Steampunk Aether Rifle Video

I thought I'd add a flyby video of Lacette's Aether Assassin rifle. It's fun to get a sense of just how outrageous a six foot long rifle that can harvest a man's life force from over two miles away is. This is definitely not a handlheld killing tool. It has to be used with either the monopod or the tripod (that is being developed next).
The rounds themselves are fun because once the prongs pierce the skin, the lifeforce of the victim is rapidly drawn off into the round. Then when Lycette arrives, she transfers it into an Aether containment vial for transport and gathers up the round leaving little more than four small holes and a bruise on her victim,
As I had covered in the earlier post showing the development illustration, there is no gunpowder being used here. Once she has sighted you in on the glowing scope, she has your aether signature and pulls the first locking lever near the trigger. Once the trigger is pulled the targets own lifeforce shoots a carrier bolt of energy to the gun and the round rides it to the victim. Just before the round hits the target often swoons and feels dizzy as they are supplying the force of the hit.
Hope you enjoy.  Cheers, Kevin

The Pinkerton and the Princess

sometimes when I'm developing a story, other stories come to mind that would work in the same world.  I'm doing a quick illustration to capture one of those stories that will happen in the world of Frahnknshtyne called "The Pinkerton and the Princess." Here's a sneak peek of part of the image underway.

Frahnknshtyne's weaponized arm

It's been a bit since the last post as I have been writing the book.  I'm well into it and decided to take a break to add some more development art to the site to share with you.  This image shows Frahnknshtyne's arm after he decides to build a weapon into it.  It's exploding out of his woolen cape sleeve and the mechanical mounts (they look like small metal animal hands) have just thrown it forward to be caught by Wyctor in his gloved hand. There's a big surprise in this gun (beyond the fact that it's up his sleeve and it assembles as it ejects) that I'll hold off sharing for the book.
I'll be posting the "making of" video over the next week or so as well.
Cheers, Kevin

And a closer shot of the gun

Steampunk Medusa

As promised, here's the latest character sketch in the story development.  She's one of the bad guys/girls in this world.  Her name is Maydusa and she's over 200 years old (excuse the different spelling on the image title as it makes it easier for folks to search the picture).  She's kept herself in this child form by using the exotic Aether rig on her head to sap the Aether (life force) of man or beast she can manage to lure on to her estate.  She needs a lot of life force to remain a child and you see her in the image not fully regenerated.  The way the rig works leaves the poor victim literally petrified as you can see on the broken cat in the image.

Steampunk Medusa feeding

A a few in-progress shots:

Line work for Maydusa and cat

Testing ideas for light and color

completing grey scale painting

Steampunk portrait of an Aether Kill

The painting of Lacette the Aether Assassin and owner of the Aether Rifle from an earlier post, is finally done.  It's an homage to those shots taken in Africa when a big game animal is taken down.  I've added some of the in-progress shots under the final for anyone who wants to see the process I go through building up a painting.

Lacette: Portrait of an Aether Kill

And a few close ups for the detail:

And here's the in-progress shots.  These don't include the layout roughs but focus on the act of making the painting.

Steampunk Aether Rifle ammunition

Nearly done.  Have just added the Aether round for the gun.  It's a devilish ordinance in that it has no gunpowder that propels it.  Once the scope finds you and locks you in it's sight, your very life energy, your Aether, pulls it to you like the negative lightning bolt that flies up to clouds in the nano-second before before it guides the lightning to ground.  The sound of the gun firing is like playing a gunshot in reverse.

Steampunk Aether Assasin's rifle

Steampunk Aether seeking bullet

Steampunk Aether Rifle adding detail

The rifle is coming along.  For me and for what I'm doing with Frahnknshtyne, the visuals need to have a kind of grounded reality while delivering high fantasy and a sense of hand craft.  I'm working to steer clear of anime influenced shapes and instead am dipping deep into pre and post industrial world culture.  The background is temporary and the vignette of the ammunition isn't yet in place.  I'm toying with putting the owner of the gun, a beautiful but scarred brilliant woman turned assassin, in ghosted into the background using the rifle.