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Author: Sharrukin

Krava in Cloth Tunic

Krava in Cloth Tunic

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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.

Krava in Elven Jacket

Krava in Elven Jacket

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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.

Krava in Leather

Krava in Leather

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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:

Image by Angus McBride

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.

Status Report (18 July 2020)

Status Report (18 July 2020)

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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.

Status Report (13 July 2020)

Status Report (13 July 2020)

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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.

Status Report (12 July 2020)

Status Report (12 July 2020)

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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.

“A Fire in Winter” Now Available

“A Fire in Winter” Now Available

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I’ve just finished placing another of my old short stories under the “Free Articles and Fiction” tab in the sidebar.

This story is “A Fire in Winter,” a story set in the early stages of an American Revolution that is not going as well as the one in our history. As for what other differences there may be between that world and our own . . . well, better you see for yourself.

“A Fire in Winter” has also been released to my patrons, free of charge.

Status Report: 26 June 2020

Status Report: 26 June 2020

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The last two weeks have been busy.

After almost three months of lockdown at home, I’m finally starting to do a significant amount of telework for my day job, revising and re-designing one of my more popular courses. We’re hoping to get that online for students by the end of July, so there’s a lot of work to be done there.

Meanwhile, I’ve gotten a good start on the second draft of The Curse of Steel. The goal here was to back the beginning of the story up by about two days, giving me a chance to do a lot more character development and exposition before throwing Krava into the middle of the action. I’ve just finished the third chapter of this new material, after which I’m going to be rewriting existing text rather than coming up with new.

I think it’s clear that I was overly optimistic to think that I would be one-third of the way through the draft by now. By the end of June, it’s probably going to be more like 15% or so. Still, I’ll have more than enough material to get past my self-imposed limit of “at least 10,000 words of solid content before I release anything to my patrons.”

All of which is to say, there will be a charged release on my Patreon by the end of June, which will consist of roughly the first 5-6 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.

Second Draft of “The Curse of Steel” Under Way

Second Draft of “The Curse of Steel” Under Way

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Just a quick status report today. After a few months of world-building work, I’ve finally gotten started with the second draft of The Curse of Steel.

How quickly this goes depends on a lot of things. Although I’m still not going into the office, and probably won’t be doing that on a regular basis for some time yet, I have started doing some day-job work from home. Work on the novel is going to have to compete for time. Still, I hope to be able to finish this draft by the end of August, then prepare the novel for release in the September-October timeframe.

If things go according to plan, patron rewards for June, July, and August will consist of chunks of the revised draft, about a dozen chapters at a time. As always, if anyone’s interested in seeing that material as I release it, click on the Patreon link in the sidebar. All of my patrons, $1 level and up, will get to see sections of the draft. Patrons at the $2 level and up will get a free copy of the finished e-book when that’s done.

The Great Lands: Revatheni Local Map

The Great Lands: Revatheni Local Map

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. . . and here we have the last of the maps I needed to build before getting started on revisions of The Curse of Steel. Over the past couple of months, I’ve gone from maps covering two whole continents (and their history) to a map covering a major region, and now down to this local map. The entire action of the novel will take place within the territory covered by this map.

This map focuses on the lands held by the Revatheni clan confederation of the Tremara people. The Revatheni (the name means something like “those who dwell by the sacred grove”) occupy most of the land between the Dugava and Kanta Rivers, a territory totaling about 11,500 square miles. The total population of the clan confederation is about 140,000, divided among five major clans and a dozen or so minor ones. The Revatheni are an unusually wealthy tribe, partaking in a lot of the trade coming up the rivers from the south. For the past couple of generations, their leaders have been putting on airs, claiming increased privileges and calling themselves sarai (“kings”).

As with the regional map, this is a fairly finished project – I’ve placed and named all the settlements and terrain features that are likely to play any part in the revised novel. The next step is to get busy with the second draft! I hope to have the novel ready for release sometime this fall.