Saturday, November 2, 2013

A bit more Fairy action

The article on Harnic Fairies is finally online and available.
Download the PDF here for free.

Spirit Folk, Brownie, Bogaern, Cluricaune, Copyright © 2013, Columbia Games, Inc., Rob Barnes and Richard Luschek

Above are the common domestic brownies.
"Hearth or domestic spirits are solitary faeries who seek out human
households to inhabit. Such spirits may gravitate toward a particular
feature of the home, some preferring the stables or gardens while others
take residence in houses. A spirit that cares for the poultry may encourage
chickens to lay more eggs, find eggs that are hidden, or protect the fowl
from predators. A house-dwelling spirit may guard the fire in the hearth,
keeping the embers hot overnight or food from burning in the pot. The
range of powers differs with each kind of hearth spirit. Most like humans as long as they are treated well."

After many a sleepless night trying to catch a photo of one of these creatures at work in my house, I decided I was going to have to pose myself for these little guys. I wrote about the dangers of having these reference photos on your camera in a previous post. I shoot the photos, pick the best ones and then use them as rough guidelines for the drawings. After a few sketches I do a final drawing, ink it and erase the pencil. I scan the ink drawing and color it in photoshop.
Spirit Folk, Brownie, Bogaern, Cluricaune, -Ink Drawing Copyright © 2013, Columbia Games, Inc., Rob Barnes and Richard Luschek

While I will spare everyone the reference photos for the two fine fairy gentlemen on the left, the one on the right is pretty funny and give you some idea of the excellent acting involved. Keep in mind I did this completely sober.


Spirit Folk, Cluricaune reference photo  Copyright © 2013, Richard Luschek and my Mom
At some point I should probably do an entire blog post about that mug I am holding. It is an amazing piece of kitch pottery that must be shared with the world.