I should really stop announcing when The Legend of Jamie Roberts will be up on the web, because every time I do, the fates overhear my plans and jump on me.
This story is going to be shelved for a bit as I work on other projects. Once those are done, I can edit the work and give it the proper treatment that it needs.
When will that be?
I’m not saying just in case the fates overhear my plans again. I’m going to keep them on their toes, just to spite them.
Does this mean I’ll stop drawing the characters/world/creatures of the story? NOPE.
Anytime I draw anything related to The Legend of Jamie Roberts, I’ll post it here on the blog.
Here’s what I have so far…
Developing worlds, including this underground city of Kinyaht…
Daniel, one of Jamie’s best friends and an excellent archer…
Qatool (or Queen) Norsa, Dragon Queen of the city of Dogona…
Thomas, another best friend of Jamie’s…
Creatures of darkness, called Mocktaw, who emerge from a spiritual realm called Dream…
And the deadliest character of them all…
Raguna Ranki, the banished Dragon King of the Sun.
Why are these Kings and Queens called Dragon Kings/Queens?
BECAUSE THEY CAN SHAPE SHIFT INTO DRAGONS. BOOYAH.
I should probably note right now that I’m very heavily inspired by African arts and history for this project (mostly history. It even shows in The Women Warriors Project because a LOT of African Queens are appearing on that list.). The myths and legends of many African groups stuck with me, as did their patterns and art…and it also helps that I took two semesters of African Art History in my undergrad years.
“But none of your characters are black” I’m working on it. Why do you think it’s not ready to be published yet?
Jamie, Thomas, and Daniel are suppose to be culturally different from the rest of the cast because they’re Touloy pirates from the North. (I still need to change their skin tone a bit, though, if only to make it more red for all the years of sun-and-wind burn.) Most of the story takes place in the southern continent of Corith. I’m going to be doing character design tweaks to the other cast members I have so it’s not so white-washed. I’ll share as time comes.
And I want my African inspiration to be a bit more evident. Right now, it shows in the locations and the cities they visit (which I haven’t drawn yet). I want to add more patterns and art to the mix, though I have to be careful with that – different patterns from different groups are considered sacred and shouldn’t be replicated. I have to know which ones to avoid.
That’s all for now. Let me know in comments what you think!