#swordplaynovel

[vonnart]

Happy Valentines Day ♥️





Throwback to my Swordplay character Tracey, who is pure confidence and can take control of any scenario. No one intimidates this spitfire. 🔥

[cgcookieconcept]

CGC Weekly Wednesday Twitch Stream | Tim Von Rueden

4.5.17 - Experimental Character Design

Watch on the Twitch channel starting at 2PM CST (-6GMT) HERE!

This stream I'm going into the exploratory realm as we discuss and paint experimental character design. This is a great way to stay loose and free within your gestures and also to help focus on the character without the limitations of perfect proportions. 

Come join in the fun as we paint a bunch of Swordplay sketches today!

[vonnart]

Grizzy - "Surrounded yet Alone” 🍺

The 6/9 backstory illustrations for my illustrated novel, Swordplay. 
Grizzy is a special character to me as she was originally constructed based on my high school art teacher. She was a very bold woman and constructively honest, which toughened and hardened many of us back then to accept criticism and accept our fallacies and shortcomings.As I began to toy with the idea of including an older character in Swordplay who is witty and loud and adventurous, I started to explore what that may feel like. After months of diving into her narrative structure for the story I feel the most confident with her arc then I do my other characters as it just fits so right with the rest of the gang. 

So for her backstory illustration, I wanted to depict a moment of harsh truth for Grizzy. It’s kind of a rare moment where she feels rather alone, even when surrounded by people. Around her are young socialites still looking for their adventure yet to happen. They’re filled with ambition and desires, a crowd she once felt a part of. Sitting here now however, makes her feel the cold reality of her age. She has become a relic of years past. A testament of adventures already had and a personality that is hard to relate with comfortably. The few times she feels like Charlotte and not her wild tales nickname, “Grizzy”.

As I’m getting older myself, I feel more and more like Grizzy on different levels. While most of the time she is a firestorm of energy and strength (which only seems to deepen in stubbornness), I love exploring the tender side that comes with getting older and feeling that you have lived what was once an exciting future but is now behind you. 

So stick around and find out what her story is as I’m writing this illustrated novel with my newly hired editor. This said editor is dramatically helping with my over description, run-on sentences! And she’s not afraid to tell me either lol.

[vonnart]

Nate, the Criminal (colored) 💊

Results from the YouTube livestream!The idea of coloring under my pencil drawings is slowly becoming very normal for me to try out! As the watchers on today's stream saw though, the process is sometimes a struggle and a hardship. I'm weirdly now okay with people witnessing me hit roadblocks and hurdles in this creation live because it's part of the art process. And you just gotta trust your gut, intuition, and problem solve your way out of it! And even though this isn't as polished as I used to when working digitally, it's WAY quicker and pretty fun with similar results!So you'll probably continue to see more color work pop up from time to time on here as I continue to experiment with color again more!

[vonnart]

"Running with the Hares" ⁣⁣

Another occasion and side effect of Nate indulging in his "blues". Often this trip leaves his mind a bit battered.⁣ ⁣ Only one week left remains of my latest contest!! Check out the hashtag #VONNARTNATECONTEST on Instagram to see all the entries! ⁣

[vonnart]

Miko, the Rebel⁣

Swordplay Backstory Illustration 5/9⁣ Finished this latest digital painting of my next SP character, Miko! ⁣ ⁣ Miko is a rebel by nature and it's difficult for him to find comfort in people for then he finds their problems to be ego driven and self inflicted. He doesn't believe in purpose or a greater meaning to actions, things just are and then we're gone. He constantly wrestles the idea of wanting to find connections or wanting to be left alone. His actions are driven less by personal desire and more to right the wrongs done by others. Because if you ask him what his own desires are, he will say there is nothing he desires and he would like to keep it that way! ⁣ ⁣ For his backstory illustration, I wanted there to be specific concepts explored within the actual image. I wanted him to be seen as "above" it all, especially society and the inner workings of it. He has his head in the clouds and his ideas have a wider scope then he could have living in the city. There are a few Easter eggs and even Astrid the Cat is strolling if you can find her! ⁣ ⁣ This one took me AWHILE but I'm glad to finally say it's done and I can move on to the next!⁣ ⁣ Patreon bonus: if you support me on Patreon you can see Miko with EVERY layer in my downloadable Photoshop file! ⁣⁣⁣⁣

[vonnart]

Christina, the princess 🌸🌺🌼⁣ Page 1/6 COMPLETE! ✨⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣ Her backstory chapter will be full of flowers, elegance, a first love, and an everlasting fall from grace. My patrons can go see the full page and read her beginnings right now and I'll post to the public three months from now! I also am going to start using a font from now on as my sister told me it was hard for her to read it with it all getting hand written. So I'm using Times New Roman until I can create a font that is legible but also has a slightly "hand written" look to it.⁣ ⁣ ALSO, my second contest launches TOMORROW! So stay tuned and see how to enter and win some prizes 💛🏆⁣⁣⁣⁣

[vonnart]

Nate, the Criminal⁣⁣

Swordplay Backstory chapter now complete!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Nate is one of my favorite characters from the story and it's easiest to describe him as the "Zuko" of the group. He's witty, slightly nihilistic, daring, and kind of a smartass. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Here are the first couple pages from my character Nate's backstory and my Patreon backers can currently see all 6 pages! Read it HERE. I also did do the first illustration years ago but most people may not know I also am a digital painter as I taught Photoshop for 6 years! I still love working in it! ⁣⁣⁣⁣With this backstory don't that means another one of my art contests will be happening soon! Expect that to launch sometime in January 2020. 👍🏼⁣