#the5thsemicolon

[worldsofkronos]

"The Empire shall thrive, not because we work to keep it alive, but because we're too busy despising each other to harm it. Damn the Church, and Damn the Councils."

~The Mad Iron Queen, Empress Waltraud of the Kronian Empire

Pictured, a Kronian Emperor knighting the new Councilor, under the watch of a member of the Church of Valderz. This ceremony was integral in the prosperity of the Empire, not only to ensure the continued cooperation of the three central powers that make up its leadership, but additionally as a spiritual tribute to how the Empire was ultimately made.

Having just survived the total destruction of their homeworld of Kronos by a rogue group from humanity, the Kronians established what would become a failing state upon their new home on Forlon. Plagued by anarchy, the state of councilmen would turn to two forces for help. One would be a visionary, charismatic leader from a separate faction of Kronians, who also survived the destruction of Kronos and established a growing military in preparation to fight humanity and seek justice. The other, a growing church that followed a set of philosophical tenants of universal balances, which had grown to popularity after the martyrdom of its creator. These three forces, after some initial disagreement, would unite their peoples to form the basic form that was the Kronian Empire. Anarchy was quickly rubbed out, as the Councilmen worked to maintain the state; the leader, dubbed Emperor, would act as the voice to the people and moderator to all forces; and the church, which would become state-sponsored and lead to prosperous unity. Although throughout the history of the Empire these three forces have collided against each other for various reasons, they have ultimately supported the well-being and advancement of their people. In addition, these three forces work together to finally seek justice for the destruction of their home, and make humanity pay for their crimes.

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The Ploughman

Gift art for @dasha-aibo , this is one of the various magical creatures of her story/world. Did this for painting practice and really enjoyed the process. I find that I enjoy painting muscles and strange creatures. Very fun.

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Blue Diamond in a suit Did this mainly to practice different ways to paint/draw, and as a bit of a fun gift for a friend.

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Blue Diamond, strolling through the waves.

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Did this painting as a sort of dare/gift for a fellow artist. Personally I wasn’t ever a fan of Steven Universe (I’ve made jokes here and there, and I’ve seen some episodes and liked them a bit, but overall I didn’t stick with it), however the character of Blue Diamond stuck with me with her design, her character, etc. so if I had to pick a character to draw it had to be her. And of course I really wanted to give it my all. Stylistically I was inspired by the works of Frank Frazetta while painting this, and overtime I learned a lot through the process. This was a fun work to have done.

There is a nude, NSFW version (nothing hardcore). Not sure I can post here, so I’ll be linking to my Newgrounds if you wish to see it. LINK

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Gallowglass commission character art for @irishironclad

Much fun to have done, especially the chainmail.

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Bloodborne - Cleric Beast

This was a tough, amazing work to have done. It costed me a lot of time and effort, with some days having made my hand all sorts of rough. However it was worth it.

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Another bit of character art for @danguy96, this time for a more alien/reptilian character named Dr. Viktor Zhvaylius. The Head of Scientific Development for the First Order, he runs experiments within the fields of mechanical engineering, biotechnology/engineering and cloning. Being integral to the creation of Starkiller base, he is the brains behind not only the research to the future of the First Order, but to also reviving its past from the era of the Empire.

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So I feel it’s time for another round of promoting my story, CROSS - a sci-fi Western set in an alien world about a bounty hunter trying to save a town from a gang of murderous bandits.

What is CROSS about?

CROSS is about a far off future where a large population of humanity left their Earth and ventured into unknown stars, hoping to establish a colony. However their mission grew complicated when their systems became corrupted, erasing the path back home. With the directions to Earth forgotten, humanity as a culture became increasingly addicted to the history of their past. Media and pop-culture became a drug, and for those especially afflicted would find themselves shaping their personalities to match their obsessions. This would become an issue even as they colonized further worlds, and one such world is where the story takes place.

On the planet Aurora, an arid desert world once completely owned by a race of warrior giants that lost a great war to humanity, is a great Black Road that stretches between the two cities that were built on this world - and on that road is Jason Cross, bounty hunter and long ago a hero to the wasteland. Jason Cross makes small earnings trying to deal with the gangs and raiders of his world, and what he earns is often wasted away to tons of liquor. He is bitter about the past he left behind as a wild west hero, working alongside his brother Frederick as they rode through the Road to save settlements. Yet it all changes when, after a botched bounty job, he is forced to fight off a couple of bandits in a small village. Drunk and beaten, Jason adopts the name of his more beloved and heroic brother - pretending to be him so that he can earn the respect of the people. All the while he accepts the quest of dealing with the bandits, and throughout it all is accompanied by a fan who came to his world to meet the hero Jason Cross himself. Throughout the adventure Jason deals with several gangs; meets with an old villain from his past; aids a singer deal with her loss of fame; attempts to track a serial killer down; and learn how to deal with the past he left behind.

CROSS is mainly about the past, how people deal with it, and the obsessions we have towards it.

Several characters are addicted to the histories and cultures of the past, allowing their own personalities to be altered to suit their obsession. Some can’t let go of the past’s glories, and are led to self-destruction in trying to reclaim it. Then there’s those like Jason who has a crippling fear of the past, remembering it, and so faces the difficulty of properly dealing with the traumas he suffered. Even the world of Aurora itself is shaped by a past that still lingers, with the human colonists dealing with the aftermath of a bloody conquest to set their spot upon the world - and its native’s building hatred for how it all transpired.

If this story interests you, you can get read it as it’s written on my Wattpad through the link below:

https://www.wattpad.com/story/212452344-cross

Please give it a look over, and tell me what ya’ll think. Any and all critiques or opinions would be much appreciated.

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Here's my own contribution to the current popularity of the female/tomboy Mandalorian - done in as epic a style as I do my best to offer. This was a whole lot of fun to to have done. It was a spur of the moment, and I thought it would be great to take the opportunity as it came. Anyways, hope ya'll like it.

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Frogs (1972)

“I still believe man is master of the world.”

“Does that mean he can’t live in harmony with the rest of it?”

Sometimes approaching a film with the wrong mindset can make the viewing experience either worse or better in an initial viewing - and often times, this is the fault of how the film is marketed or presented before you even see it. 1972’s “Frogs” is one such example - an animal-based horror film about swamp critters enacting their revenge upon man for its folly. Hearing that, one could come to watch this film with either expectation: that the movie is a serious, slow moving suspense piece that is more about the characters than the scares (much like Hitchcock’s “The Birds”); or that it is a schlocky B-Movie about something utterly ridiculous, and filled with plenty of outrageous yet fun kills.

Unfortunately I came to this film expecting the latter, though I don’t think it does quite so well with the former. Why is that? I shall explain. But first, plot:

“Frogs” follows Pickett Smith (played by Sam Elliot), a photographer who was busy covering the pollution of the swamps before he’s interrupted by members of the Crockett estate: a group of relatives, guests, and staff who have gathered for the birthday of one Jason Crockett - an old, disabled yet bitter millionaire who possesses an island mansion separated from the world by the swamps and lake. Pickett’s respect for nature is opposed by Jason’s hatred for it, as he often poisons anything that dares enter his property. However, this has only brought upon the hatred of the swamps critters. A slow growing horde of large frogs croak constantly day and night, and as they do they are joined by swarms of gators, geckos, snakes, and all manner of bugs - every one of them joined together in their hatred for Jason Crockett and his family. As the croaking continues, one by one the family of Crockett is pursued. Picket tries his best to save them, all the while the patriarch Jason refuses to budge from his bitter outlook.

Having just written a summary of the plot, I can in some way appreciate what the story is. It is very much inspired by Hitchcock’s film, and tries to its best to present a tale about how nature fights back against man’s gluttony and greed. However the problem lies not so much with the writing, but rather the presentation. This is a very slow film, much slower than even I’m used to. You’d have to be in the right mood for the pacing this film goes, and even then I dare say it goes on far too long at certain scenes. There’s far too much build-up for outcomes that you’d catch a mile early, and when they finally do arrive it comes with an intensity that is unrewarding for your patience. Worse yet is the tone, which is constant in how quiet it is. Barely any characters, especially Sam Elliot’s, reach high volumes in their surprise at the horror that’s going on. They rarely scream or react with shock, and when they do it’s barely much on its own. The film keeps calm nearly all throughout, and while I can appreciate that in some scenes it still makes the whole film feel more boring as a result. What entertainment I did receive was brought about by my own jokes made towards it.

With that said, I can’t fault this movie when it comes to the performances. Most are decent, and some are quite excellent in how well the dialogue is presented. I honestly enjoyed many of the talking scenes, as the chemistry between the various members of the Crockett estate is oftentimes realistic. You really get the sense that these are people who share a long history, and gradually Picket gets to know them as well. It’s a shame though that they don’t really give much of a varied performance in terms of their emotional extremes. There’s rarely any moments of great anger, sadness, shock, or excitement - and when they do it’s jarring due to how quiet the film is throughout. Overall, the actors do well for this film.

The swampy environment and visuals is nicely done, though there’s plenty of repetition in the scenes involving the creatures. I’d say about a quarter to half of the film is just footage of frogs, gators, geckos, and spiders just crawling about - which depending on your mood can either be boring or hilarious. It’s not that what the animals do themselves is hilarious, but just how sinister the film tries to make them out to be. I laughed plenty of times at how furious the frogs looked - with furrowed brows that can be interpreted as angry, despite them crawling or sitting over each other. It’s strangely cute, but nonetheless lacks any shred of horror or creepiness. As for the kills involving said animals, it’s creative but not really something worth writing about. I guess that the pace ruins these kills for me in terms of whatever shock they can get from me, alongside how they lack any changes in sound or editing to emphasize the scares. It’s unfortunate that the pacing does this for me, as I have no problems with the kills, the buildup, or the characters involved.

As for other notes: there’s barely any music in this film - it’s all just whatever’s on screen, especially the croaking. There’s something to appreciate in that, especially if you treat this film as purely an artistic endeavor. However as a piece of entertainment it doesn’t do anything to help the suspense/horror. Very few times are  the creature effects bad - most of it are actual animals, with only a few scenes involving a model or prop.

Ultimately, the greatest weakness of “Frogs” is its slow pacing and quiet tone. I had no problems with the camera-work, the actors, the dialogue, or the story. However the incredibly slow pacing - alongside how quiet the film is overall - ruins whatever strengths it did possess. With that said though, I honestly recommend seeing “Frogs”. It’s a slow film with some decent ideas, and I think there’s some things to appreciate from it - especially if you’re into filmmaking. Perhaps watch it with friends.

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Poster I made for my story, CROSS, as something of a final great work to end the year on. This took a lot of work to do, plus some experimentation with techniques I never tried before, but it was a lot of fun.

If any of you are interested in reading the story this is tied to, you can find it on my Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/212452344-cross

It’s about a bounty hunter named Jason Cross, who after a run in with some bandits and a fan of his old adventures, must go about protecting a town from a gang causing trouble. He has to fight against several wasteland gangs, ruthless killers, crazed cannibals, and giants - all within an alien world of deserts and a great black road.

At the same time he comes to deal with his own past, the phantoms that haunt it, and the old adventures he once had as a wild west hero.

Give it a read, lend some critiques, and enjoy! Much thanks!

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A draw for @danguy96 ‘s Star Wars sequel rewrite, featuring the Solo Twins. Did my best with this one. I'm getting better with lightsabers, although I has to redraw the characters. Admittedly took far longer than it should (I'm terribly busy with things right now) but I'm glad to have been able to finish this. The Solo twins are quite the interesting concept, though I personally don't know much. However from the rewrite they look to be well done in fitting with the re-done sequel story.

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An illustration of Valtr, from Bloodborne.

I’ve recently been playing Bloodborne so as to complete my backlog of games during the whole Covid-19 situation (ironically fitting, really), and I’ve been having so much fun. So far my most favorite character due in part to his aesthetic has been Valtr. His presentation and attire easily made me love the character, and acquiring the Constable Set has been one of my favorite accomplishments.

I definitely wanted to change up my style to fit Bloodborne better, and personally I see that it had turned out for the better. Real glad to have done this.

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A collection of Star Wars Sequel rewrite works for @danguy96

A series of illustrations of characters featured in Dan’s rewrite for the Star Wars sequel trilogy, including alternate designs for characters already in the story and new ones, such as Zayla Ren - an Azula-esque partner to a revamped Kylo Ren, with her own saber and armor design.

Fun works. Glad to have done them.

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Zygon illustration.

A fantastical adaptation of the Starchaser antagonist Zygon, as part of a Korra/SW project by @danguy96

Fun illustration to have done, especially with my usual detailed line style.

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DnD Muskateer character, done for a friend. Lot of fun this was, especially in painting in and shading the clothing (especially the leggings).