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!

Are we epic, or are we EPIC?

Here it is, Readers!   We bring you cover test # I’ve lost track. I think this is our strongest composition yet. Ignore our faces for now. We haven’t worked on them, same for our too clean clothes. We will rip them up in the final, but right now we want to know about: 1. the composition 2. the lighting 3. the pose (do we look natural?) Once we have the above three locked in, we’ll unleash our scribe to do the fine details.   So let us know what you think.   — Ran, son of Sarn, the inquiring … Continue reading Are we epic, or are we EPIC?

Battle for the Light

Hi readers! We took all of your advice and battled it out with our digital doubles. It was a long, drawn-out affair and after much fiddling and befuddlement and general frustration, we went back to the store where we bought them. We looked through hundreds of poses and my scribe finally gave up and surrendered the almighty credit card. I wielded that shiny rectangle with all the skill of a kid from a fantasy realm and bought us some epic poses. Papa is amazed by the sheer awesomeness of them. We couldn’t use the really cool ones because they require … Continue reading Battle for the Light

Free-Falling Fathers and Scribes

Hi Readers, We hope you had a great week, and you find our updates entertaining and maybe even a tiny bit inspiring. We’re proof of what you can do with just a few hours a week. (Well, our books do since they’re corporeal, and we’re not. We’re cuter though. At least I am. This is Ran, by the way. Papa concurs on the cuteness thing, but I am the apple of his eye.) We hope as we put out more books and learn how to sell them better, our scribe can spend less time working for other people and more … Continue reading Free-Falling Fathers and Scribes