Feathers in the Wind (and my Blackbringer review)

Dun-da-da-da-DUN! Here she be, the secret feathery pic that I was unable to show you until NOW!!! Ta-daaa! Good heavens, please excuse that funky black line along the left side of the page. *smites scanner* Anyway, here is my well-kept secret pic. BLACKBRINGER FANART!!! I am going to send this to Miss Laini in the mail, provided I can find an address to send it to. The one in the skirt is Magpie, obviously, and the one with the AWESOME FEATHERY WINGS is Talon. Have I mentioned how AWESOME Talon is? And yess, I went a leetle beet overboard with the dandelion fluffles. Ah well.

Before I get into the review, I would just like to say that Blackbringer is way too much fun to read aloud. The accents are hilarious! And I can always use practice on my Scottish brogue. Eventually, I want to be able to do it on command, without having to read aloud. XD

Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer is a faerie story of epic proportions. A tiny faerie lass must face the one who created her – and the one who would unmake her – to save the world, and everything in it, from nonexistence. Laini Taylor’s plot is beautifully intricate and sends some good, strong messages, such as the power of the small, caring for the earth, and believing in dreams.

One of my favorite things about Blackbringer is the depth of its characters. Magpie Windwitch, the heroine of the story, has a stout temper and an adorable Highland brogue. She is a completely believable little faerie girl. She has cheroot-smoking crows for friends, loves chocolate, and writes down spells in a diary so they won’t be forgotten. Those are the more ordinary things about her. In the course of the book, Magpie also faces down the fiery Djinn King, converses with a long-dead champion of legend, and fearlessly takes on the dark itself. All the same, I can relate to her. She responds realistically to the world around her. She’s real. The same can be said of all the Blackbringer characters, be they faerie, crow, imp, djinn, or demon… they all have their own special quirks and personalities. Another interesting twist is the different methods of magic practiced by several of the characters. All the faeries are able to use glyphs, but some do magic in more unusual ways, like Talon Rathersting and his knitting. He uses magic knitting needles and infuses his projects with glyphs to create ‘skins’ that can alter his appearance. At the end of the book, he knits himself a pair of crow’s wings with which to fly. I love the concept of skins. Just imagine, being able to knit functioning wings!

Many young adult novels today are all action and no description. Blackbringer is not one of those many. Laini Taylor’s attention to detail brings her world fully to life. I would much rather read about a forest described as “a world of oak and yew, pine and thorn” than just "a forest full of trees.” Details have the power of fully immersing the reader in the book world. It was such a wonderful experience to read a story in which I wanted to live - seeing, smelling, hearing, and feeling. Now, that’s not to say that I don’t enjoy a healthy dose of action as well, and Blackbringer has plenty of that. The scene where Magpie and Talon face off with the vengeful Blackbringer, described as “the dark come to life” in the arachnid-infested Spiderdowns has my pulse racing every time. So really, it’s the balance between showing and telling, action and description, that makes this such an excellent book.

This book has everything – even some mild romance, which I enjoy from time to time. I highly recommend Blackbringer to anyone who has a sense of adventure and/or an interest in faeries. Even if the little winged creatures aren’t your thing, the story is beautifully told with both mystery and majesty.

So, there you go... the pic AND the review, finally. *falls over* Whew! Fun but exhausting. Aaand I'm goin' out of town yet again tomorrow... choir tour, y'know... and won't be back 'til Tuesday. So I'll see you guys then! (Leave comments for Kipin please, she likes those, and she worked FOREVER on Magpie's ornery hair. Thankee!)

Commander Kip who still has to pack *dashes around room, throwing things in suitcase*
Robin: Aw, maaan, not the sidecar!
Batman: *puzzled face* I thought you liked the sidecar.
Robin: Yeah, when I was EIGHT!
Normal is overrated!

Oh yeah, one more thing: the link to the song that inspired the art! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv2kmFZTDeY Yes, you've seen this link before, perhaps multiple times... but hey, I love this song! It just screams 'end scene of Blackbringer' all over, doesn't it? Enjoy!

The Cave of Sighs and White Shores

Hey, peeps, I'm baaaaaack! St. Louis was fun, but exhausting. I am in desperate need of social interaction with someone I am not related to. *gasps for air* Seriously. I haven't spoken with another teenager since... last week (whenever it wast that I called Lady Arin to cry into the phone over Soldiers of Halla...) Anyway, starved for intelligent interesting conversation over here, that's me.

One good thing about the trip was that the rest of my family decided to sleep late every morning, so after I finished Soldiers of Halla, I spent the rest of the mornings getting up early to draw. We had two connected hotel rooms and used both of them like one room (we weren't allowed to close the doors between them) so I commandeered one of the kitchen tables and used it as a studio. Parked my colored pencils there, plus some other stuff. My book lamp, so I didn't have to turn the overhead lights on, and my iPod, so I could plug it into the charger under the table and listen to it with the earbuds in so I didn't wake anybody up. So, I finished a costume design I'd been fiddling with for ages; started and finished a few pieces of fanart/song art, and started another piece that has to do with Pendragon and is not quite done. PLUS, I made some serious headway on my extremely random and OOC Pendragon fanfic. Yeah, that one. *sheepish grin* It is special in the extreme. So special, in fact, that I probably won't even post it here, even though it's supposed to be fairly short. It's kinda rated T, lol. But, if you want me to send it when it's done via email, comment and say so.

Now, on to the art. Here's my take on the Cave of Sighs, from the Gemma Doyle trilogy (which, if you haven't read it, I implore you to sally forth and do so immediately.)


*gasp* Look, shading! And the scanner didn't chew it up, swallow it, and choke it back up for a change. Yay! *capers about madly* Although the actual piece of paper is much darker than the scan. But anyway, the story here is that I was trying to draw Gemma and Kartik, and failing so very miserably that I ended up erasing them and drawing something completely different: the Cave of Sighs. In the books, the Order of priestesses take their lovers, the Rakshana, there to do... stuff. Heh. The big carved hands on the wall is the symbol of everlasting love or sumthin' like that. I used my own hands for refs, by the by... which explains why they're at such an odd angle. Ahem. I tried, right? Oh - the cracks and vines came out cool. XD

You guys know the song "Into the West" that plays during the end credits of Return of the King? I watched that just before we went out of town with a bunch of AWESOME guy friends and girlfriend Gylfie (that's her new tentative screen name!) and cried a lot at the end, and then drew this picture on the trip (in the middle of drawing the one that's not done yet.) It took like fifteen minutes, hence all the mistakes.

I cannot draw craters, obviously. And the moon is lopsided. And the boat's not in the middle. And those funny-shaped things in the sky are supposed to be gulls. Eh-heh. *hides* It was one of those things where you have an image in your head that's gonna keep bugging you and distracting you until you get it out. Luckily, I was able to get rid of this annoying little thing in about a quarter of an hour, so that wasn't so bad.

Here's the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgcoBKWTW14 It's a very pretty song, but it makes Kipin cry. *wails miserably* Poor Frodo! Gaaah!

Sooo, there's that stuff. I have a very important post I'll be doing pretty soon. Remember the secret feathery pic? It's that one. *wink* Stay tuned.

Commander Kip

SPRONK NO MORE! I KNOW IT AAAAALL! *howls* SPAAAAADER!!!

Normal is overrated!

Zraelish War Chant

Guts and glory, blood and honor,
Swing your sword and wave the banner!
Marching, marching, ever onward,
Free your weapon from the scabbard!
Give us bread and cheese and water,
Give us strength amidst the slaughter!
Dusk may fall and lives be lost,
But we shall fight unto the last!
FOR ZRAELAND! YAAAAAAARGH!!!

Hi, everybody. Wondering what that was about? Haha, yes, I was bored during my piano practice a few days ago, and this random crap popped into my head. When the Zraelanders go to war, their soldiers shout this chant to intimidate the enemy and make themselves feel better. Imagine five hundred voices saying it at once, and weapons banging against shields, and feet stamping, and horns blowing and all sorts of racket. *hulks menacingly* Pretty intimidating, no?

We're going out of town tomorrow and won't be back till next Tuesday, so if it seems like I've neglected you all, just know that I haven't. XD When I get back, I will finally reveal the feathery secret pic I've been fiddling with for several weeks now. I think you will like it, preciouss, yess indeed.

Now I gotta go practice, cuz I have a piano lesson today, and this evening, I have to pack. *makes face* You know how Kipin is with packing. I get distracted and it takes ages. Wish me luck!

Commander Kip
SPRINK ON YOUR FLIPPIN' SPRONK! I wanna know what happens to Spader!
Normal is overrated!

Leondrean scribbly sketch

'Ello thare! I realize I already posted this morning. Too bad, I'm posting again, this time with some REAL art to show you: Funky critters, aren't they? I'm calling them Leondreans. Biggish feline-type quadrupeds with nice big wings. (No, this is not the secret feathery pic that shall remain nameless at present. That comes later.) They are some of the last of their race, which tends toward antagonisticism (or whatever) and a love of baubles and other ornaments, as you can hopefully see. That random symbol thing on the bottom one's flank is the Leondrean Seal. I'm making this up as I go along, by the way. Anyhow, the sitting one at the top is Mirano, High Leader of the Draconian Circle/Council (haven't decided yet) in the squire story, of which my quirky dragon Auburn is a member. Under him is his mate Keliar, the High Commander of the Draconian Circle/Council. That's her head there on the right. She's having a meltdown or something. XD I was happy with how her snarly mouth came out.


Mirano is the calm collected one. He makes all the big decisions of the Draconian Circle/Council and keeps his mate and the other dragons in order. Keliar is more of a wild card. Generally, she can be found in the middle of things, be it a discussion or disagreement. She has a voice and likes to use it. They have a young one, Bina (I'm stealing your nickname for her, Lady Arin) who I didn't draw. She's a curious little thing and manages to go missing about halfway through the story. Don't worry, they get her back.


Why the deuce did I put that hideous border thing around Keliar? *swats self* Bad idea. Baaaad. It's all crooked and scribbly and... rawr. Anyway, enjoy if you dare. XD


Commander Kip
SPRINK ON SPRONK!
Normal is overrated!

hummingbird on a steek & some other thingies

Forgive me, readers! Kipin isn't REALLY slacking off; it just looks like she is 'cause she hasn't posted anything NEW in ages. I'm literally on my way downstairs to scan some stuff, so hang in there for a little longer. In the meantime, look at this. Instant art! It used to be a lollipop. I was eating it in the car on Easter, and I bit it (bad, bad Kipin) and it ended up looking like THAT. *points* Entirely unintentional, I swear. I was like, "Hey, it's a hummingbird... on a steek." *brother cracks up* 'Twas special indeed.

Now for some news. Soldiers of Halla and The Last Olympian came in the mail a few days ago!... but mi madre has declared them temporarily spronk in the interest of having something to read in the car on our way to St. Louis next week. We leave on Wednesday with our cousins, by the by, so I shall disappear from the net for a week with no access to a computer and no relief from the insanity of my younger and pettier cousins/sibling. *cowers in terror* Save me, Lady Arin! Haha, just kidding. We'll have a good time out thare. We're going to the City Museum! I love that place. It's like every kid's dream come true: a museum that ENCOURAGES climbing on the exhibits.

The secret feathery project that shall remain nameless for the present is not as done as I thought. I gotta fix the hair! It's driving me mad. But once it's fixed, I'll stick it up here, along with... other important things... and stuff. *swirls cape, looks mysterious* Bwahahaaa!

Last thing: I just finished re-reading The Sweet Far Thing yesterday morning, which took me out of commission for like the entire day. *wails loudly* HOW COULD IT END THIS WAY?! AAAAAAAAA... *continues wailing for quite some time* I swear, it must be the hormones! I didn't shed one tear the first time I read it, and yesterday, I was busting out crying every time I thought about it. Drove my brother crazy. He's like, "Stop that, it's annoying!" and I'm like, "B-but somebody d-d-DIED this m-morning! WHAAAAA..." and so on. *smacks self* Honestly, what is wrong with me? Must be hormones. I now have the urge to draw some mildly inappropriate fanart. *shifty eyes* We shall see. *runs off to read a certain fanfic (this one: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4068899/1/Sweet_Complications), howling in agony*

Commander Kip
SPRINK ON SPRONK!
Normal is overrated!

Irlican Beasties colored

Hiya, remember these guys?

The infamous "horny beasts", lol. I was going though my art coffing recently, and since my old sketchbook had been laying around on my bedroom floor for so long, I decided to retire it to the coffin. But first, I tore a few of my better drawings out of it and pinned them up on my new corkboards so I can still look at them. When I came across these two, I was in a colored-pencil mood, so I did a speedy coloring job on them before tacking them up. I really love my muc-mharas. They ah so prettie. If you care to click on the photos, they shall become big! I just figured this out the other day - but anyway, if you make them bigger, you can read the text.

I still think the gaunt has too many claws. Sigh. Not sure what to do about that. I'll keep fiddling with the design until I end up with a reasonable number of fangs, claws, horns, etc. I like how that saddle came out though. Ooo - what if the gaunts have little knobby bonelike protrusions that grow on both sides of their jaws that a harness can be fastened to? Maybe the gaunt-tamers drill little holes through the bony protrusions (which don't have nerves in them, so the gaunts don't feel it) so they can tie the ends of the harness through them? That could work. Sorry. I'm done thinking aloud now.

OMIGOSH, SOLDIERS OF HALLA IS OUT TODAY!!!!!!!! *totally freaks out* OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH!!! I can't even go out and buy it because my mom ordered it from Amazon and it won't be here for another FIVE DAYS. I shall certainly die before then. *hyperventilates*

Commander Kip the TOTALLY FREAKING OUT
Total Pwnage.
Normal is overrated!

secret project REVEALED!

Without further ado, I give you:



Samwise the Brave! *squeeeeeeeee...*

I love how he turned out! Had to take several pictures, 'cause the light in the office was throwing some weird messed up highlights on him. I think the one above this text was the best one, although it is slightly blurry... perhaps the next one is the best, after all.

I backed up a bit to get the whole piece of paper in the picture. Yes, I think this one's best.

Here's a (very blurry) closeup:

So you can see his face. I had so many problems with his mouth! I made it the wrong size, like, twice, then it was the wrong shape, then I messed up the highlights... but I think I finally got it right. Sorta. Sorry again for the blurry blahness.

Here's the photo I used as a reference while I was drawing him:

Pretty close, I hope?

My drawing was done with white colored pencil on black construction paper. My teacher's construction paper is way better than what I have at home. Actually, I think we've used all ours. Anyway, there you go. Secret project finally revealed!

Samwise Gamgee and LotR in general are copyright J.R.R. Tolkien. The photo is copyright to... whoever took the photo. Or maybe it's a screenshot from RotK... I dunno. Not mine, in any case.

Happy Mother's Day, by the way. XD

Commander Kip

Total Pwnage.

Normal is overrated!

Portals cover... and... other things

I love my twist tool. XD Here's a temporary cover for my book. I DIDN'T PAINT THE PICTURE! Some dude did. I just did the portal effect and the text. I think it turned out cool.

Now. Let's make something clear here. *bellows loudly* There shall be no stealing my title or my anagram! Or the image, since it wasn't mine to begin with. Understood? Good. Carry on.

Now for some news. I gave Cairi her gift last night at the graduation... and I was kinda nervous... 'cause I didn't think it looked that much like Faramir... but ha! You should have seen her flip out, it was hilarious. She was like, "OMG IT'S FARAMIR HE'S SO CUUUUTE!!!" I don't think I've seen her get that excited about anything... ever. XD So I guess I did okay. Oh, I also just did the LONGEST post ever on the Picnic Club site, in the Great Outdoor thread. I had a bunch of fireworkers from different books set off some magical flashbang in honor of Cairi's graduation. Go check it out. It was awesome.

In the final editing stages of my feathery project that shall not yet be named. *squees quietly to self* It's turning out really cute. *melts* I fixed her face, by the way, Lady Arin... at least, it looks better to me. Feathers are ever so much fun to draw!

Aaand I finally got some pictures of my other secret project, so once I get those on the computer, they'll be up here. My daddie likes it muches indeed. So do I, for that matter, and my art teacher came THIS close to squeeing when I got it done. *sporfle* Can you imagine, an art teacher squeeing? Me neither. But I swear, she was THIS close....

Commander Kip
Total. Pwnage.
Normal is overrated!

my new avatar

I made a new avatar by accident while I was taking my Spanish final.

Isn't she adorable?


Look at the ears.


And the glasses.


And the... evil airplane?

Ahem, yes, there's a story behind that one. One of the questions on the test was, "Would you rather travel by plane or by boat?" and my answer was, "I would rather travel by boat, because airplanes are very bad on my ears." Or something like that; I don't remember exactly what I said... but anyway, I had a mental image of an airplane with teeth attacking my ears, and just had to sketch it down in the margin. Hence the specialness there.

Wow, my computer's going crazy on the double spaces today. I'm having to delete them every other line. Whoa.

Commander Kip who solemnly swears she'll post something substantial soon!

Total. Pwnage.

Normal is overrated!

Victory

'Ello thah, mates! I drew this after reading my friend Amzi's novel: Yes, she wrote and FINISHED a novel in a novel-writing class she took last year. I is so very proud of her! It won an award too. Awesome pirate novel. You all know how Kipin feels about pirates. XD

Anyway, this is her main character Averill (no stealy, people) who has to pretend to be blind because her eyes are blue, and where she lives, people think that all blue-eyed people are witches. So she goes around with a mask on all the time. I drew a scene where she has it off, obviously, lol, because I loved how this scene was written, and I cannot draw masks. She's standing on a rock, which turned into a cliff in the picture because rocks refuse to be drawn by me. I got sick of the background and decided not to finish it. I was tired of looking at it, and I had other things I wanted to draw, like my priddy liddel Heartwood pic. So it's not done, and probably never will be. In case it's not clear in the picture (no surprise there), there's a ravine behind the cliff she's standing on, then another cliff covered in trees. Yeah, those blurry things in the back that totally got poned by the scanner, those are the trees. Then, on the left edge of the page, there's a footpath that goes down to Averill's hut, then the village, then the docks and finally the sea, way down there at the back. There's the pirate ship moored at the dock with its sails all rolled up. There's a word for that, where the sails are all rolled up... but Kipin doesn't remember it just now. Do YOU?

I spent way too much time trying to wrinkle her clothes. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Commander Kip the DONE WITH CHEMISTRY FO-EVAH!!!
Total Pwnage.
Normal is overrated!

Kipin's Faramir

Quickly, quickly, I still have some chemistry to study and it's kinda the middle of the night and... yeah. Lookie here. *snort* It's supposed to be Faramir. 'Supposed to' being the operative words here. Doesn't look much like him... but it's closer than the guy who played him in the movies! Gaack, that guy drove me to distraction. His hair was the wrong length and color, and he was so darn mean to Frodo, I just wanted to SMITE him! He was so much cooler in the book.

So, about the actual picture... heh... I obviously cannot draw water. Lookit the fountain - it fails at life. Mom says the background it too busy, and I totally agree with her... but I had to put a background, because Faramir wasn't in the middle of the page and looked off-center. So I added that pillar off to the right. Then the pillar looked dumb and boring, so a vine grew on it. Then the pattern of the stones. Then the other pillar right behind him and the outline of Minas Tirith (that's what those tower things are, by the way.) Then a fountain sprouted out of the courtyard, and started spewing fake-looking water, and a few clumps of grass popped up, then some more pillars grew at the other end of the courtyard, and a path behind those. In other words, the background got away from me. I couldn't leave it alone. I finally looked at it and went, 'Holy mole, where the heck did all of THAT come from?' and hastily declared it done. Ahem. So there it is, in all its cluttered glory. I found a picture of movie Faramir online and was able to ignore his face long enough to use his clothes as a reference (but not the Tree of Gondor! I did that part from memory! Phear my madskillz.) I was gonna give him a bow and quiver over his shoulder, but it was way too busy already, plus I was so proud of my Tree of Gondor that I didn't want to hide it under a quiver strap. Modest, aren't I? *snorts with laughter*

One more thing - I got that secret school art project done, and it turned out unbelievably awesome. I can't wait to show you guys! All I gotta do is get a picture, then you can see it. *squees to self* I love how it came out! I'm giving it to my dad to put in his office, 'cause it's his birthday and nobody else in my family gave him presents. Of course, that will never do. So he can have my awesome project. I haven't drawn him anything for his office in forever anyway...

Whoa, crap, lookit the time! I have a test tomorrow morning! Blast! *dashes off to bed*

Commander Kip
Total Pwnage.
Normal is overrated!

Artemis Fowl sketchies

Hello - waow, this came out so light, I can barely see it. *smites scanner* Ah well, no matter. ARTEMIS FOWL!!! I just finished re-re-reading The Time Paradox, and just had to do fanart.

N01 turned out way cuter than I expected. Jest lookit the li'l bugger! Top left (the nearly invisible one): a rather blatant copy of Holly's profile picture in the Artemis Fowl graphic novel. I sketched it out with a mechanical pencil, looking at the drawing in the book. I wonder if someone's gonna nail me with a copyright lawsuit or something? Hope not. I think I'm okay. Different media and all that. But just in case, that image is copyright the guy who drew the graphic novel... lemme go look him up... *leaves*

*comes back* Giovanni Rigano. He drew the lineart and Paolo Lamanna colored it. Italian names are such fun. Anyway, none of the characters, or even those runes at the top, belong to me in any way, shape or form.

So. Captain Holly Short in the top left corner, Opal Koboi, the evil little pixie lady, in the other top corner (she looks mighty peeved... perhaps someone just stole her truffles. Mulch, perhaps.) I had inordinate amounts of fun with her hair. It's far too shiny to be credible. Ah well. N01 the demon warlock in the middle. He is ridiculously cute. I always imagined him to be a cute little monster, and he is. By the by, that pose fails in real life. I tried it, and got the nastiest cramp in my calf for the trouble. *annoyed snort* But he's a fantasy critter, so I suppose I can put him in whatever pose I want. His anatomy will adapt. Besides, I had so much fun covering him in runes that I promptly forgot about the cramp in my leg. Moving on: Foaly the paranoid centaur in the bottom left corner. He came out awesome. I am so proud of myself - he looks just like he looks in my head! That is a rare occurrance... something in my head coming out neatly and accurately on the paper. Cheers! I like his ears, and his horsey teeth, and his belly. *sporfle* I love the part at the beginning of the Time Paradox where Holly is teasing him about his belly. Will I get in trouble if I quote it?

"Did you see that human movie with the centaurs?" she asked the centaur on the other end of her helmet communicator. "They were noble and sporty. 'My sword for thee, Majesty, then off for a spot of hunting.' Fit centaurs, now that did make me laugh."
Thousands of miles away, somewhere in the earth's mantle below Ireland, Foaly, the Lower Elements Police's technical advisor, rubbed his paunch.
"Holly, that hurts. Caballine likes my belly."

At which point the book goes on to explain who Caballine is, then Holly apologizes and says she likes his belly too. And Kipin dies laughing. I think I shall do so now. *dies laughing* Again, just in case, I didn't write any of that. Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox is copyright to Eoin Colfer, one of the awesomest, most hilarity-inducing dudes out there.

This post is starting to feel long. Last doodle, lower right corner: the Gnommish text just above it says "PROBE", which refers to the scene from The Time Paradox the doodle is depicting. Holly is magically testing Artemis to make sure he doesn't have the killer magic disease. He doesn't, but it's awfully funny to watch him squirm. He's all like, 'um, Holly, what the crap are you doing with my face?' Not in those exact words, of course, but you get the idea. Oh, and I used the graphic novel again for reference with Holly's LEP suit. So the suit design, once again, is not mine.

I own nothing in the picture (except my signature, which is one hundred and fifty percent mine), so don't eat me!

DONE with Cairi's grad gift. Now, I just gotta get it out of my sketchbook without tearing it, hopefully, and find it a nice frame. Wish me luck. I'm not that great at frame-shopping... we went to like three different department stores for the frame around Lady Arin's Kartik picture, so... yeah. Hopefully this time, it'll go faster. I wish I had a scavenger imp. XD

Commander Kip, Lordess of Long Posts
Total Pwnage.
Normal is overrated!

Oh, wait! Kipin forgot to mention that the Gnommish at the top of the page just says, Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox. I got the Artemis Fowl Files a while back and finally committed to learning how to read and write Gnommish. 'Tis much fun indeed.