Oldies, but goodies

I really feel I owe it to the blogosphere (blogger-verse?) to be more on top of posting. It's not like I have a shortage of ideas for content or a limited cache of resources. But it does make me feel a lot better to realize that several other bloggers also get a bit behind....then it makes me feel a lot worse because I realize it's because they're actually producing the content that goes in their posts.

As such I shall spoil y'all with these 2 (that's right, count'em, 2!) links to more of the awesomes from my favs list:

http://conceptships.blogspot.com/

This is one I came across forever ago while browsing http://conceptart.org/. All in all a fantastic site with a horde of remarkable talent, but I always get lost while cruising. Or I'll find a really awe inspiring piece (like ALL of them!) and it will get stuck in my brain, but I can't remember which insanely good artist did what, how, where, etc. It's maddening!

http://www.planetside.co.uk/content/view/51/81/

This is another treasure that I found whilst obsessed with landscapes as keys to inspiration. Can you believe these aren't actual places? They make for incredible wallpapers.

Maybe this will keep us all satiated for a while since my computer will not be available from approximately 10/18 - 11/2. If I can find it buried within my tattered soul maybe I'll get something else up in the next week or so. I'm getting some new toys/marvels tomorrow night, but there's a good chance they'll distract me and come 10/19 I'll think to myself "Damn and blast! Why didn't I post while I could and save the new goodies for 'no compie' time?!"

Third time's the charm

So....screw trying to post all my favs links/pages in the same entry. It just was not working. Instead I'll bait you with one each day or so until I run out.

Might as well start at the beginning. This is the fantasy art site that started it all for me. I've always drawn superheroes and the like, but when my sister and wife got me started reading Robert Jordan years ago it was all fantasy since then. Here you go folks: Elfwood! I guarantee you will spend days, weeks, months cruising this site.

http://www.elfwood.com/index.html

In fact I can probably milk this one site for quite a while. Perhaps the next few posts will be some of my favs from my regular Elfwood days. That's right Coalition chums, I'm talking about you.

They just keep coming (aka Just-ified)

Cruising cartoguild again and found these:

http://www.cartographersguild.com/album.php?albumid=196

Perhaps I missed these pics before, but I can't figure how I would have. Just look at them! This style just jumps out at me. Great maps, great names, great legends - just great!

I keep telling myself "one of these days I'll post maps like that". Seems increasingly unlikely though, as I keep getting lost in other worlds. I've just been falling away from art and deeper into writing lately. Of course nothing ever gets finished. The loose pages of notes and quickly jotted stories just keep piling up. Oh well.

Because I said I would

I find myself stuck at home today with a couple a sick dogs, so I'm wasting hours in front of ye olde compie (as usual).

I didn't know what else to do for inspiration, so I'm cruising fantasy generators online. These are just some of the greats I have saved in my favorites:

http://nine.frenchboys.net/ - No I don't know why it's called that, nor is it dirty (so stop giggling). It will come up as "Serendipity". It gives great "English sounding" places names, which I can't help but love.

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/ - This one is always fun, if a bit off-the-wall. Warning: there is so much here you will need hours, a potty break or two, and maybe even a map.

I'm very glad these fellows know how to write/manage PHP....I don't even know what the hell that is, I just know it's fun.

Pop on by and leave a post that the Zombiegunslinger sent you.

Yes, another map

I have been very neglectful of my posts lately because I've been mussing around with my new CS4 software (thanks Liz!) I'm slowly - very, very slowly - getting the hang of it. Fortunately I have a great network of support from folks who actually know what they're doing...what you would call "professionals" (thanks Kara!) Yesterday I bought CS4 For Dummies so I won't have to pester the pros continually.

I has been pointed out to me that I am a huge geek. It's not that I needed it pointed out, I was already well aware, but it made me think that I finally have the guts to "geek out" on D&D manuals and read R.A. Salvatore in public because I no longer give a rat's ass if people think I'm a geek. I figure that I would rather have the intelligence and creative spark to get super excited over a new map, story, what have you than to just sit around with my thumb up my butt watching reality TV.

But none of that is why I'm posting today. This is what I'm posting for:

http://www.cartographersguild.com/album.php?albumid=125&attachmentid=33930

This gallery is awesome! I love this style of maps - as you can tell from previous cartoguild links.

I can't imagine how people can't see something like this and not imagine what it's like in this world. The possibilities are endless. This could be the larger part of an even larger continent (think western coast of USA) or it could just be a corner of a vast, uncharted land. Who are the people that live here, are there others races, monsters, demons/gods? I could go on and on. This is the "completed" version of the map - there are others without the forests and rivers placed, which only leaves yet more room for imaginings.

If I ever eventually learn to produce something of this quality and style I will map out my first created fantasy world. But until the time comes that I have that much confidence I will continue to play in, marvel at, and rave about other artists' worlds.

Gracias por la inspiracion folks!

Who knew there was a guild? (aka Lots of Links)

As always I was perusing maps online and decided to gander at the thirty something albums at www.cartographersguild.com

I'd found the site a while ago when looking at/for maps of Westeros from George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" (check it out). I highly recommend the series - at least the four existing books -but if my accolades aren't enough to convince you maybe a long drool over this awesome map will get your mind wondering about what's going on in that world:

http://gameofthrones.net/images/Westeros_Maps/map_of_westeros.jpg

There are loads of other awesome finds, such as:

http://www.cartographersguild.com/album.php?albumid=165

http://www.cartographersguild.com/album.php?albumid=413

http://www.cartographersguild.com/album.php?albumid=304

Bear in mind, these are just my favorites...so far and in no particular order... and there's plenty more where those came from. Kudos to the fantastic artists that provide me with hours of entertainment and more inspiration than I know what to do with!

Updated New Olympos

So this is the newest version of the New Olympos map. I was tinkering with names for the rivers the other day and decided I liked what happened, so there you go.

The story is this: It's set in a future time when humans have absolutely perfected genetic engineering and have no qualms abusing their new found "genius". Because it seems like everything scientific has Greek or Roman names I'm using that as cause to make us/humans decide to make mythological figures a reality. So we cross breed human genes with those of lions, wolves, eagles, hawks, horses, bulls, goats, rams, and other various critters to come up with the races. I'm thinking we also create hydras and monsters and junk.

We find/terraform a new planet - the map I made is just a small section - and give it Greek-ish names. The ships and space stations that orbit this planet will be given actual Greek names: Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Minoan, etc.

So we make the other races: Leos, Lykos, Aetos and Gerakis, and Agelios first and plant them on this new world. But because people are over-confident, self-righteos dumbasses they don't stop to think " hey, we've just created a whole population of natural enemies on one world together" , so they have to make super humans (reminiscient of and named after Greek heroes) and place them smack in the middle to keep the peace. However, even with these genetically modified "super humans" their presence is still too insignificant to stop anything but minor conflicts between the beast races. The warring species are just cordoned off into their own nation states and the heroes try to keep bloodshed to a minimum.

This is where the space marines from jump ships come into it. When the world is on the brink of chaos the powers that be decided that they'd rather see the whole thing obliterated than let their hubris win out. So the marines are deployed to clean up the mess the government and scientists made, but when the beasts and heroes realize that they are about to be wiped out they band together and fight back against anihilation at the hands of their creators.

Revisiting this storyline months after its original inception made me realize just how campy the idea really is. I don't know how I'm going to work it out since there a lot going on and a rather meaty sci-fi presence which I am completely unfamiliar with. Therefore any tips and/or suggestions and resources are very welcome.

And what the hey, it's just for poops and giggles anyway. Besides, Hollywood makes huge blockbuster movies of this type of crap all the time (300, Clash of the Titans, etc) so maybe there is yet hope to be rich and famous.....ya know, because writers are just rolling naked in mounds of cash.