I'd had kind of a rough day... and then my new Paleozoic Pals plush toys cheered me up. :) I got myself a Gorgonops because I love gorgonopsids and was so thrilled when I found out they were doing a Gorgonops plush. Gorgonopsids were pretty much the tigers of the Permian. So epic. 

My reconstruction here is very, very, very hypothetical and definitely errs more on the mammalian side of Synapsida. But you never know, gorgonopsids could have been big ol' fluffbabies! 

I also kinda made this one look pretty rodent-like, but I love rodents so I'm not even mad. I had a pet rat in third grade. To me it just kinda made sense because most early mammals looked a lot like rodents, so maybe some therapsids did too.

Earthkeepers cover WIP gallery

 

It's time for a cover reveal! :)

I worked super hard on this cover and had a lot of fun with it! What a relief to be done! Now all I have to do is wait for my proofreader!

I also like the hybrid painting/graphic novel approach I took with this cover. The background was considerably easier to paint than draw, while the characters were easier to draw than paint. I will likely use this technique for book covers from now on!

Excited for the book yet? :)

While I'm waiting for my proofreader to finish going through Earthkeepers, I've gotten started on that cute fun Neopets fanfic! Spoilers: Sophix and Eris are in it. Also spoilers: now-Commander Cassegrain is on military leave, while Sophix is pretty much financially set for life after the events of Worth Returning For so she only has to work if she wants to. (Which she probably does still want to because she seems to enjoy her job.)

Anyway, I found myself with some doodling time and just had to do some concept sketches of these two gals kicking back at Terra's house for a fun holiday full of Neoquest and friends and food. And probably some trips to the beach. Yayyyy for happy fun times after you've saved the galaxy. :) Also, it's just nice to portray these two getting along so well after they were enemies in the first part of Worth Returning For. Friendship is magic!

For the next art prompt on my Goodreads group, "draw something big", I decided to sketch down a little Earthkeepers environmental concept art! (It's also character design... you'll find out why if you read the book!)

This is Core Control, the home of the Core Hosts. I won't give away too much, but let's just say this is probably the most important place in the world. :)

All this writing has not left me a lot of time for that other thing I sometimes get paid for: art! I mean, I always have time for paid art commissions, but sometimes I forget to leave myself space for just plain doodling around.

I decided to try to fix that with a weekly art prompt thread in the group I run on Goodreads. Here's my piece for the prompt "draw your favorite season":

Yeah, I'm one of those autumn people. :) I love this kind of weather specifically. This was just a quick sketch, but I think it gets the point across: AUTUMN.

Also, I had to throw in a dinosaur because what's life without dinosaurs?! It's not a specific species, but I think it's probably a relative of Archaeopteryx.

Why yes, I should be asleep. Sometimes, though, when you live with a high-energy toddler who takes forever to wind down for bedtime, you need a few extra hours to yourself to unwind after she finally crashes. (Tonight I drew her, on her request, Daddy Pig from Peppa Pig eating chicken nuggets and butter. It was a masterpiece for the ages.)

While I'm waiting for my brain to shift to a lower gear, I thought I might as well put together a writing update!

Earthkeepers has been sent off to the proofreader! I finished going through my content editor's notes, and then meticulously picked through the prose, and I think this latest draft is looking really good! The most major changes in terms of plot were giving Kieri a more substantial character arc, and changing part of the climax to help Miette's conflict with Varine come to a more satisfying conclusion. I don't want to give away too much about that, but let's just say I had more fun with robots. This entire book is about fun with robots.

While I thought I was going to work on the cover while the manuscript was getting proofread, I'm very tired from all of this marathon writing, so I will probably give myself a break for a little while and just start on the cover when I feel like it. (That being said, I will definitely start working on it no later than when I make the final edits to the manuscript based on my proofreader's corrections and feedback. I definitely won't delay this novel's release due to illustration laziness, don't worry.)

On another writing-related note, I've also come up with a couple of new ideas for some short Neopets fics, because clearly I have become so emotionally invested in that cast that I cannot stop writing about them despite no longer actually playing Neopets. :)

One of the fics is more of Terra's family and friends playing Neoquest, because that seems to be a running joke. It's also about Terra's and Blynn's friendship being tested, as Blynn gets a little too into Quest Mastering and forgets that Neoquest is supposed to be fun for everybody, and if anybody stops having fun, the group may need to step back and reevaluate how they're doing things. I may or may not have based this on real experiences. (cough)

The other one is a story about Suhel staying with Lexora's family (from Return to Lynwood) for Giving Day (the Neopian equivalent of Christmas), where she helps the Fitchet-Brownings learn that holiday traditions are all well and good, but it is entirely possible to over-tradition yourself and not leave any room for spontaneity or time to just rest and soak in the season. 

I got the idea when thinking about how I am actually not big on Christmas traditions because I don't like being rigidly adherent to an arbitrary system, because I am a renegade like that. To me, Christmas is still Christmas even if I celebrate it completely differently every year. It's all about remembering the Reason for the season. And spoiling children, that's important too. (Also discount Christmas candy on December 26th, let's not forget about that.)

I then realized the initial concept would work well with Suhel and the Fitchet-Brownings, especially since I previously established that she sometimes spends holidays with them. I thought it would be fun to get a look into that scenario. I just think there's something amusing about plunking an enormous, taciturn Werelupe into an Edwardian domestic setting.

I'm not sure exactly when I will get around to these two fics, but they are definitely on the drawing board.

For now, I should get some sleep.