Oh, how we glow

Hi epic readers!   Are you ready for what we hope is pretty close to the final cover?   Because we are.   This is a final draft that we hope just needs a few tweaks. Amazon took over our previous printer (Createspace) so we had to download a new template to build our cover. That’s why everything is a bit left shifted. We used their guides, but we didn’t know it was off a bit until we cropped out just the front cover.   (We don’t yet have a back cover, but I think we’ll just use the background … Continue reading Oh, how we glow

Don’t Accept Gifts from Dragons (Even if They’re Yours)

Hi Readers, We hope you’re having a great day, and that you’re safe. There’s a lot of dangerous weather out there, so be careful! We wanted to show off our new cover or at least a close-to-final draft, but there’s this thing called “rim lighting” that’s supposed to back-light Papa and me, so we stand out. All cover art has that. When done right it, it looks really cool. Without it, Papa and I merge with the background and don’t look right. Since we’re the stars, that’s not good. So we’re trying to achieve that effect in 3d and then … Continue reading Don’t Accept Gifts from Dragons (Even if They’re Yours)

The Book Whisperer

Hi Readers! We don’t have a cover to show you this week, but we think we finally found the ONE. It’s a slightly different camera angle from last week’s version, but it really shows Papa’s protective streak. We also tweaked a few other things from the version you saw last week and put the architectural features back, but they’re from a different angle. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who wrote in and pointed out that my neck had issues, and a few other things we hadn’t seen. All week, our new pc has been rendering the highest … Continue reading The Book Whisperer

By My Claws and Fire

Hi Readers, Our new pc arrived, and we hit the ground rendering. 😉 Check out the latest cover image here. If you missed last week’s adventure, go read it here. We recommend reading our adventure from two weeks ago since we’re picking up right where that story left off (as promised). In the meantime, we’ll get back to where we left off two weeks ago. I know it’s irregular, but you’ll see why we had to do it this way in a minute. I promise it’ll be worth it. And this is Ran, by the way, the adorable son, and … Continue reading By My Claws and Fire

We are Epic Fantasy

Hi Readers, It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. We finally got our new pc set up, and we rendered what we think will be the final version of our cover. It’s pretty epic and we got Papa’s pendant in there. I wield that crystal with deadly efficacy in Sundered, and I try very hard not to choke Papa in the process since it won’t let us take it off. I do not always succeed. We’re still deciding how best to draw in the leather cord Papa wears that crystal on. It’s black, so it’s hard to see. What do … Continue reading We are Epic Fantasy

Correcting the Magical send Button

An astute reader pointed out to us this morning the following very important information: Perhaps the source of the trouble is due to the FOUR words revolving in that elliptical orbit actually being FIVE. ‘Engage the Engines of Fantasy!’ — Wanda Wanda is referring to that time the Newsletter-Dragon stole our send button. And she’s right. When the button disappeared, it had four words on it, but that Newsletter-Dragon’s constantly changing things on us. Let me back up a little an explain, so you can get a clearer picture of the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes. Our original … Continue reading Correcting the Magical send Button

Green and Grainy, anyone?

We’re green! We’re still grainy, but I hatched a daring plan to fix that. Full details on that adventure will be in this week’s newsletter in lieu of our regular shenanigans. Said newsletter will go out Monday even if I have to beat the pc up to get it out.   We’re very sorry this version is six days late. We had almost insurmountable computer issues. We only managed to get this one to work through a fluke in the system.   So, we’re green. Probably too green, well I am anyway. Papa might be okay green-wise.   I’m supposed … Continue reading Green and Grainy, anyone?

Mystical Prisms and Button-Stealing Dragons

Hi Readers, We hope our previous adventure landed in your inbox last week. If it didn’t, click here to catch up now. We’ll plot our next move while you do that. 😉 Why might our awesome adventure have gone astray? Well, because our newsletter host is continuing to have problems. We’ve sent messages asking our Newsletter-Dragon to kindly stop burning the servers, but she hasn’t replied. Please note: we don’t know if she’s causing the problem or clearing it out. The Newsletter-Dragon doesn’t tell us what she’s doing. That’s why we’re searching for an emissary who’s durable enough to withstand her … Continue reading Mystical Prisms and Button-Stealing Dragons

Who stole our button?

Hi Readers, This week’s adventure will deploy on Tuesday morning instead of Monday because the Newsletter-Dragon stole our send button. Maybe you’ve seen it lying about? Our send button is a mystical object that gives us the power to communicate with you. What does it look like? Well, it’s a rectangular prism that reflects our world, but it has this annoying habit of distorting our faces. I always look like I have chipmunk cheeks in it. The glow of Papa’s eyes frequently gets trapped inside that prism. I can happily spend hours watching those rays bounce around, seeking an escape. … Continue reading Who stole our button?

Are we closer to a cover?

Hi Readers, We’re back with another cover test. This is test render # ???? What’s new in this one: < Brighter, warmer lights < Slightly different pose for me and Papa. That’s about it. Though, we must have nudged the camera because we’re not in focus. Our scribe is researching how to get us back into focus. We’re standing right where we should be, but the camera is not cooperating. What do you think? Are we close? Should we make any other changes? Does anything look off to you? As always, my inquiring mind wants to know. 😉   –Ran, … Continue reading Are we closer to a cover?

Blue light special, anyone?

Hi Readers,   We’re back with another version. Just look at our pose in this one and us, of course. Something happened to the lighting. We had a nice warm light off to the left but it’s not showing for some reason.   Maybe we accidentally turned it off?   We’re investigating.   So what do you think of my face and pose?   My foot and Papa’s aren’t touching even though they look like they are. We tried shifting me, but then we couldn’t get Papa’s arm where it needed to be, and I couldn’t reach the staff. I’m … Continue reading Blue light special, anyone?

Adventures in Fantasy and Cyberspace

Hi Readers! Our newsletter host had some issues last week. We hope our adventure arrived safe and sound in your inbox, but if it didn’t, you can catch up here. We’ll wait. 😉 We can neither confirm nor deny whether our Newsletter-Dragon had anything to with those issues because we can’t find her. She was moving her horde (our precious list!) around to safeguard it when this all went down. So we’re not sure exactly where she is in cyberspace right now. Worry not, wherever she is, you can count on her. Your email address is safe in her claws. … Continue reading Adventures in Fantasy and Cyberspace

Back in the 3D Habit

Hi Readers! We’re back with another version. What’s new? < Softer lighting with shadows! We’re not floating, which is cool, and the light isn’t attacking us. Bonus points! 🙂 < Papa has a new face. We didn’t buy the plugin to do the faces ourselves. We did some research about that and uncovered many facts which deterred us for now. Namely, and this is my chief concern, it could take weeks for our scribe to get it to look right and find a good face. So, I went to the 3D store and ogled characters. One of them had to … Continue reading Back in the 3D Habit

We get Chiascuro’d!

Hi Readers! We have a new version of the cover! What’s new: – we have shadows! So we no longer look like we’re floating. – We have dramatic lighting! It might be too dramatic. We’ve tried to move the lights so the shadows it casts aren’t obscuring or otherwise cutting up our faces, but the app keeps crashing. 😦 Is it something we said? We’re thinking of doing two versions with two different lighting set-ups so we get the nice shadows from the dramatic lighting set-up and the nice softer light on our faces you saw in the last version. … Continue reading We get Chiascuro’d!