My Twitter feed lately has shown me a lot of authors and readers who say they hate fantasy maps. I don’t know if this is a reactionary trend, sour grapes, or just a freakish Twitter algorithm that is amplifying a fringe element. Because who doesn’t love maps?!? I even follow…

Ancillary documents from the Darklaw Universe. — If you’re curious to understand more about the world of Darklaw, or perhaps an author building your own fantasy world, you may find the following ancillary documents helpful. This is the background I created and review as I write stories in the Darklaw Universe: characters, history, politics, religion, and the…

Character Design and Development — Writing is my way of living. Ending up with a product you (hopefully) enjoy is a bonus. I’m a pantser. That means I write without an outline. That doesn’t mean I have no notes or ideas or plans. I develop characters and relationships before I write. Stories are all about…

Detail of the thirteenth cover image for a series of Darklaw Stories — Everything you see has color, tone, and texture. I always found traditional media does color and tone easily, but texture is tough. How do you use line or a color to show fur or metal or a weave? It takes a lot of time and practice with brushes and found…

Detail of the twelfth cover image for a series of Darklaw Stories. — When you’ve worked on a piece, you stop seeing parts of it. One way to gain “new eyes” is to flip the canvas. I do these Darklaw Saga covers in a weekend, but that’s still enough time to lose track of part. When I flipped this canvas, I saw that…

Detail of the eleventh cover image for a series of Darklaw Stories. — I was excited to paint a scene from an entirely different part of the fantasy world, a snowy peak with a temple of disciples. This gave me a different color palette and lighting. I created the painting with my usual warm tones but then played with screens of varying colors…

Detail of the tenth cover image for a series of Darklaw Stories. — Here’s an example of how I use Adobe Photoshop for finishes. I roughed in the whole scene in B&W, then cut and pasted the figure to its own layer. The underimage had dark fuzz. I selected and used the smudge tool to mix the background. If I left it, the…

Detail of the ninth cover image for a series of Darklaw Stories. — Painting naked women is always a good time. Creating atmosphere, especially depth and space, is exciting. I combined both. The complexity this week was lighting. I wanted a dark, night time, warm feel, so I picked reds and yellows. But I feel green is always good to mix with stone.

Detail of the eighth cover image for a series of Darklaw Stories. — I can make many textures with the standard soft brush (like an airbrush), but I have a few specialized ones, too. The down: sable brush. The embroidery & rails: luminance brush. For hair: eyebrows brush. I use the soft brush to rough in the scene and on final skin. I…