the bonus art for the chapters lets me experiment and do things that I couldn't do on the normal pages--like those pressed flowers; they're far too delicate to be used on a page where characters have to move around a lot on top of them. I'm not totally satisfied with the background for this one, but I learned in the experimenting.

What happened to the Liturgical Calendar Coloring Book

If you have visited this blog more than once over the past few years, you may have noticed that The Liturgical Calendar Coloring Book, which I made in 2013, has not been available since some time last year. It was a coloring book of every observed Solemnity, Feast, Memorial, and Optional Memorial in the Roman Calendar of the Catholic Church, about 240 pages.

The reason it has gone away is that Sophia Institute Press requested to buy the rights to it, and commission around 120 more pages to go with it, to construct a coloring book of saints for every single day of the entire year. I have just finished the work for the first volume, January-June, and it should come out in the next few months.

It's been an interesting ride. In the six years between the two sets of illustrations, I think I may say I've improved a lot. The above page of St. Flavia Domitilla is my favorite so far from these new drawings. There will also be the addition of short biographies, written by Anna Maria Mendell. So if you enjoyed The Liturgical Calendar Coloring Book, consider making the year complete with this new book, soon to be published by Sophia Institute Press.

Bovodar and the Bears preview: The Wolf King

A panel detail from the upcoming Bovodar and the Bears graphic novel, written by Jack Mikkelson.

One of the reasons I'm so enthusiastic about this story is the enigmatic, fearsome figure of the Wolf King.

He does not merely rule over a nation or a realm.  In truth, the Wolf King is the emperor of the entire world.  He is no rude beast.  He is not simply a wolf.  He walks like a man, gestures like a man, and is just as smart as a man--even smarter, in fact.  More than that, the Wolf King has powers that cause many to think of him as a deity.
Though the primary form of the Wolf King has been that of a wolf, he has been known throughout the ages to take many other forms.  He is master over the East and the West, the Landed North and the Southern Sea.  He bestows gifts to whom he wishes, and he punishes those he sees fit.  He can lift mountains.  He can move rivers.  He can obliterate cities.  And finally, he can remake beasts to his liking.

Read more about him on the author's blog, or get the exciting novel!

Paper Doll Veronika update

Chapter 2 of my webcomic, Paper Doll Veronika, has begun! Read it here!

The beginning is here!

The Wrath of the Sparrows

Prints available

Bonus art for Chapter 1 of my webcomic, Paper Doll Veronika.

I'd like to do an extra art piece for most of the chapters, and I'll be keeping said art in the bonus section of the comic website. One exciting thing about this story is the stylistic limitations on the comic itself, which spurs me, and maybe someday if I am lucky, fans, to do art depicting the characters and events in views and styles that the comic does not. I have always found that video games with limitations on the graphics inspire a lot more fanart than ones that show you every event in cinematic detail. It allows the imagination to fill in the gaps.

Paper Doll Veronika begins

My webcomic, Paper Doll Veronika, is now up and running!

A girl who's never left her father's estate has to go on a journey when envious animals kick her out. Half collage, half puppetry, it's the traditional media equivalent of an elaborate sprite comic. Read it here!

Paper Doll Veronika preview: Animals revealed!

My webcomic, Paper Doll Veronika, begins this Friday! Here are the pesky animals that cause the initial trouble for our heroine.

I held a guessing game with these silhouettes, and all but one was guessed: the skunk. Find out what their names are and what mischief they get up to at paperdollveronika.com starting July 12!

Paper Doll Veronika preview: Library

Another preview for my webcomic, Paper Doll Veronika, coming July 12! A background from the comic. All the books on the shelves are made from paint chips.

Sketch prize: Pikachu

For Michael Babbish, who participated in my guessing contest in anticipation of my upcoming webcomic, Paper Doll Veronika, and requested a sketch of Pikachu as his prize.

Paper Doll Veronika character profile

Another preview for my upcoming webcomic, this is the heroine! With a little information redacted at the end there, because you have to read it and find out what she does then!

This also gives an idea of how I'm using the medium of posable paper doll collage with digitally-applied text.

Paper Doll Veronika preview: Guess the creature 6 & 7

UPDATE: The winner for this one, having guessed on Deviantart, is Superherogeek13!

Posting the last two animal silhouettes together because I have other preview material to show as my webcomic will appear one week from today!

In the run-up to the grand beginning of my webcomic, Paper Doll Veronika, I'm having a little guessing game contest in which you can win a sketch request!

In Paper Doll Veronika, seven animals start trouble for our heroine. I'll be posting silhouettes of them, and with each one, the first person--whether on Deviantart, Instagram, or my blog--to guess correctly what kind of animal it is wins a free sketch request!

Guess in the comments. One guess per person per animal.

Paper Doll Veronika preview: Guess the creature 5

In the run-up to the grand beginning of my webcomic, Paper Doll Veronika, I'm having a little guessing game contest in which you can win a sketch request!

In Paper Doll Veronika, seven animals start trouble for our heroine. I'll be posting silhouettes of them, and with each one, the first person--whether on Deviantart, Instagram, or my blog--to guess correctly what kind of animal it is wins a free sketch request!

Guess in the comments. One guess per person per animal.