Showing posts with label Spawn of Dyscrasia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spawn of Dyscrasia. Show all posts

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Alchemical Rules in Dyscrasia Fiction

Doctor Grave Flays Ante Lysis

Doctor Grave’s Arcane Axioms (Dyscrasia Fiction)

Literally, dyscrasia means “a bad mixture of liquids.”  Historically, dyscrasia referred to any imbalance of the four medicinal humors professed by the ancient Greeks to sustain life (phlegm, blood, black and yellow bile).  Artisans, anatomists, and chemists of the Renaissance expressed shared interest in the humors; accordingly, the scope of humorism evolved to include aspects of the four alchemical elements (water, air, earth and fire) and psychological temperaments (phlegmatic, sanguine, melancholic and choleric).  In short, the humors are mystical media of color, energy, and emotion; Dyscrasia Fiction presents them as spiritual muses for artisans, sources of magical power, and contagions of a deadly disease; the books explore the choices humans and their gods make as a disease corrupts their souls, shared blood and creative energies.

Rule  of  Animating the Dead
“Possess the blood of a corpse to regulate its body; control its heart to direct its mind”
Rule of Blood and Ether

“Blood is the medium bridging the physical world with the ethereal, connecting soul to body”
Rule of Matching Hue

“The souls of the healthy living exhibit the same color in the astral realm as their oxygen-enriched blood does in the corporeal realm; mismatched hues indicate departure from homeostasis: illness”
Rule of Muses
“Artists are inspired by the emotive ether, as they craft, they consume that which ignited their creativity”
Rule of Relics
“Souls remain attached to their master’s bones; emotions of artists remain with their art; memories adhere to their place of origin”
Rule of Sight

“Ethereal memories, emotions, and souls remain invisible to those who see the physical world in color; those who can see the colors of ether, see the tangible world in gray”

Monday, February 1, 2016

Ken Kelly Original - Found by Rathen (Grant Elliot Smith)!

Spawn of Dyscrasia - Original on the move!

Ken Kelly with Grant Elliot Smith
The concept and making of Spawn of Dyscrasia's cover by Ken Kelly is documented in three posts; in short, after springing for the commission and the rights to use it as a cover, I had exhausted my funds. To obtain copy for my house I purchased a signed giclee print in lieu of the original. At that point, I did not know what would become it. 

This month a fellow Sword & Sorcery author, Grant Elliot Smith, reached out to communicate that he had purchased the original from Ken. What an honor! It gratifying on many levels, and it is great to know where the original lives.  It is equally rewarding to connect with like-minded writers, and I'm proud to help with the cover reveal of Grant Smith's adventure due for release in Feb 2016:


Rathen: The Legend of Ghrakus Castle

by Grant Elliot Smith (cover by Matt Stawicki)


Rathen, a former Captain in King Delvant’s army, retired to a quiet backwater town after the Kingdom’s forces were dissolved following the King’s sudden death. Trying to forget his problems by the copious use of strong ale, he is approached by the emissaries of a powerful lord to lead a team of fighters, healers and mages to dispel brigands from his lands. Rathen quickly recruits his best friend, an ex-gladiator and landlord of the local tavern, Bulo, to assist him. The two join other members of the group and begin to hear stories of magical creatures and numerous dead in the land they are supposed to cleanse. Despite this, they head for Ghrakus Castle and on the way they learn of the Castle’s dark and mysterious history.
Finally arriving at Ghrakus, where the full horror of their task becomes clear, they realize that their chances of returning home were indeed very slim and that betrayal awaits him.

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Dyscrasia Fan-Fiction - The Village of the Blood Hills

The Village of the Blood Hills

by EEL Dec 2015 (this is the first ever fan fiction of Dyscrasia Fiction)
A.N. This story takes place after Spawn of Dyscrasia, in the flesh world that Helen and Lysis explore.

            As Helen surveyed the land, the inverse nature only appeared more grotesque. She swung her feet from where she sat on the wooden porch, partly built into the thick, wine colored blood flowing downstream. It terrified her to know what she really rested upon were the recycled corpses of the dryads, but, as they had told her earlier upon arriving to the tiny, secluded village, the flesh land had given them very little to build with. Therefore, when each nymph passed from age or battle, the bodies were reused for the sake of the community. The longer she remained in this demented land, she thought, the less it seemed to frighten her, despite her instincts screaming at her otherwise. As the time passed, searching for Master Echo, she had begun to assimilate culturally.
            Helen peered at the opposite bank, twisting a lock of stark-white hair around one finger. The flesh rose and fell in deep valleys, where the bottoms would gather blood as it trickled down the hills from disturbances in the thick layer of skin. Every once in a while, she could see the red sunlight glint off the fingernail formed cliffs in the distance, overlooking the lake where blood and tears met and turned the liquids rosy pink. There was an eye, too, buried into the side of a hill, bloodshot and the surrounding flesh purple and blue. Above it, a dryad’s tree struggled with the land to survive, roots digging into the eye socket, as the mossy green iris nearly disappeared while the pupil dilated.
            Yes, this world was strange.
            Helen gripped her staff. The wooden beads clanked as she stood up. Behind her, she could hear the dry, scratchy footsteps of a dryad, startling her from her daydreams.
            The dryad held up its hands in surrender, the long, gnarled, spindly fingers spread. Over her wooded body of twisted branches, strings of Spanish moss formed a thin covering, spotted with blue baby’s breath flowers. Huge, phosphorescent moss eyes glowed bright green. Around her neck were several polished and carved ivory necklaces.
            The nymph, Druantia, noticed Helen’s interest in the necklaces and the carvings. “Do you like them? There is a clan to the north who dig deep into the flesh in search of bone to carve and sell to other villages. It’s messy work, and costly, as the land never heals and turns into the murky swamplands of pus and blood and roughly covered skin, but it pays them well.”
            “The carvings are very pretty.” Helen scrutinized the small pictures on the bone. “What’s that?”
            “Oh, the creature?” Druantia peered at the serpentine, yet plant like monster depicted in mid-roar, the body of several Chromanti dangling from its mouth, others attempting to bring the creature down, only to be knocked back by the wide leaves. “It is the Venus, who live in the lake down river. It eats the flesh creatures foolish enough to get too close. If you watch long enough, you might be able to see it.”
            Helen pulled her cat pelt over her shoulders. She pointed in the opposing direction of the lake. “What about that, over there?”
            “The great mountain range is composed mostly of teeth of all sizes and shapes. Sometimes, you can find a gap in-between the larger teeth and live there. There is a village that trades with us jewelry and housewares, even just teeth with carved symbols. Here.” Druantia untied a leather pouch from her belt. Inside, Helen could see hundreds of teeth ranging from human size to that of a mouse. Each one was carved with intricate markings. Druantia took one from the bag. “This means spirit. It is a common symbol nowadays, to protect us as the Chromanti continue to wage war with the others in this world. Here, you can have it. To protect you on your travels.”
            Helen took the tooth. It appeared similar to the shape of a cat’s fang. Around the base and tip was a tiny, yet simple border, enclosing the elaborate and graceful swirls. She took the fang and began to work another braid into her hair, to put the fang in. “Thank you, Druantia.”
            “Anything. You kept the Queen of the Chromanti away from the village with your magic, you and your companion upon the giant ant. Do you know when Lord Lysis returns from scouting the villages downstream?”
            Helen shook her head. “No. He wishes to follow the trail further, see if Lord Echo is following the queen and her army. I don’t mind the wait, though. It gives me the chance to practice my magic, and add a few layers of protection around the village.” She closed her eyes, searching deep inside herself. Helen opened her scarred eye, surveying the land. She could see the wild, white fire forming a ring around the village, and the ghosts of the feline guardians enforcing her will. They patrolled the border, snarling at the quivering eye, digging their claws deep into the iris and tearing it apart. It would not surprise Helen if her spells would destroy the abomination.
            Her own cat spirit lay content by her side, purring and rubbing its tufted ears with one large paw. It was almost comical, such a creature capable of injury and of noble features acting like a common house cat. Helen smiled to herself.
            Then a small wisp of green caught her eye. She looked at her hair, where the fang now resided, tangled in her long locks. Apparently, it did contain magic of some sort, the shamrock colored energy wrapping around her like vines, keeping the darker forces at bay.
            Helen opened both eyes again, peering at the normal world. Instinctively, she turned to the grand lake. Overhead, a flesh reaper, its wings of stretched skin flapping sporadically, flew over the great expanse of tears. It released a skin-rendering screech.
            From under the lake, a deep rumble shook the landscape. Druantia smiled. “Just wait.” She said.
            The surface of the lake began to ripple. The flesh reaper sensed to danger it was in, and began to fly frantically towards the cliffs. However, from the lake sprang a gigantic plant springing from the depths, shaking blood and tears over the landscape. Its flat, green mouth, the inside pinky red from its recent kills, swooped up and snatched the flesh reaper from the sky. Behind her, Helen could hear the villagers stop to watch the spectacle.
            The Venus, once done with its meal, wasted no time folding up and resting on the bottom of the lake. The lake’s surface rippled; then began to settle.
            Yes, the land was strange, Helen thought to herself. But she had begun to grow used to the strangeness of it all.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Audio Sample - Kathy Bell Denton Narrates Spawn of Dyscrasia

Audio Sampler of Spawn of Dyscrasia:



Immerse yourself in the dark world of Dyscrasia Fiction

Spawn of Dyscrasia is now available as an audio book, narrated by Kathy Bell Denton who has a splendid voice reminiscent of the female narrator of Ralph Bakshi's 1977 movie Wizards (Susan Tyrrell).  Kathy Denton has a creepy, English accent perfect for dark fairy tales and reinforces the character of Helen well.  Check out the samples on Audible.com or  Audiobook on Amazon.

Complimentary Review Copies!

Review copies of all forms are available (Audible, Kindle, and Paperback). For files or promotional codes, just contact me via email (teamlinderg-at-gmail.com), on Dyscrasia Fiction on Facebook, or the Goodreads Sword & Sorcery group that I co-moderate. Thanks to all who already read, listened, and reviewed. 


Saturday, March 14, 2015

Spawn is Audible!


Immerse yourself in the dark world of Dyscrasia Fiction

Spawn of Dyscrasia is now available as an audio book, narrated by Kathy Bell Denton who has a splendid voice reminiscent of the female narrator of Ralph Bakshi's 1977 movie Wizards (Susan Tyrrell).  Kathy Denton has a creepy, English accent perfect for dark fairy tales and reinforces the character of Helen well.  Check out the samples on Audible.com or  Audiobook on Amazon.

Complimentary Review Copies!

Review copies of all forms are available (Audible, Kindle, and Paperback). For files or promotional codes, just contact me via email (teamlinderg-at-gmail.com), on Dyscrasia Fiction on Facebook, or the Goodreads Sword & Sorcery group that I co-moderate. Thanks to all who already read, listened, and reviewed. 

More Dyscrasia Fiction Audio!

The Audiobook for Lords of Dyscrasia, narrated by Thomas B. Hackett, is in progress! Cover shown below. Expected release Spring 2015.



Saturday, January 3, 2015

Dyscrasia Fiction - Beyond 2014

2014 Dyscrasia Fiction

2014 was a busy year, with Spawn of Dyscrasia hitting online book shelves and the Kindle Store in July.  The video trailer accompanied its release (embedded below). By year's end, the book was featured on two reviewer blogs as being highlights of the year.


2015 Dyscrasia Fiction

2015 is promising to be as busy. Audio books of both Lords and Spawn are in production already, due for a March 2015 release via Audible.com. Cover icons below. Expect more video trailers, this time with professional narrations from Kathy Bell Denton and Thomas B. Hackett! Of course, Book III is underway (working title "Seer Helen"), aiming for a 2017 release.

Thanks to all for reading, reviewing, and listening.  Feel welcome to track me down on Dyscrasia Fiction on Facebook or the Goodreads Sword & Sorcery group that I co-moderate.




Thursday, September 11, 2014

5-stars: Author Charles Gramlich reviews Spawn of Dyscrasia

5/5-Stars for Spawn of Dyscrasia

Author Charles Gramlich posted the first Amazon review of Spawn of Dyscrasia (just released last month). He has a keen ability for writing and teaching adventure fiction.  I've enjoyed his poetic dark fantasy, and am I'm flattered by and grateful for his comments. Charles Gramlich's review is posted on his Razored Zen BlogAmazon, and Barnes - Noble and Goodreads

"This is an entertaining fantasy novel that—I would argue—rises to the level of art... There are plenty of gore-rich scenes, enough to do a horror novel proud. But the language is so vivid and rich that you can just revel in it..."Gramlich Sept-2014




Saturday, August 16, 2014

Spawn of Dyscrasia - Press Release - Dark Fiction by S.E. Lindberg

Sharon died serving the undead.  
Will you take her place?

Spawn of Dyscrasia - dark fantasy fiction by S.E. Lindberg (c) 2014. 

Paperbacks available via AmazonBarnes & Noble, and many more online/global retailers
Ebook available via Kindle-Store / Amazon (link)

Dyscrasia Fiction™ explores the choices humans and their gods make as a disease corrupts their souls, shared blood, and creative energies. In 'Lords of Dyscrasia', the first installment, Lords Lysis and Echo stabilized dyscrasia that mutated and killed the masses. Roaming dangers persist two decades since that Ill Age. The ruined Chromlechon colony has evolved into a Keep hosting orphans who supply the Lords with sorcerous energy.

'Spawn of Dyscrasia' follows Helen’s abrupt promotion from neophyte curer to Lord Echo’s personal healer, replacing one who died mysteriously. She struggles to keep Echo alive as contagious phantoms corrupt his soul. While Lysis fights a sudden invasion from a grotesque army, Helen’s humanity is tested to its limits: she contacts the original source of dyscrasia, and emerges transformed…
Spawn of Dsycrasia cover






Friday, August 1, 2014

Diorama Map Making

Making Maps Feel Real; Diorama Design

Maps have a special role and meaning for fantasy novels.  For one, they are often needed to orient readers to crazy, new worlds; but to make the fantasy-world be realized, I decided to depict the maps for Dyscrasia Fiction real landscapes (not common cartographers' maps). Below, the color version of the Land made for Spawn of Dyscrasia (publication in process Summer 2014) is a photograph of a 5' x 3' diorama constructed in my basement.  This post details the making of it.  First, note that there is no compass rose; instead, the sunrise indicates East.  The predecessor Lords of Dyscrasia had maps that appeared as hand-drawn sketches of the same landscape, which were used to guide the scaling (they are available online too as interactive maps--link).
Spawn of Dyscrasia Map
Lords of Dyscrasia - Maps made interactive online

Inspiration Real Places

New places are featured in Spawn of Dyscrasia, and old places have evolved.  It was important that each key area was identifiable and unique, just like a living person. I drew inspiration from real places with haunting beauty such as: the colored sandstone of Zhangye Danxia, China (for the Arenite Range),  the Island of the Dolls, Mexico (For the Gray Orchard),  the Maijishan Grotto, Gansu, China (for the Chromlechon Keep), and the La Brea Tar Pits, California (for the Blood Bogs).  La Brea is the only site I saw in person, the others are on my bucket list.

Plastering Terrain & Setting Viewing Angle

Then the fun began.  The existing map of the Land was drawn on a large foam core board.  Then pictures of the key places were laid out.  From the beginning, the desired output was a map that fit a portrait page design (to accommodate print and eBook viewing).  It was critical to plan a vantage for photographing this, and the topography was tweaked to present the desired perspective. The tripod placement was decided early on to capture a cross-section of the Underworld and the key Land features.  Then newspaper, bubble-wrap, and cardboard were used as skeletons for the mountains and terrain.  

Visible and Hidden Details

All was coated in plaster-coated gauze. Successive coatings of plaster and paint consumed weeks.  An undercoat of gray and brown blocked out terrain types.  The surface was coated in all sorts of crafty materials: trees were made from lichens, colored sand was used for the sandstone range, diorama-friendly powdered grass and faux bushes polished off the vegetation;  polymer melt faux water was used for the Pyre atop the Keep and the Underworld sea of oil.  Mixing black-oil paint with white-aqueous paint made for some wild textures since the "gray" would phase split during painting, and the black oil would slowly bead atop the white.  There are all sorts of details not accessible from the photo, including real cicada shells  in the Underworld, fluorescent paint around the magical areas (which require a black light), and real minerals for the crystalline tombs of Clan Tonn. 

Photography 

Luckily I know a competent photographer.  My art-director and wife Heidi imaged the diorama from all sorts of angels and lighting.  She preferred natural light, with strong shadows from the setting sun...so we hauled the beast outside.  It is amazing how many photos were taken.  In the end, I took the one taken from the initially designed vantage, but weaved in close-ups (digital magic via Photoshop) to ensure it was all in focus. 

Photoshop and Cover

With a color map in hand, I was ready to complete the cover.  Understand, that the only way I could provide a color copy of the book (and keep it affordable) was to incorporate the map on the back of the cover (the interior is all black and white). It took some creative thinking, but the fire from Ken Kelly's masterpiece art was weaved into the backcover landscape.  Print copies will be available soon (Sept 2014, available globally via online retailers like Amazon, BN.com, etc.), with eBooks too.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Spawn of Dyscrasia proof copies are in!

Beware, Spawn of Dyscrasia Comes Soon!

Just received the proof copies of Spawn of Dyscrasia, and they look ready to go!  Print copies should be available soon, with ePubs to follow over Summer 2014.

In the photo, behind me, is the Ken Kelly commission (learn about the making of this --link) and the enormous diorama of the Land within Dyscrasia Fiction photographed for the backcover/interior-map (I have yet to blog the chronology of the making of that 5-foot x 3-foot beast, but my Facebook page for Lords of Dyscrasia has many snap shots).

Two video trailers are also in production. Watch out...



Friday, February 7, 2014

Glass Eyes - Inspirational Crafts - Spawn of Dyscrasia

Doni Hatz crafts inspirational glass eyes for Spawn of Dyscrasia

Consistent with Lords of Dyscrasia, its sequel Spawn of Dyscrasia (due out in 2014) has a lot of artisan themes.  Several human characters are glass-workers; others will require a glass-eye to see the Otherworld (souls, memories, ghosts, etc.).  A previous post details some hands-on research at a glass studio (link).

Another posts revealed the Cover (with illustration from Ken Kelly) that features the key character Helen, a sorceress with one special eye.  For inspiration, I touched based with a local glass maker, Doni Hatz, who created some fantastic example eyes (more info. on her below).  Thanks Doni for showing how glass eyes can be made!  Two of her eyes are featured here under different lighting conditions:
  • The top row is front-lit 
  • The bottom row have the same eyes, back-lit.  
The red-eye is particularly creepy.  The blue one was made from a striped cane of dichroic glass (multicolored, sparkles), which can see best from reflected lighting.

Glass Eyes from Doni Hatz  - Spawn of Dyscrasia

A red and blue eye, lit from front and behind (bottom)


Doni Hatz is an expert glass worker.  For decades she has created industrial-scientific works in the day hours...and all sorts of fine art by night. "Marcie Davis interviews Doni Hatz, scientific glassblower who has risen to the top of a field that is generally dominated by male glassblowers. Doni shares her background preparation at the Salem Community College, her work at Proctor & Gamble, and her venture into creating works of art in glass.  This article was originally published on page 34 of the Winter 2011 issue of The Flow."



Doni pointed me toward a great DVD made by that shows how glass eyes are made professionally (produced by Firelady Productions):
"Walter Hellbach is a third generation glass eye maker in Lauscha, Germany. Using specialized glass tubing and rods, he creates human eyes for prosthetic use. In this demo you'll get a "short and sweet" version of this complex and fascinating process. This is an excerpt from our newest DVD by the same name. (In "The Eyes Have It" DVD you can see the entire exciting process from beginning to end!) And while it takes years of training to make eyes for human use, you'll be able to apply the techniques you see here to your own work with great results. It all starts with white Kryolith tubing, which opacifies as it is worked. As you watch, Walter meticulously adds a variety of multicolored canes, and in just a few minutes an eye of startling realism comes into view."


Spawn of Dyscrasia Cover

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Ken Kelly Cover Art - Spawn of Dyscrasia (3 of 3)

Spawn of Dyscrasia Cover
Spawn of Dyscrasia is due out this year (2014), and this is the last of three posts detailing the evolution of its cover:
  1. Cover Concept (link): The first post covers the goal & concept art
  2. Cover Art (link): The second post chronicles the interactions with master fantasy artist Ken Kelly (from rough sketches to final painting) to yield the key illustration
  3. Cover Design (you are here): This covers the actual design (title placing, masking of the illustration, and overlaid fire).  We have to take the illustration (left) and dress it up for the book (lead design below, on right).

Ken Kelly's portrait reflects a scene from the book and features many important elements that make implicit promises to readers (i.e. expect magic, undead characters); key accessories from the flag to Lysis's sword are accurately presented too.  With that firm foundation in place, we turn to making a cover out of it.  My wife Heidi Lindberg (a trained Interior Designer with a critical eye for all things, and a knack for brutally honest feedback) stepped in to advise on Font & Word placement.  Thanks to her and the folks over in the Sword & Sorcery Group on Goodreads who provided input on some initial compositions (Comp A & B).  Most liked the title being on the bottom (Comp B), and the idea of  the characters standing on a hill of debris resonated with the piece.


Applying some masking layers in Photoshop made (a) the spirit cat easier to see, (b) the edges of the flame more clear, and (c) the rebalancing of the composition (the green flames of the cat tail stretch down into the title to compensate for its "top-heavy" head).  Helen's red-tattoo and the red-blood on Lysis's sword are amplified to match the red in the title and fire.   This is not the final cover design for Spawn of Dyscrasia, but it is fairly close since it covers the below success criteria:
  • Sword & Sorcery:  It promises to deliver "swords/action" and "magic" while revealing a scene from the book
  • Character Focus: The portraiture promises to develop a sorceress and skeletal warrior
  • Internet Appeal: It is easy to recognize as a small icon (as shown via Goodreads or Amazon)
  • Dyscrasia Fiction Look: It continues the look of the first novel, Lords of Dyscrasia (see below side-by-side).  This is important to build the brand of Dyscrasia Fiction.

Small version discernable

Lords and Spawn of Dyscrasia Covers
Consistent with Colors/Composition for Dyscrasia Fiction
Lead Cover Design for Spawn of Dyscrasia (due out in 2014)



Ken Kelly Cover Art - Spawn of Dyscrasia (2 of 3)

Spawn of Dyscrasia Cover
Spawn of Dyscrasia is due out this year, and this is the second in the mini-series describing the cover art, illustrated by master fantasy artist Ken Kelly:
  1. Cover Concept (link)The first post covers the goal & concept art
  2. Cover Art (you are here): This second post chronicles the interactions with master fantasy artist Ken Kelly (from rough sketches to final painting) to yield the key illustration
  3. Cover Design (link) : the last covers the actual design (title placing, masking of the illustration, and overlaid fire)
Ken Kelly - Rogues and Spawn of Dyscrasia

Feedback to First Rough:

The goal was to reapply the composition of Ken Kelly's "Rogues" (that graced the cover of Robert Adam's first Horseclan's novel).  The preceding post (add link) discusses the color selections and design choices.

With this information Ken Kelly set to making some Rough Sketches.  The first featured just Helen, who appeared too zombie-like and her long-nails were accentuated enough but needed to be turned over (to look like she was controlling the fire).  This opportunity allowed me to reinforce that Helen was the living character...and the warrior was the undead one.

Rough Sketches - Spawn of Dyscrasia by Ken Kelly

 Feedback to Second Rough:

I proposed a modified mock-up by placing the Roughs into Powerpoint, and indicated things to tweak (red) and items to keep (blue): 

1.Warrior is undeadà A skeleton…with crown of horns…and fiery aura (cover his biceps, perhaps, since he has no flesh?)
2.He has only 1 sword (his sheath looks like a second)
3.Warriors general stance = cool, no need to change
4.Lady’s stance= cool, no need to change
5.Shadows/lighting = awesome
6.Fire à eventually to be colored with spirits
7.Pennant à I like this shaft… can we add a flag? 

Lastly, Helen needed to be directly connected to the fire, and I wanted to ensure there was one representative Spirit presented within the flames.  Drawing from Ken Kelly's awesome gallery, I lifted one of his great cats (from Feline Warrior), and worked it into another mock-up.  He cautioned that this would throw off the balance of the composition (becoming top heavy).  I agreed, but asked him to work it in anyway; this motivated the "green wisps of ether" special effects to be added later in the Cover Design (post 3 of the series) to compensate.

Ken Kelly - Feline Warrior and Rough Sketch for Spawn

Canvas and Oil Work:

At this point, Ken Kelly began work on a real canvas with his oil paints. I received digital photos periodically:

Ken Kelly - Painting Spawn of Dyscrasia

 The cat turns green and Helen receives a "black-eye."
Ken Kelly - Painting Spawn of Dyscrasia

As the piece approached its end, I had concerns about the bubbles and requested Helen's eye-tattoo to be red, which were easily changed.  Ken Kelly originally titled this "Magic Soldier" but changed it to "Spawn of Dyscrasia" to match the forthcoming book.

Spawn of Dyscrasia - (c) Ken Kelly 2013
Overall, the process consumed a solid nine months. That was partly due to me not specifying a steadfast deadline, taking second-chair to higher priority clients who had real deadlines (i.e. KISS).  Also, given the nature of oil paints, each layer remains wet for some time; so each iteration (paint a layer/get feedback) consumes a few days at best.  Despite this being a commission, our deal was such that he maintained the original.  In addition to the high-resolution photographs created by Ken's photographer, I did order a signed Giclée print (a print on canvas). The last in this blog series captures how the Cover Design incorporated this Cover Art.


Ken Kelly Cover Art - Spawn of Dyscrasia (1 of 3)


Spawn of Dyscrasia Cover
Spawn of Dyscrasia is due out this year (2014), and this three post mini-series describes the cover design process, featuring a custom illustration by master fantasy artist Ken Kelly:
  1. Cover Concept (you are here): This first post covers the goal & concept art
  2. Cover Art (link): The second post chronicles the interactions with master fantasy artist Ken Kelly (from rough sketches to final painting) to yield the key illustration
  3. Cover Design (link) : The last covers the actual design (title placing, masking of the illustration, and overlaid fire)

1) Character Portraits

Whereas its predecessor Lords of Dyscrasia (2011) is a set of narrative tales stressing plot & action with varying points of view, Spawn of Dyscrasia (2014) follows the development of a single character, Seer Helen. The sequel's cover had to embody this new emphasis on characterization, so an appropriate portraiture composition was targeted.  It may seem strange to intentionally pose characters passively on the cover, but there are plenty of precedents. For example, Larry Elmore did this effectively with the original Dragon Lance trilogy (authored by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, including: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning).  Also, Frank Frazetta did this effectively with his Deathdealer character:
Elmore Dragon Lance covers

Frazetta's Death Dealer

These portraits promise books with developed characters...without showing any action.  Ken Kelly has many of these, like his Death's End and Rogue's illustrations (the latter was the cover to the first Horseclan's book by Robert Adams).  In Spawn of Dyscrasia, the character Helen does not develop in isolation; rather she teams with the protagonist from the first book, the skeletal Lord Lysis (who is featured on the cover of Lords of Dyscrasia).  Hence, Ken Kelly's "Rogues" stood out as a good example of what I wanted: a female and male duo portrayed against a fiery scene. 
Ken Kelly Death's End and Rogues

I reached out to Ken Kelly via his website's commission section.  In short, pricing depends on the canvas size and amount of detail; other factors to be arranged are timing and who owns the original.  Here is a snippet from his commission page:
"Fees start at $750. for a single figure, oil painted on 10x14" illustration board with a very simple background.  Fees rise from there depending on what needs to be added and size of original." (copied 2013 from Ken Kelly's commission webpage)
After arranging the commission for two key figures (which prompted a 22"x28" canvas), I sent him the concept art of the two characters to be placed in a similar composition in his Rogues piece.  

Lord Lysis Concept Art

I had drawn Lysis many times already for the illustrated Lords of Dyscrasia, so it was easy to assemble a board to describe his undead state and unique sword, Ferrus Eviscamir.  I also scoured Ken Kelly's vast gallery of oil paintings to identify what Lysis may look like from a painting already made by Ken; Path of Fright worked well for this, since Ken painted some eerie skeletal gargoyles.

Lord Lysis concept board

Ken Kelly's Path of Fright

Helen Concept Art:

Helen had been written about well enough in the draft transcript, but I had never drawn her.  Some internet browsing followed by Photoshopping (namely color inversion) enabled a concept board. Another search of Ken Kelly's library led me to his KISS Girl #5 pencil.  Here Ken's experience painting for the band KISS worked well (he has painted their albums and guitars), since Helen required a tribal tattoo around her left eye.  Helen is not the KISS girl, but referencing her was useful.
 Helen Concept Board

Ken Kelly's KISS Girl

Lighting & Character "Color"

Lastly, a board explained that any fire would simultaneously (a) provide lighting and (b) represent the sorcery that Helen and Lord Lysis command. The magic system in Dyscrasia Fiction motivated the need to have "grayscale" characters: Helen and Lysis can see, feed upon, and cast magic via creative energy (represented by ethereal fire).  Spellcasters are mostly colorless (monochrome); they feed on color, draining it from enemies and sacrificed art, so perform sorcery.
Ether Fire Burning Elder