Well, its been a long time since i last posted anything. I have been busy with work and life... i have done a great deal of drawing wich will be posted here shortly. I have focused a great deal of time into the novel. I am midway into chapter 5 and its going rather well. Also i have completed a great deal of updated concept art. well much more to come....

a icarus ruff done on the renfe train ride home.

here is a ruff Icarus I did on the train ride home. Its a bit femanine, somethingI wanted to capture.... but it was way more soft than intended. Take for granted it was on a long train ride home after work. But over all im happy with it. Im sure I will clean it up and take another shot at it.

Here are some old concepts of Icarus, who was originally gonna be called ANGEL. But then Josh came out with his Angel in BUFFY SOOOOOOO... At any rate I feel Icarus fits more in line with the character and his disposition. This character was co- created and helped along in development by the artistic SAVAN... if not for her I don't think he would have evolved into the character he is today.THANKS SAV!!

Later I went with the addition of the mask... the mask was inspired by my love of black mask lore...ZORRO, THE DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS,KATO, THE BROWN HORNET ETC... I also went with a bit of a take on the crazy 88 guys in Kill Bill, as Icarus and Giests agents are yakuza/ mob styled gangsters who sport that masked look too. That I will keep bc QT was inspired in the same way. So deal with it...I plan to do some concept work for them soon as well.

ANTI HEROIC TRIO

This is a concept image, that leaned pretty close to the final view of the main three cast members.This was meant to show the general idea and i like how the glowing tattoos came off on Quan Lee.That was something that I was pretty sure on. The mask would have the same effect on the tribal markings that do not appear on this version. These are kind of the trademark icons to my similar to Batman's bat or Superman's S.

The Chaos blade which is his huge sword will play a major part in the story as well, but I'm pretty sure this is the not the final version of the sword. I still really like the sword, its just not what I had in mind completely.

Icarus comes off well too, showing his elements... the domino mask,red coat and magic card. and finally Old man Giest. At this point we were still trying to sort him out. I kept coming back to him as this Ming The Merciless looking guy. In my early concepts i saw him as this wise master type more commonly seen in the Shaw Bros flicks. there may be a few more attempts on this look but i think we ended up adding some dark ends to his hair giving him a more salt n pepper look... in my mind now I see him more as an older man of Mediterranean decent, which plays more to the characters magic prowess and class as a sorcerer. All in all I was just planing to abandon some of the more stereotypical roles. I'm sure living in Spain has helped open my eyes to a wealth of new material to work from.

Given all that i would say this image is a fair representation of the final versions of QUAN, ICARUS, and GIEST

Quan Lee and the Leviathan. the concept changes

SO... to start the new year I wanted to start with new things.I wanted to show the process and kinda explain some of the craziness I have created here with the world of Black Water . In the near futureI will give a further explanation of who and what the leviathan and Quan lee are... but for now I want to focus on the idea of what i wanted. For starters. Quan Lee is an immortal who plays host to a symbiotic titan, the Leviathan. for majority of the story I will use the leviathan in a more symbolic way, or used as a more smokey aspiration. I wanted to hint at the idea of something being there... but not clearly there. I think I will use the image of the leviathan in Quans shadow or in reflections.

The other thing I want to show is evolution. Quan as a whole will just becoming accustomed to this power that he has and what effects it has on him. when he taps into the power of the leviathan he is covered in thin film of black that acts much as a second skin. a second skin able to withstand sniper shots and fully automatic gun fire. I would say he is nigh invulnerable. I like that he cant actually be killed by conventional weapons, but they do hurt like a bitch and hinder him if he is kept under constant assault. So to combat that I have given him a basic vest like top. In my mind its like ultra thin bullet proof vest but not so much for stopping the bullets as to not be running around shirtless like its the 80´s. He is usually wearing jeans or cargo's, boots and a Jersey or some other t shirt. since he will have to come into his magical abilities he will actually have to put on the vest which is normally kept in the trunk of the car along with a duffel bag of goodies.
The coat will come into play about half way into the 1st arc. The coat, in may ways IS the leviathan. It is woven from the manes of kirins, royal lions, and dragons. Then its maker added in several magical spells giving the jacket an array of abilities that feed from the leviathans powers, making the jacket useless to any one else but the leviathans host. For years I was toying with the idea of how the Leviathan as a hero, or rather anti hero would look. We went back and forth on it for a long long time.we thought that maybe it was a mask and then maybe it was his actual face that transformed. It ultimately came down to if it was a physical mask like the vest or if it was just more manifestations of the leviathan like the second skin.

In the end the manifestation idea won. I wanted the leviathan to be a physically different person from the host, in which I felt like he and Quan would trade places, much like if one was the person and the other was the reflection, but when the Leviathan fully emerged they would switch places and the leviathan would be on the outside where Quan would be the reflection.

Once the story moved to the middle of the first arc we would be aware of what the leviathan was up against and we would be aware that the simple second skin,though highly dense and protective ...would not serve him completelyaginst the types of enemies who he will soon face.

Through the story I had written in these little side jaunts, where he would seem to be collecting things. These items he collected will be taken to a blacksmith in the story that would forge a series of weapons and a second magical armor. This armor would be reminiscent of the originals more bulkier armor but streamlined with a more modern and practical feel to it.

It also gave him a bit of a super hero or again anti hero look. Thats the end for now but I have many more post to come. so I hope you come back for more.

ADVERT SPOT

I’ve many names. Yet in the end I am simply a pawn, a slave, a lost soul, gods’ unnoticed child. The blood of titans travels through my veins, making me less than a god yet so much more than a man. In this world we live in so much more exists than the human eye can see. A multitude of realities that coexist within the realms of earth.

A war is being fought , one that has lasted millennia, one that has spilled over into the very here and now. This war is one not simply of black and white, good and evil but one compromised by the many shades of grey that make up the whole. It is said "that even now there are angels in heaven with savage weapons." If that is the case, then you can imagine what is happening down here. It ´s here that it all began... the challenge, thier game, and our war. It is here that it will end. Here in the realm of earth that all will be decided, I intend to see to it that my fathers foes fall and drown in this world of black water.

"ALL ARCH ENIMIES MUST DIE!"

QUAN LEE aka THE LEVIATHAN

Basic summary and back drop

SENTENCE SUMMARY

Black Water is a tragic tale of love, loss, revenge and redemption.

BACKSTORY

The story begins around three thousand BC, in the midst of a great war. A war of grand magnitude betweenthe aclcolites of good and those of pure evil. Under the dread shawdow an leadership of Shaytan an ancient and powerful demigod, his army of demons & goblin-kin lash out interror and hatred against all the children of Edan and Eva better known as man. Many nations have fallen before the siege of Shaytan forces. Only a mere few have managed to find the courage and power to stand against the tyrant of darkness. That fewmarching under the banner of the phoenix goddess. From their fortress in the southern isles of Pan-Axia, The Goddess and her army of immortals and titans spread out to collect allies and strike back at the raiding bands of Shaytans armies. The crusade rages on for two hundred years back and forth slowly turning to the favor of Shaytans unholy order.
Cities fall and colossal statues of the evil lord are erected across all the lands. now under a never ending glare by the evil demon king the heroes are now forced into hiding, reorganizing and forming into small cells of bandits. Continuously the revolutionaries are hunted down and persecuted, as are all who refute Shaytans might.
when all hope seemed at a loss rumors start of an ironclad warrior from a western land fights with magical powers the likes of wich unseen before and said to rival that of the goddess herself. In a moment of desperation, the goddess sends a letter of alliance to the enigmatic warrior. Sadly he refuses and sends only his reply that he is on a mission for the one true god and has no desire to stray from his course.
Outraged by the denial to a royal summons, Leviathan the goddess’s captain of the guard sets out to confront this man who would deny audience with the revered scion of the phoenix. However upon meeting the man, the captain is taken aback when he sees the curious stranger. it is said that Leviathan spoke of how this strange westerner had about him the aura of heavens host, something he had only seen in the presence of the goddess. the common folk and those he had fought and survived to tale of it said his face was beautiful and flawless, almost angelic and his hair shown of stark white brilliance. So consumed by intrigue the captain followed the strange knight for weeks. Until one day the knight equally intrigued by his exotic stalker turned the tide and confronted him. Before one word could be spoken between the two ,they were attacked by loyalist of Shaytan. The goblin-kins saw theopportunity to take out the captain and this newfound foe all at once. The task proved to be harder than they could´ve ever imagined. Leviathan fought with a berserker like fury seemd to strangely mirror the westerners graceful combination of sword and mighty magic. Togather they laid waste to all in their path.
When the battle was won the two wasted no time turning their weapons on each other. Unsure what to make of it all, the white haired warrior sheathed his blade and eyed the captain. Moments passed and the people in the town remained breathless and made not a sound watching in anticipation,then the captain sheathed his blades as well. The two shared a meal and several goblets of wine as they explaied to each other their stories. To the amazement of the white haired warrior, his prophecyquest could very well have been tied directly with the actions of the goddess-divinedcrusade.
Under the circumstances the white haired warrior agreed to meet with the goddess. They agreed to help one another tocomplete their goals, but over time they fall in love and the warrior started to forsake his quest and focused on riding the land of Shaytans presence. With the combined powers of the knight and the goddesses armiy they regained momentum and again many of the smaller bands allied them selves under one flag and took the fight to Shaytan. They pushed directly towards the source and in as many as months they were at the gates of Shaytans island citadel.
In the battles epic finale the warriors and the goddess stood face to face with Shaytan himself in a battle to end all battles, tragicly the goddess was struck down and the white haired warrior in anger struck out with a spell to destroy the demigod once and for all.
However without the goddess power and his emotions Too high, his mind unfocused the spell only managed to displace Shaytan into a dimensional prison.
This was unknown to all at the time and the disappearance of Shaytan was taken as victory. The forces of Shaytan slowly begin to fall apart and scatter back into the wholes in the spine of the world.
Over the next several months all of the mountrously demonic horde had bee pushed back into the darkness from hence they came. The white haired warrior stricken with grief for his lost love was surprised when told that during his time in the outback uniting the houses of heroes, the goddess had given birth to their son, and hide him away for protection during the time of war. The goddess anticipating her fall wrote a legacy and left for the warrior the crown of the lands and he was made king, responsible for all the duties involved and control of all assets their in. Soon after he was introduced to his young child, a boy named Icarus.
Now faced with the responsibility of ruling a realm, and raising his son Giest found himself utterly alone. He did his best to make the realm safe and fair. He sent armies out in all directions in attempts to purge the remaining forces of Shaytan. It lasted for a time and all was glorious for the ghost king as he had been dubbed, ruled and was loved by all.
unfortunately as time passed the followers of Shaytan in efforts to reinforce thier power and recipricate their every dwindling numbers, they eventually infiltrated the world of man. In the guise of humans they moved into the seats of high-ranking power and politics. From their camoflauged location they managed to turn the tides on the ghost king, forcing him into hideing agian and watching as his realm fall apart. No clear ruler in charge the land drowned in the tides of BLACK WATER.