#Prismaterra

[theartfulmegalodon]

Taking a break from River & Ash stuff for a moment, here's something in the works for Prismaterra, the big ol' fantasy world and story I've been cooking up in my spare time.

I've got the whole world map in the works, but this is just one continent, and just the land bits. I've been slowly painting up this file in Photoshop, while simultaneously creating a vector file in another program. (It's a whole thing, and one day it will be beautifully combined, and you'll get to see all the borders and cities and labels and such.)

While I could go on about Ourania being the location of the largest empire of this world, composed of 12 states, and the Ashtan peninsula containing five other countries, as well as everyone's magical affiliations and political relations… THIS post is just for the GEOGRAPHY.

Click to see it large! I spent a lot of time painting some nice detail into the landscape.

And stay tuned for more!

[blueoctobass]

I drew this the other day as my guess on what the world of Gloomverse look like: big planetary storm covering half of it

And it reminded me that we don't have a name for the whole world!

So here are a few propositions based on what each country would culturally call it!

Gloomverse: Gloomball, Prismaterra

Steamverse: Earth

Inverse: Planet, World, Orbis

Stratoverse: The Sun's domain, Helioterra, Solis Terra

Ecoverse:

Followers of Hyacinth: The Garden, Hortus

Followers of Malus: The Great Sea, Magnum Mare

Followers of Amaryllis: Amaryllis' gift, Amadonum

Others: Terraforma, Seaverse, Omniverse

Do you have any other ideas? Share them and then we can make a poll out of it!

[prismaterra]

Hallo!

I'm Ileana (ill-ee-ah-nuh) and am obsessed with all things sustainable art and design!

You can also find me at

https://ileanaalarcon.com

https://www.instagram.com/prismaterra/

[fbmarketplace-blog]

Thanks to @prismaterra for this find! Hashtag my left arm. #facebook #facebookmarketplace https://www.instagram.com/p/B162_o8F9Cj/?igshid=ahekd9ayleae

[theartfulmegalodon]

Updated Sable sketch, plus two more. Still working on that face.

[theartfulmegalodon]

Just a very quick Sable sketch (from my Prismaterra project). Still trying to find his face.

Also, his hair is black, but I didn't feel like coloring it, lol.

[theartfulmegalodon]

My OC Sable, from the Prismaterra world/story I've been building with a friend. I attempted a simpler, looser style than some of my painted sketches, and used it try out some basic digital inking brushes in Photoshop.

[theartfulmegalodon]

Three new sketches for Marza, another Prismaterra character. She's... rarely happy, haha. But she's a real readhead! So she's go that going for her!

[theartfulmegalodon]

Context: I was given a (very much needed) week off from work, and I haven't done a single thing with it that I intended to! Instead, I've been doing random stuff like this: sketching a thumbnail for the very first page of my River & Ash comic.

Now, DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP. I still have no intention of actually drawing any of this comic until all 30 (technically 32) issues are written, and I'm only on issue 23. WHAT'S MORE, I'll just state for the record now, that I have no plans to draw the entire comic.

Like, EVER.

Why?

Well I crunched the numbers last night as I lay in bed. 32 issues, each 25 pages long (and that's not including covers or side stuff), adds up to 800 pages. At my fastest, I could probably finish one page a week. Can you do that math? That's SIXTEEN YEARS.

As much as I like my story and am proud of it, that's too much of my life to even consider dedicating to this self-indulgent story about a guy and his demon boyfriend that I dreamt up in my kitchen one day while making ramen.

I think, at the very most, it might be neat to do the first two issues, as, like, a proof of concept, and then maybe some single panels or illustrations from random points throughout the story. But even that... I mean, I struggle to finish art anymore. It never feels worth it. So even that much is probably pushing it. I have other stories I'd like to devote time to when R&A is done. Whole novels' worth of ideas. I'd like to do more of that. Will anyone read it? Maybe not, but more people than are willing to read a comic script. And I get more personal return on investment with writing than with art.

Ya gotta choose where to devote your time and energy. I decided from the start that I wouldn't draw River & Ash until I finished writing the whole thing, just to prove I could finish SOMETHING. And by golly, that's still going to happen. (Issue 21 script gets posted Saturday, btw.) Sorry I can't promise more than that.

Love to whoever's still reading. <3

[theartfulmegalodon]

Enjoy something random!

Character design is a trip and a half. You never know what you’ll have to learn to draw next. I decided my latest Illusionist character should wear a cloak with a tessellated pattern on it, a la Escher. So I invented one! Started with some shapes, turned them into stylized “fantasy” animals, and then spent a fun day in Photoshop making this transforming pattern with them.

Congratulations, Jennabella! You’re gonna look fabulous!

[theartfulmegalodon]

Patterns to represent magic types in a new, colorful fantasy world I’ve been dreaming up this year. (Working title: Prismaterra.) There are 25 distinct types, each with a very specific color range associated. Some are more basic and elemental, while others are more complex and conceptual. Several of these main types also have sub-types within them, which have an even more narrow color range.

In this world, the magic comes from great spirits, who live in their own realm. There are 25 huge stone shrines located throughout the human world, exactly one for each spirit. These patterns are impressed into the earth around the bases of the shrines.

One way to obtain magic in this world is by touching a spirit gem to your skin, which instantly fuses and imbues you with an affinity for that type of magic. The pattern appears on your skin around the site where the gem fuses.

So ideally, these patterns will look good as both gigantic markings in the earth and also smaller tattoos on the skin. These are just the ones I’ve done so far, in no order of importance. I created them in Photoshop using the symmetry feature. From top to bottom, they are:

Water, Wind, Light, Sound, Music (sub-type of Sound), Speed (sub-type of Energy), Strength (the other sub-type of energy), and Energy (both Speed and Sound combined), and lastly Senses and Dexterity.

Just showing these off, but if you have any con/crit, I’ll take it! Enjoy!

[theartfulmegalodon]

The Black-handed Bandit: one more new fantasy creature for my new world, Prismaterra. These little guys aren’t really that far off from the monkeys that were their inspiration. They are nimble and quick, intelligent and trainable, and live in large family groups. Like certain kinds of monkeys, they are known for stealing from the humans near by, both locals and tourists alike.

They also possess a touch of Deception magic, which lets them become invisible for short stretches of time. They are famously sneaky and presumptuous pests. One of my MCs keeps one as a pet.

Animals referenced: gibbons, marmosets, sloths. Admittedly, I could have done more reference on this one, and so the design is subject to change, but I just felt like posting it as is. And of course, colors TBD.

[theartfulmegalodon]

The Equuinox: another new fantasy beastie for my fun new world. I was simply trying to come up with an animal that would fill the usual beast-of-burden role that would be strong enough to pull a caravan on its own. Once I thought of the pun name, I just let that guide me. So instead of going crazy trying to be unique and capital-F Fantasy about it, I just tried to evenly split the difference between a huge draft horse and big beefy bovine. As someone who has never before tried my hand at inventing fantasy creatures, I’d say this is about as much learning curve as I can handle.

But I also haven’t added colors and coat patterns yet, so rest assured that I am picturing these as far more interestingly colored than our typical horses and cows! (Especially since the world is purposefully as colorful as I can make it, to the point that it is named Prismaterra.)

Shown here are a summer coat and a fluffier winter coat. Animals referenced: exactly what you’d expect. Great big draft horses and all manner of large bulls, oxen, etc.

[theartfulmegalodon]

OC Vashka again, the FtM wielder of Darkness magic, who was mostly created by my best friend for our world Prismaterra. This was done as a birthday gift for said friend, and I can’t wait to surprise her with it!

[theartfulmegalodon]

Outfit evolution for Vashka, one of my seven main OCs for Prismaterra (the world and story I’m building with an old friend, and my current escapist diversion).

Vashka is a 30 trans man, who wields Darkness magic (in my world it's the only kind of magic that can neutralize other magics) and begins the story on the villain team, pursuing our other heroes. He eventually switches allegiances.

This is me learning just how much I DON’T have any experience drawing generic fantasy clothes! I don’t usually do multiple versions and studies (I’m a terrible artist that way, lol) but this time I was really out of my depth, so I had to keep at it until I made something I wasn’t embarrassed by. This character is also my friend’s special baby, so she got final approval on the design.

Working on a nicely painted portrait of this guy next, as a b-day gift, so his looks shall continue to improve!

[theartfulmegalodon]

The Cormoraptor: a brand new fantasy beastie from my new shiny world. A domesticated, flightless avian which is often used to pull carts or serve as mounts for a single rider.

Hardly the most original concept, but I ain’t shootin’ for the moon, here. Just having fun. Originality is a trap, and I can’t be bothered trying to spend energy trying to break the molds. I did like the long arm claws, though. I imagined them being used to assist in forward propulsion over difficult terrain.

Animals used for inspiration: cormorant, harpy eagle, ostrich, cassowary, and various other fantasy terror bird types.