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Post by ChrisLAdams on Feb 17, 2020 9:57:02 GMT -8
Hi and happy new decade (maybe. some insist it doesn't start until next year.) Almost home from walking old staffy Sally this morning, (chat with a neighbour walking by. I had given them a paperback version of my first book and asked how she got on with it. 'Loved it. A sad ending, but a lovely book.' Made my day and of course pushes me to start the two writing projects for this year. An email from Chris had us both contemplating on combining painting with our writing for covers of new books. Chris is an accomplished artist with a unique style. I have painted a couple of my covers but for my next couple of books I'm more likely to use the uni's tec departments to sort out new covers so that could be fun. So that and some major painting projects to do, (not including painting my kitchen in that) and I'm a busy boy. Are YOU inspired and eager to create? Sharpen up your quills and go for it! Always nice to get feedback from a reader. Sometimes I'd rather have a 3 or 4 star rating with a few comments than a wordless 5-star rating which doesn't tell anyone what the reader liked or dis-liked about the story. I mentioned my Black Lotus painting I did last year. I painted it at the request of a fella I met at a flea market who was starting up a game design business and was looking for local artists. He called me and we met this weekend. He's now wanting me to keep him supplied with fantasy, scyfy, gaming related paintings which he feels will be a good fit with his shop. He also mentioned making prints of the paintings available. Might be a decent little bit of extra income once I get started. I have to get two paintings to him by Apr 15, opening day. I have two novels I'm publishing this year as well. Hope I can get it all done! Keep writin' and paintin' Gary! <Edit> By the way, thanks for the vote of confidence on my painting attempts, Gary! Actually feeling some pressure by this new opportunity. I get asked regularly to write articles, paint things, etc. I just wrote an author highlight for Richard Dee (who is on your side of the pond). He promotes Indie authors. I had commented on author pen/pal Gilbert M. Stack's author highlight, and Richard kindly responded to my posts, and then offered to highlight me. I'll post a link when it goes live (02/27/20). Anyone who is Indie would made to feel welcome by Richard, I feel. Oh, and speaking of writing and painting.... I haven't shared the monster I painted with everyone here. I'll have to do that. The book I painted it for has now been released, so it's cool to see a piece of my art on a book cover.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Feb 17, 2020 10:16:06 GMT -8
Gilbert Stack only wanted me to come up with a monster, as he has a regular artist who does his covers. He'd asked for some ideas, and I'd sent him some pencil sketches; eventually he asked if i'd just paint only the monster. His goal was to use the background his artist had already created, but put this ugly beastie on it. All he told me was it was a female "stone troll". There was supposed to be mud and moss etc on her, but he told me not to add that on the painting, although I did add some Spanish Moss digitally. You can see more sketches and a few progress images on my Fantasy Art page and check out the final cover on Mr. Stack's book on Amazon.
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Post by garyweston on Feb 17, 2020 10:34:19 GMT -8
I love to encourage artists / writers of real ability so pleased to endorse yours. When it comes to new opportunities and challenges, I'm reminded of the old adage, don't regret what you've done, only what you haven't done. Opportunities come from the most unexpected directions. Often no way to know if they are good bad or indifferent until we jump on board. "If only..." is the saddest lament. Embrace it, Chris.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Feb 17, 2020 10:53:31 GMT -8
I love to encourage artists / writers of real ability so pleased to endorse yours. When it comes to new opportunities and challenges, I'm reminded of the old adage, don't regret what you've done, only what you haven't done. Opportunities come from the most unexpected directions. Often no way to know if they are good bad or indifferent until we jump on board. "If only..." is the saddest lament. Embrace it, Chris. Thanks Gary. Looking fw to hearing more of your own writing and painting developments. I have been thrilled to have produced some of the paintings I have painted, several of which I'd of never thought of doing if someone hadn't requested it. I was kind of iffy on painting my version of the art on a gaming card, but was tickled with how the Lotus turned out. Same with the monster, and the maps I've done. Here's an example of where Gil Stack sent me a sketch and asked me to send him a color map. I painted it and then used photoshop to add the mappy details (from cities to sea monsters). Fun stuff!
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Post by djmills on Feb 17, 2020 13:01:23 GMT -8
Chris, the cover including your monster is really good. Nice and dark and scary. :-)
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Feb 17, 2020 13:27:41 GMT -8
Chris, the cover including your monster is really good. Nice and dark and scary. :-) Yes, the monster is creepy. Can't wait to read the story.
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Post by garyweston on Feb 17, 2020 13:48:46 GMT -8
I don't have the tec skills and don't have the patience to get them. So, while I'm in the right place, (UNI) I'll be be challenging the graphic designers to do new covers for the Drifta books. This will be mutually beneficial as they might have a light-bulb moment for new commercial opportunities for themselves in cover design. Covers I've created partly by painting myself include, Reath, Explain that to a Martian, Dusty Miller, and Superior. A mix of painting, photography and digital manipulation for the titles, etc. That said, Last Flight For Craggy and the other Craggy ebooks are the ones people read and that was created from a NASA photo, tweaked with the title. So after six books in the Craggy series still being read from 2014 for # 1, even with that rubbish cover, the stories are what people like. What am I trying to say here? I think a good story can overcome a crap cover and a bad book will fail with a fantastic cover. Oh for the $$$ to make the best of both. I'm just navel gazing.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Feb 18, 2020 6:41:23 GMT -8
I think a good story can overcome a crap cover and a bad book will fail with a fantastic cover. Oh for the $$$ to make the best of both. I'm just navel gazing. I know for a fact your exactly right. Many of the old hardbacks back in the day had very simple covers, with some being only the title and author's name. The first edition of Tales of War by Lord Dunsany is a good example with a very simple piece of art. It's clean and pure somehow and completely unpretentious. It screams READ ME and doesn't need a $5000 piece of art to say that. Today's art has gotten to be so digitized that I feel much of it has lost its heart and soul. But it's a digitized world, so what are we to do, Gary?
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Post by garyweston on Feb 18, 2020 9:10:58 GMT -8
Dunno, mate. In the interminable debates at the uni about "art", I'm oft finding myself saying, I don't care as to the particular genre of art something falls into, or whether or not I'd give it house room, for me to appreciate it, it must have three elements. 1. Passion 2. Effort 3. (at least some) ability. So I suppose when it comes to digital art, surely involving 2 and 3, if the creative passion is evident, by my own criteria it must be art. Had I been born a couple of decades earlier, perhaps I'd be a digital artist. Having just finished chapter 6 of Drifta's Quest 2, and worked on a painting, art covers a lot of basis and I'm happy to play around with all of it. Ain't we lucky?
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Feb 18, 2020 12:06:17 GMT -8
Dunno, mate. In the interminable debates at the uni about "art", I'm oft finding myself saying, I don't care as to the particular genre of art something falls into, or whether or not I'd give it house room, for me to appreciate it, it must have three elements. 1. Passion 2. Effort 3. (at least some) ability. So I suppose when it comes to digital art, surely involving 2 and 3, if the creative passion is evident, by my own criteria it must be art. Had I been born a couple of decades earlier, perhaps I'd be a digital artist. Having just finished chapter 6 of Drifta's Quest 2, and worked on a painting, art covers a lot of basis and I'm happy to play around with all of it. Ain't we lucky? I agree, it's what the artist puts into it. Just seems to be a grinder mill cranking out digital art nowadays. Everything looks so polished. There's very little of the grit like Frazetta and others instilled in their works. The sheer ferocity of the Conan piece I adopted for the cover to my Atlas of the Serpent Men is what caused me to fall in love with it. Okan Bülbül did a fantastic job; no way could I do that in oils.
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Post by Ted on Feb 20, 2020 23:43:15 GMT -8
Happy soon-to-be birthday, Gary. You're a great member whom (who?)posts many entertaining and informative posts. Thanks Gary.
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Post by garyweston on Feb 21, 2020 3:17:02 GMT -8
Thanks, Ted. But my 67th isn't until May. No doubt it will be just another day for me, just getting a little more drunk than usual. For me, life is one long celebration, enjoying and embracing all that comes my way. But I don't celebrate so called special occasions like birthdays or Christmas, etc. I see each day as a gift. I've much to be thankful for. Especially the little spike in sales with several books which means somebody around the world right now is reading me. I get a real buzz out of that which spurs me on to keep writing. Drifta's Quest 2 taking on a life of its own which means I'm on a journey into the unknown. Ain't life good?
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Post by garyweston on Feb 22, 2020 7:31:44 GMT -8
What is it with Amazon that they can't just leave things alone? Last Flight for Craggy only took off when I put it free. There certainly would not have been another five Craggy books or the D S I books had it not took off. So why have Amazon.UK stuck 99c on it when Amazon.com still has it free? Yes, I've done the " see a lower price..." thing on that books page but no idea if or when Zon.UK will do anything.
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Post by garyweston on Feb 24, 2020 0:12:51 GMT -8
Had another creative day (sort of). Another couple of chapters. But something a little different, too. I made a custom built easel. I bought an old fashioned mangle base made of cast iron with a solid wooden tilting top for £20. Because rollers were missing, I didn't realise what it was at first. Folk will have to look up what a mangle was used for. My version, minus rollers and working parts, could date back as far as 1850, according to my research. I just about remember my gran having a more modern version of a mangle attached to her washing machine. I re-purposed my large wooden easel so now I have a something purpose built. Much more stable than the wonky wooden thing. And no, I'll not be dragging it to the uni on the bus. here is a similar Tamwil mangle on ebay. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184005759419
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Post by garyweston on Feb 24, 2020 9:41:12 GMT -8
Mighty Zon have done it again!!! This time Zon.com put a price on Drifta's Quest when it's free on Zon.UK. Boy, they do make things tough for folk. Don't they want me to sell books?
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