Bird Xenofiction Project Diary

Welcome to the world of The Invisible Pillar, a bird xenofiction project which will eventually become a novel. This blog serves as a repository of info related to the project.

[invisiblepillar]

I realized I'm rebloggig a ton of posts and I haven't given anyone who visits this blog a good way to see what it is all about.

Hello! My name is Harvey. My main is @mushroomjawn . This is a side blog I made for a xenofiction project I am working on, which will eventually be turned into a novel. This is my pinned post, which I will try to keep updated with relevant info.

What is the novel called?

The Invisible Pillar

What is it about?

Plotwise, it is about a small group of birds embarking on a journey to an "invisible pillar". This pillar is visible to birds through the same mechanism that allows them to see the Earth's magnetic field, but does not really exist. They know this. However! The pillar holds religious significance, and they believe that by traveling to it they will be welcomed into the Sky Beyond. It takes place in the Northeastern United States and Canada. It is aimed at an adult audience.

Thematically, it is about how we cope with inevitable ends - be it death or the end of the world. Both are explored.

How close is this thing to being finished?

Not very. Like many xenofiction projects, it takes a lot of research (I'm reading a lot about bird science!) and a lot of planning (if religion is a theme, then birds need to have a religion).

Currently, I am writing a lot of mythology and history to help ground the story in a complete world. It is important to me that the mythology feels deep and real, but also distinct from human mythology and religious text. This means a lot of drafts before I even reach the main text. I am currently working on the second draft of the complete mythology.

What can I expect from this blog?

Good question! I've called this blog a "project diary" for a good reason - I'm not using this as an advertising tool or anything like that. This is a place for me to story my thoughts on the project, as well as any sources of inspiration, as I work on them. It's also a place where I can be less worried about keeping things polished or spoiler-free. If you're interested in the messy process of live creation, this is the place for you! If you were hoping for something a little cleaner, you might be disappointed.

How do I find out more about the project?

The desktop version of the blog has a navigation system with a lot of different tags that should help. I recommend starting with reading a few myths, as they will give context to the rest of the tags.

You can also ask me anything you like! I'll either have an answer or I'll have some world-building to do :) win-win!

[nattousan]

ok so, I approached my local library with a proposal to donate a mural as a way to A: build portfolio/gain practical experience and B: give back to a beloved public institution. The director was very enthusiastic about it and i've been working on it since the beginning of March. Come with me as I endeavor to paint what is in all honesty an excessive amount of birds

I wanted the birds to look like they were actually in the space so first thing after doing the draft was to do a lighting study

after that I covered the walls in letters in lieu of a projector/vr headset bc i have neither of those :) Then i take a picture of the section of wall and superimpose the lineart over top of it so I can pencil in the lines

et voila

and that was a whole week on it's own so next comes the paintin' >:)

[nattousan]

and now, the birds

Birds 1 and 2/14: Red Winged Blackbird, Male and female, Agelaius phoeniceus

[nattousan]

Bird 3/14, American Robin, Turdus migratorius

[nattousan]

hoo boy, ok *out of breath*

GIVE IT UP FOR BIRD NUMBUH 5, THE CANADIAN GOOSE, Branta canadensis!!!!

this guy took me about 4 days to completely finish, all of those freakingk coverts were a bear to render

[nattousan]

speaking of obnoxious coverts:

bird 5/14, Bluejay, Cyanocitta cristata

the friggin stripes almost got me chat, i may not make it

[nattousan]

Madam....

[nattousan]

birds 6 and 7: American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis, male and female

pleasantly simple to paint! next is the flickerrrrr

[nattousan]

*melts into goo*

BIRD NUMBER 8, (yellow shafted) NORTHERN FLICKERRRRR, Colaptes auratus

genuinely made me start questioning my sanity around day 3, it's half the size the of the goose, WHY did it take me 4 days to finish??

nothing but pain and suffering, i'm sure hope the next bird will be much easier and with FAR less barring :)

[nattousan]

in other news, I am losing my mind hairline

[nattousan]

SHE'S DONE!!

Bird number 9: Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis

my chains are broken i am FREE. although i did have a great deal of fun with this, the barring on the wings itself took me like four days and i am READY to move on

this was a week and a half of continuous work so please excuse me for getting a little emotional in the bg 🙏

[nattousan]

*does a little jig*

BIRD NUMBER 10!!! The Male Mallard Duck, Anas platyrhynchos

the male and female ones are gonna be posted separately bc they're taking a lot longer lol but yea! super happy i was able to capture the iridescent green of the head, i found metallic green and blue paint at a craft store that really made his head POP. it looks better in person i promise

ALSO!! As this is the 10th one, BIG announcement. The end is in sight!!!!! I plan to finish within the next 3 weeks and there will be a small dedication ceremony/ unveiling happening at the library to commemorate its completion on the 16th of May. If you live in the Western New York region and want to check it out for yourself shoot me a dm!

Also thank you everyone for your kind words and support throughout this whole process, it's been a genuine treat thinking there are potentially thousands of you out there cheering me on while I paint this 🥹

[nattousan]

aaaand another one bites the duck,

we're movin right along with bird numero 11!! The lady Mallard!! Anas platyrhyncos

the 16th is looming in the distance so i'm trying to get thru these as quickly as i can so i can have as much time for the GBH as possible. i still need to do the names next to all of them so i've got about a week and a half to finish everything which is GREAT because i have adhd and nothing gets my ass in gear like a fuckin deadline, let me tell you

[nattousan]

power couple that they are, here's bird number 12 and 13,

the Northern Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis

and NOW that they are complete, ITS GO TIME, in the next five days (library's closed for mother's day 😭😭) i need to have the GBH fully rendered, the names of the birds vectored, weeded, masked, applied to the wall, and then painted, plus additional cattails throughout. I may be able to get away with just getting the GBH done in time for the unveiling and then just have the names and cattails added later, but i'm gonna really try to get it all done in time. BUT, i have a plan. Part of why i take so long on these is because i really am just figuring it out as I do it lmao. there have been many a time where i am sitting on top of the ladder googling "how to paint birds" but I think if i take the time tomorro to do all that figuring out how to approach it beforehand, this will go a lot faster. I may also recruit some of my artist friends to help with the placing of the names... hrmm we'll see.

Anyways, shout out to the librarian who tracked down exactly the thing i needed so i could figure out where to place the highlights in my birds eyes, ur the real mvp

[nattousan]

thanks for the reminder, kid

[nattousan]

at long last, we've reached the end...

Bird number 14 out of 14,

The Great blue heron, Ardea herodius

thank you to everyone who reached out or got excited about this project, it genuinely gave me the fuel i needed to keep going. In total, the 480+ total hrs it took me to cover this wall pales in comparison to how long its expected to spend on there, hopefully imparting a sense of beauty and love for the natural world to the next generation and here's hoping i'm only getting started with these.

i'll see y'all soon :')

[tertain-the-original]

Continuing my bird tarot deck, some of these are from asks so they might seem familiar haha.

Honestly though I’m kind of trying to make sure that the birds truly line up with the cards I put them on. I might change Strength… but for now here’s the Goose defending their babies.

[spurgie-cousin]

I remember when it hit me like a mack truck that the people who told me God was "talking" to them were actually just....... having thoughts and feelings

[maureen2musings]

luizbhering

[herpsandbirds]

Whiskered Treeswift (Hemiprocne comata), parent with chick, family Hemiprocnidae, order Apodiformes, Malaysia

photograph by Kin L. Fong

[theuglymachine]

I was commissioned to make a spearhead in the shape of a great egret

[kittydesade]

@todaysbird

[snailychan]

Reflecting

[clara-scintilla]

Possessions

Designs are open for claims (except #6) DM if interested!

[sualne]

waterbirds

[sualne]

[VD: A speedpaint of the previous image, in it you can see me have a bit of a breakdown from losing my progress as my computer crash before i can save, among other things.]

[kavohh707]

Was lucky today being able to watch a dipper dip for quite a while. Such a cute bird.

[offspring]

[airegin7]

Kestrel flight

[angelanimal]

“I rebelled for this?!”

[invisiblepillar]

Over the past week I've been doing nightly pages towards this project. I feel like I'm getting somewhere! Each night I write about two pages of VERY rough prose, then fall asleep thinking about what comes next. By the next day, I usually have notes on what I would like to change and notes on where I'm headed. It's really helpful to force yourself to work a little bit every day! I feel like it keeps my mind stuck on this world, and a sticky mind picks up all sorts of goodies.

[strawmanfallacy]

[loish]

Barn owl sketches! I just want an owl to swoop down from the sky, gently land on my shoulder, give me a little owl hug, and then silently fly off into the dark night. Is that too much to ask? 😭