Evolution of the Undertinker Picture

 Artwork  No Responses »
Oct 292011
 

I thought it might be fun to show how one of my pictures comes into being. Here’s some of the steps involved in drawing the Undertinker.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think to save the original sketch, so we’ll start with the black and white “ink”:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, I drew the background:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I pasted the black and white Undertinker on the background and coloured him:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, I added some “lightning” effects

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I added a rain filter. This was the most elaborate process. I accomplished it by following a how-to guide I found online. After adding it, I had the finished product:

 

Tale of the Tinkerwood – Conclusion

 Stories  No Responses »
Oct 282011
 

Read Part 1
Read Part 2
Read Part 3

He had expected to find a junkyard beyond the ridge. What he found was beyond imagining. Rising up from between the crumbled remains of the lost colony was what appeared to be a grove of metal trees. They were formed from the broken bits and pieces of rundown tinkers. What was most amazing was that there were so many of them. More than could ever reasonably been thrown away.

He climbed down the ridge to get a closer look. It was a steep enough decline as to make progress treacherous, but slowly he managed to make his way down to the valley floor and then towards the edge of the metal forest.

The ground was littered with over a generation’s worth of broken items. There was no doubting that this was the dumping ground of yore. But amongst the ancient debris there could also be found newer bits, broken tinkers. On top of the closest pile he noticed one tinker in particular that seemed familiar.

It was a near perfect match to the girl’s description of her tinker, Springs, though one of its legs was broken. It was hard to imagine that it could have made it so far away from home with the impediment, but yet here it was. He scooped the tinker up to inspect it.

Apart from the broken limb, the tinker was in remarkably good shape. The girl must have taken extra special care of it. There were a few recent scuff marks, but overall the tinker was finely polished. He was sure he could get it working again. The leg would be an easy fix, but most important, the spring-core was sound. Every spring-core was unique. While he’d successfully transplanted spring-cores before, invariably the tinker’s temperament would change. If he’d had to change the spring-core, he doubted the girl would have recognized her friend.

He now had what he’d come looking for. He was just turning around to start the long trek back home when a fearsome head appeared over the ridge. The metal monster had returned! He remained rooted with fear as the beast made its awkward return to the Tinkerwood. He was certain these were his final moments.

The monster was no less terrifying in the daylight. Now he could make out each gruesome detail of mismatched metal parts cobbled together to form a hideous whole. The titan lumbered forward. In its clutches, he could see broken tinkers. Did it collect them to add to its monstrous form?

He looked up, way up, as the monster finally reached his location. One swift swipe of its arm and he would be dead. He braced himself for the end. But it never came.

The monster walked by him and with surprising gentleness, deposited the broken tinkers on the pile where he’d found Springs. It was as though he was laying the wound down tinkers to rest. With this task completed, it finally turned its attention to him. The one central eye examined him and quickly focused in on the tinker in his arms.

He held Springs up, “I’ve come to bring this tinker home…” he said with a trembling voice, unsure that the monster would even understand him. “A little girl misses him very much. I’m going to fix him for her.”

The monster stared at him for a long moment. He didn’t dare move, lest it be interpreted poorly. He felt as though the monster was judging him. Finally, a decision was rendered as the monster merely nodded. It did not turn away from him, and instead continued to watch him. He nodded in return and quickly made his way back to the ridge with Springs in hand. He had survived the encounter, but did not wish to prolong it.

The trek home was no less physical, but he walked with renewed vigour born of incredulity and fear. He wondered if anyone would believe his tale of the Tinkerwood and its Undertinker.

Tale of the Tinkerwood – Part 2

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Oct 142011
 

Read Part 1

A long night? Try endless! Would it ever end? With as cold and wet as he was, the minutes seemed like hours, the hours like days.

The hollowed out log was not as large as he might have liked. He was crammed in with no way of turning around. To make matters worse, there was a long crack along the top of the log. Water continually seeped through, ensuring that he would remain wet throughout the night…if he didn’t freeze to death first.

At least twice, he felt himself dozing off, but the crash of thunder, much too close for his liking, brought him reeling back to his miserable reality. Sleep would remain as impossible to achieve as keeping dry it would seem. He squirmed about in the tight confines of the log, trying to reach a paw into his pocket for the sweetbread he’d brought with him. At least he could eat, though the moist bread brought little comfort to him.

It was hours into the night, when he had reached his lowest point, that he heard it. The most ear-splitting screech one could ever imagine hearing. Only it wasn’t his imagination. It was not unlike the pained howl of metal being torn apart. He tried to convince himself that it was only thunder, that his sleep-deprived mind was playing tricks on him. It failed to reassure him.

A quick flash of lightning made him blink. Was there something moving in the distance? He strained to focus through his goggles. The chemical compound that allowed him to see in the dark had been steadily washed away by the rainwater that seeped beneath the goggles. He would need to create a better seal next time, he told himself. If there was a next time.

The night sky turned white with another intense but brief burst of lightning. The moving object, whatever it was, was closer than before! He could make out its grotesque outline now. It was twice the height of the tallest fur and lean. There were many sharp angles, and few if any curves. It possessed gangly limbs that allowed it to amble about, though its gait was unsteady, as if it would collapse upon itself at any moment.

The ground shook as each heavy, clumsy step brought it closer and closer to his hiding place. He tried to crawl deeper into the log, lest the monster, for that is what it had to be, find him. He could see now that it was made of metal, though it had rusted through in placed, adding to its terrible countenance.

When it was but a few steps away, the metallic monstrosity reared back and let out a blood-curdling screech, revealing it to be the source of the terrible sound he’d heard earlier. He was sure he would die this night, if not by the monster’s sharp talons, then surely of fright. His heart beat so hard and fast, he was sure the monster would hear it and find him.

But the monster did not find him, for it altered its path then. He did not blink once as it slowly limped away with its uneven gait, afraid that if he did so, it would somehow draw the monster’s attention and bring it back. The quakes lessened the farther it got, until finally the ground was still. He remained still in his sanctuary. The rain continued to beat down on the log, but it was no longer the worst thing about this night.

Read Part 3
Read Conclusion