Further progress toward an image I can build into a book cover for The Curse of Steel. Lots of small posing and rendering techniques acquired for this one: creating a floor with a plane primitive and a materials shader, mixing upper-body and lower-body poses, and so on.
I think I may be getting within striking distance of an image I can use.
Today I came across a neat example of automated star-system generation, based on the design sequence I wrote for GURPS Space, Fourth Edition back in the day.
It looks like a robust code base, supporting a web-based interface. You can generate star systems at random, possibly forcing a few parameters (existence of a garden world, position in an open cluster, and so on). You can pick from several naming schemes for the resulting planets.
The output includes a neat animated map of the system, and hierarchically tabulated information for randomly generated stars, planets, and moons. All in all, it looks very slick, and it seems to reflect the original game rules pretty accurately.
The source code for the project can be found at Jan Sandberg’s GitHub repository. The redditor Myrion_Phoenix hosts an instance of the application on his website as well.
I’ve mentioned my own more recent work on Architect of Worlds – it would be neat to see a similar automated version of that once it’s ready for release. In any case, this application looks very useful for folks who are running hard-SF games, whether using GURPS Space or something similar.
Here’s a first image (well, aside from sketches and scraps) of a second character from The Curse of Steel. This is Drothan the Silent, younger son of a clan chieftain of the Tremara people, and eventually Krava’s primary love interest. Not that the two of them are going to have an easy time of it, getting their relationship started.
As with the images I’ve been producing of Krava, this one started with me selecting a Daz Studio character model and tweaking its parameters – in this case, scaling the character model up by about 8% and ratcheting up the “bodybuilder” settings to get a guy who’s big and muscular. The selection of hair and clothing went a lot faster this time since I already had some of the assets I wanted in my personal catalog. I seem to be climbing the learning curve with respect to using Daz Studio effectively.
At this point, I think I’m just about ready to start setting up the render that’s going to provide the cover image for the novel. A few more days of work and this part of the project will be finished.
First experiment with altering the color and textures of an existing Daz Studio model, using Photoshop. I’d say it was entirely successful and surprisingly easy to boot. Turning Krava’s tunic forest green took maybe fifteen minutes of work, once I reminded myself how to apply the appropriate editing tools.
Also added a few accessories – bracers and a bit of jewelry. I have to say, this portrayal of Krava is starting to grow on me.
A little more work to produce a sword that matches the one in the novel, and then I’m going to start working on a model for another character, Krava’s long-term love interest. Hopefully, that process will go smoothly, and then it will be on to a combined render that can form the basis for the book cover.
Okay, now I think I’m making progress. After several days of experimentation, I’ve found a set of clothing models that work for Krava. Something within striking distance of clothes that an Iron Age “barbarian” warrior might actually wear. Leather trousers and boots, and a cloth tunic with very short sleeves or no sleeves, that’s more or less what I had in mind. This ensemble very nearly qualifies.
I think the next step is going to involve tinkering with the textures for the tunic – I’m going to see if I can produce materials maps that more closely match something I describe in the draft novel. Meanwhile, I may also try to add a few small accessories, such as a torc and maybe an arm-band for jewelry.
Okay, this is kind of promising even if I still don’t think it quite fits.
The boots and trousers are still working, and the jacket at least seems plausible and looks good on Krava. The ensemble doesn’t exactly suggest “Iron Age barbarian,” though. More like “high fantasy elf.” It might be the kind of outfit Krava wears much later in her story, after she comes into contact with some more civilized folk.
Still, as an experiment, it’s not bad. Still looking for a top that more closely matches what I have in my head – something a bit looser, with much shorter sleeves, and not looking quite so machine-stitched.
Okay, now that Krava has some clothes on, I can start posting my experiments here.
For the record, it is a royal pain in the nether regions finding clothing models for pre-modern characters that are at all realistic. Look for “female warrior” outfits and you’re likely to get something that’s all keyholes where it isn’t shiny black leather. With stiletto heels. The above isn’t terrible in comparison to some, but it’s still not very close to what I have in my head. I might end up keeping the trousers, boots, and belt here, but that’s about it.
Honestly, if I’m serious about the Celtic inspiration for Krava’s people, their warriors are more likely to look like this:
Light woolen tunics and trousers, not a lot of leather, maybe a metal helmet, and lots of bright colors and patterns.
Getting there is probably going to mean a lot more digging through the catalogs, and probably some kit-bashing with texture files and whatnot. More experiments to come.
Just a quick note today. I’ve started work on developing a cover image for The Curse of Steel. The first step was to update my model for Krava, adding muscle mass and definition, and changing her hairstyle to something more characteristic of an Iron Age culture.
To make sure the character herself looked right, I did a nude study: front and back renders of the character model in a neutral pose and without clothing. The results were pretty encouraging.
I won’t post the image here since there’s no way for me to mark it as mature content, but here’s a link to the DeviantArt page for the final image.
Hmm. Small change in plans.
As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been ripping right through the second draft of The Curse of Steel. My pace has picked up a lot over the past week or so. This is mostly because I’ve reached the later chapters – at this point in the first draft, I had figured out most of the plot, so the second draft has needed a much lighter rewrite.
As of this morning, I’ve reached the major reversal in the plot, about two-thirds of the way through the story. This strikes me as a good place to pause for a bit, while I concentrate on other tasks. In particular, I really need to put some time and effort into a book cover.
As a result, this month’s charged release to my Patreon will take place within the next couple of days, consisting of roughly 18 chapters of the revised draft of The Curse of Steel. All of my patrons, from the $1 level up, will get a copy of the PDF. If you’re interested in signing up as a patron and seeing this draft as it emerges, feel free to click on the Patreon link in the sidebar.
Once that release is out, I’m going to crack open my modeling and photo-manipulation software and see if I can’t put together a decent book cover for The Curse of Steel. That will probably involve a few preliminary renderings as I set things up. I’ll post those here and to my DeviantArt page.
It’s a paradox.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve finally started to feel seriously worn down by months of lockdown amid the pandemic. I spend 95% of my time, day and night, in the same room. My bed and my workstation are less than four yards apart. My whole experience of the world is reduced to what I can see with a few networked devices. I do get to spend a little time each day at the kitchen table with my wife and children, and every day or two I go outdoors to walk for a mile or so in the fresh air. That’s all – and even for me, introverted and reclusive as I normally am, it’s starting to be difficult.
Even so, I’m surprisingly productive right now.
I’m in the process of rewriting one of my courses almost from scratch, with an eye toward being able to deliver it online rather than in the classroom. Very good progress so far, and the project may be done in a couple more weeks. I’m being called upon to consult with colleagues about other items too.
Meanwhile, I’m just tearing through the second draft of The Curse of Steel. There are a few new passages in this draft, and that slows me down a bit, but by and large, it’s just rewriting. I think I’ve averaged a chapter a day for over two weeks now. At this rate, I may have the bulk of the second draft done by the end of July.
I think I may need to start seriously thinking about a book cover. Finish the second draft, make one more edit-and-polish pass for the final draft, and the book will probably be ready to release sometime in September.