Author Archive: Canterel
Sebastien Sunstrum – 30 Characters in 30 Days
I finished my characters on time, but it took me a little while to start my thumbnail page.
Doing the 30 Characters Challenge was nice. Â A good incentive to draw.
#30 Expedition
He is the last one. All his comrades have fallen to what he came to hunt. No human has seen it and lived. Will he?
#29 Un Nouveau Monde
She will unleash a violent life upon this sterile world, marking the death of all those of her kind. They strove to excise themselves from the nature that birthed them, to be encased in sprawling fortresses of stone and concrete and steel. But the length of their divorce opened them up to dangers previously unknown, as their native nature became a foreign threat. The world will return to the timeless chaotic stillness as it has been and shall be for eons to come. The great domes shall become gardens, and then dust.
#28 The Ritual
After a long period of research and experimentation, she was ready. Looking out beyond her consciousness, and bracing herself for the jolt, she broke into the stream of a group of amateur summoners, effectively appearing in the place of whatever it was they had called, jumping many miles in the process. Of course she had prepared in advance, taking a great number of concoctions and dressing herself in a manner most otherworldly, in the manner of the beings she had summoned previously. Apparently this was not enough, since upon her arrival the summoners were most distraught, and she had no other option but to kill them. Not that she cared. By this point her experiment had already failed, and it would take several months of travel and preparations to try again.
#27 The Guardian
An automaton of a strange hydraulic design, found by a group of archaeologists in an ancient subterranean complex. It was laying inert in the center of a mid-size circular chamber, and reacted to contact from the team. It caused quite a fright to the researchers by thrashing out of a pile of debris, but immediately collapsed due to it’s state of advanced disrepair. It’s discovery led to a terrifying amount of questions pertaining to the technological level of the civilization, as the rest of the complex showed traces of an inventive, thriving culture, but nothing that would justify the presence of a humanoid robot of such an unusual design.
#26 The Statue
A polished brass sentinel overlooks a lonely world, silent. Figures like this one are spread across the grassy cliffs, their sculptors long lost to the vagaries of time. Several ruined buildings emerge from the overgrowth, with no purpose left but quietly succumb to the hunger of microbes and insects and plants.
#25 The Villain
To capture a sealed city is one thing, to defeat a people with a monopoly on time travel is another. It is 3144, and the great capsule-city of Terra is under siege. This villain, along with a fairly large group of associated forces, has activated a localized temporal interdiction device of his own design. Normally attackers of the city are redacted out of the timeline quickly and easily, but in this case the defence of the city will be far more difficult. He achieved an element of surprise by making sure that his operation had the smallest possible visibility before the attack. All of the city’s time-travelling vehicles were in the city at the moment of the device’s activation, all except for one…
#24 Emmanuel
A sapient, self-determining android, serving as an official aide to the orchid princess. He is capable of operating most of the equipment on the Iris, yet does not have the authorization to pilot it, as he is not an operative of the capsule-city, but only one’s aide. They have developed a quiet friendship and an unspoken loyalty towards each other. He, being the most physically imposing, usually handles defence operations, though his placid manner often hinders his efforts to intimidate potential dangers. However, in combat situations he proves to be efficient and swift, and his pneumatic-powered armature gives him uncanny strength and durability.
He is seen here extruding an aerosol fixation membrane to conduct an in-depth analysis of the atmosphere.
#23 Orchid Princess
A space-time travelling delivery agent, pilot of the vessel Iris. This specialized and rare vehicle is capable of controlled travel to any point in space, though this also shunts is to a random point in time. Reaching the correct time period is achieved using secondary systems. The ship’s drive uses a process only known to the inhabitants of the great capsule-city of Terra. There have been several attempts by outside forces to invade the city, but they have always been blocked retroactively by the time-travellers.
The pilot of the Iris is the orchid-princess of the capsule-city. What this means exactly is known only to her. She collects life-forms from the various worlds she visits, storing them in stasis for study and memento.
#22 Sentinel
An aerially-enabled enforcement officer for the lawless regions of the city. Seeing as the inhabitants of this “slum” have actually forgotten most laws and live as if they did not inhabit an immense technological megastructure. The enforcement officers are actually sent from other human enclaves to prevent any violent outbreak of the lawless masses. Recently, several of the savage humans have begun to look upon the enforcer as agents of a divine will, though at this point these beliefs are but a minority.
#21 Filename Not Found
A distorted projection that roams intermittently though several hallways. It rarely communicates with anyone, though it will answer questions several hours, even days later. It flickers between a correctly-rendered woman, apparently in distress, and a blank-eyed ghost-like form. It’s audio feed is also corrupted, and ranges from terribly low rumbling to semi-audible screaming, and with regular bursts of static.
#20 Repair Agent
Everything suddenly went quiet. In all the time he had been wandering the great city’s megastructure, it’s breathing had been constant, loud, and audible even in the most sound-proofed and distant of chambers. But now, nothing. He knew what this meant. He had to go on, reach his destination, and hope that he could effect a change on the system. Otherwise, a slow, terrible and unstoppable collapse would begin, marking the end of the glorious city, beginning of the glorious ruin.
Tried a more “concept art”-ey approach here. Not satisfied. I think I would have needed to put a bit more time into it.
#19 Jovian Soldier
A microgravity-specialized soldier from the Jovian Conglomerate Military. A very powerful force controlling Jupiter and most outlying planetoids, it has been steadily putting pressure on the Saturn Authority for some time now, undermining it’s plans and policies, putting conditions on trade and criticizing it very vocally on the political media scene. Public opinion is largely on the side of the Jovians, with Saturn appearing to be grossly mismanaged and corrupt.
The Jovian Conglomerate invests heavily in it’s military. As the above soldier demonstrates, they have adopted special dazzle camouflage patterns, making their operations difficult to track. About every piece of equipment used by the Jovian military is several steps ahead of Saturn’s.
Trying out halftone shading. Not sure.
#18 The Pirate
A space pirate, of one of the Saturn groups, in full vacuum apparel. Allows for excellent mobility, is perfectly sealed and can be removed quite smoothly relative to other types of space wear. However, it offers no protection aside from basic micrometeoroid defence.
This one is more of an experiment in coloring. I am dissatisfied. Need to simplify.
#17 Automaton
An art nouveau gardening automaton. In a massive art nouveau greenhouse, in the mountains. No humans go there, as they do not know of it. He is not the only automaton there, but he is the only one in the form of a man. The world outside could end, and the greenhouse would continue on unaffected, it’s ornate galleries and stairwells, obviously waiting for human presence, forever lost.
#16 Space Tourism
A space pirate poses for Eclipse Getaways’ automated souvenir camera after having boarded the ship high above Saturn’s south pole, venting the atmosphere and looting the ship. They will no doubt re-purpose the craft in their fleet or, failing that, send it into the gas giant. Space pirate attacks on commercial spacecraft are rare, but they are always tracking a good number of them, and as soon as one is vulnerable, they strike with speed and cunning. The space pirates mostly operate in “clusters”, small, decentralized groups of spacecraft with complementary purposes. These clusters roam throughout the rings, periodically setting down on the pirates’ many, many lunar bases.
Pirates are a serious thorn in the side of the Saturn Authority. The Jovian Conglomerate has demonstrated a heavy-handed approach to the matter,which appears to have been effective enough ,but Saturn lacks the resources and intent necessary to such drastic measures. Saturn’ perceived inability to deal with it’s problems has earned it a great deal of criticism from the other governments, who have declared that “…the Saturn Authority is demonstrating weakness to the subversive elements at large, and is therefore jeopardizing the entire political order of the solar system!”
#15 The Surveyor
A humanoid surveyor delegate from the Central Supervising Committee. It’s purpose is to inform the Committee on the condition of human-centric architectural elements throughout the sprawl. As the Committee’s disembodied, or rather pan-bodied status leaves it with less insight on human requirements and conditions and more onto the immensity of supportive and auxiliary structures holding the arcology together. Therefore, the surveyor is employed to walk the hallways and catwalks designated for humans.
Temperature, toxin and bacterial sensors detect invisible hazards, and it’s eyes, hands and feet detect the physical hazards or inconveniences that would elude disembodied intelligences. It cannot be said that the Committee doesn’t care for it’s human subjects.
The surveyor’s right arm is contracted prior to a deployment of strength. It expands due to the pneumatic nature of it’s muscular system.
#14 The Capsule
A minuscule pressurized capsule navigates the rings of Saturn, with their immense ecliptic shadow cast across the atmosphere. Many try to escape into the rings to avoid capture by various entities, despite the threat of pirate bands and illegal miners. The Saturn Authority has declared a complete ban on in-ring activities, and has deployed rangers to patrol the icy wastes.
This particular capsule contains no life-signs, much to the puzzlement of the area’s designated Ranger.
This one’s more of a setting as a character in itself…
#13 The Hunter
A member of Venus’ aristocracy poses beside his prize: a large, pre-terraform land beetle. Very few of them are left, and they rarely venture very far out of their burrows, as the thinner atmosphere is threatening to all but the toughest specimens. At this point in time Venus is in a transition state, with the atmosphere being replaced progressively with a mix more favourable to humans, causing the death of most of it’s previous ecosystems. Some of the indigenous life has managed to survive and adapt, to varying success, yet innumerable species are lost forever. Rumours of a conservationist movement abounded in the early 50s’, but these have yet to be validated. Venusian flora is in great demand for interior decorating, due to it’s extravagance and ephemeral appeal, despite requiring great amounts of care and resources to maintain the pressurized atmosphere bells it requires.
In the background one can see the ubiquitous atmospheric conversion machines. They constantly absorb the sulfuric acid from the air, aiding the other terraforming installations.
Also apparently the Venusian aristocracy is French.
#12 Landmate
An advanced wearable robot, designated for hyper-rapid stealth-optional special operations (that’s what the documentation says, of course). The landmate stands at fourteen feet tall when fully erect. The inclusion of human-like hands in the design, though generally considered extraneous, is tolerated here due to the rapid and intuitive motion demanded from the operator. Internal jump jets provide lift and thrust, and external break-away boosters whenever operations require especially high or long jumps. The suit is also capable of aerial insertion, though not yet rated for sub-aquatic deployment.
I included the extravagant patterning because this sort of thing appears quite often in my sketches, but rarely in my digital pieces. I like the subtly psychedelic look of it, somewhat reminiscent of Chris Foss’ awesome spaceships.
#11 Ranger of Saturn
In the wild rings of Saturn, he is the only law!  Tasked with patrolling a large section of the Cyclopean rings of Saturn (barely one-hundredth of it’s circumference), the Ranger navigates the frozen, rocky expanse with a fantastic electrostatic propulsion apparatus, and fights pirates and other ne’er-do-wells with his particle-accelerator gun, capable of incapacitating electronic systems at it’s lowest setting, but also of melting through the toughest bulkheads at it’s highest.
The ranger also has an array of genetic modifications and a suite of cybernetic augmentations, all meant to optimize his performance in zero-gravity and minimize his nutrient and oxygen consumption. He is fully adapted to orbital life, and only requires to touch down on one of the satellite refuelling stations every few weeks, thanks to potent resource recycling systems.
#10 The Living Flamethrower
The living flamethrower, alias Unit 2 has an altered body chemistry, producing two fluids that, when in interaction cause a violent deflagration. He has been taken in by a military laboratory, which supplied him his containment suit. Unfortunately for him the suit also injects him with a varied cocktail of drugs that manipulate his emotional responses and increases his combustible flow, effectively making him into a living weapon. The periods of “overburn”, where he projects large amounts of combustible in a short period of time, are extremely painful to him, as he is not immune to fire, despite his suit.
This one’s highly Kirby-esque. I like it.
Catching up…
#9 The Prototype
The demonstration model from the next generation of artificial humans. It has displayed an IQ, adaptability and physical force well within tolerable guidelines. (Obviously well above previous-gen humans) The success of this unit is downplayed by the great number of failures required to produce this one. This is something the corporation is actively trying to keep out of public knowledge. The period of additional development required before a full deployment will be explained by the need to integrate the new units with the latest communication technologies.
There will probably be no digital pieces for a few days.
#8 The Cypher
A pattern had emerged. All the signs pointed to a location, and an approximate time frame. His old habits kicked in. Research, exploration, surveillance, optimization. After the incident at his last “hunt”, though, he would not be doing this fully by the book. And so he assumed that he would not be the only one to have spotted the anomaly.  He was right.
But what he found was very, very strange. It appeared to be an incredibly archaic physical backup, a book. Filled with apparently meaningless information, it’s textured pages were vaguely repulsive to him. This would require a visit to an old friend.
[The cybernetic arm is undergoing a cooling cycle after a period of heavy use. Recorded information from embedded software shows a strong pull backwards (68%), a strike forwards (33%), and an open-hand slice to the right (70%). No damage registered. Energy recuperation systems are at full efficiency. Battery has an approximate five hours and twenty-six minutes left.]
I started this piece with two elements. Cyberpunk, and a blue and green colour scheme. I like how it turned out.
#7 The Makeshift One
A worn automaton for use by disembodied intelligences. The core of the creature is ancient, yet thanks to occasional repairs functions almost like new. Some of it’s stock components date back several thousand years, demonstrating an impeccable craftsmanship and maintain. It’s original outer plating long disintegrated by exposure to the elements, the machine has had newer, less robust carbon laminates grafted onto it’s chassis. The automaton’s most recent occupant has installed some unusual instruments onto the original head, a suite of metal sensors requiring no electrical input. With the growing scarcity on the archipelago, this kind of system may soon see more widespread adoption.
I thought orange would be a nice change. Also done with pencil, for a change. Story is a coagulation of a bunch of things floating around in my head, bumping together in microgravity.
#06 The Specimen
One of the highly ambiguous inhabitants of urban space. Going places, yet nowhere.
Ha ha.
#5 The Cosmic One
The ultimate solipsist, in a battle of cosmic proportions. Obviously, his weapon is the singularity.
A retelling (regurgitation) of all those stupid cosmic battles in superhero comics. Perhaps a short comic.
#04 The Derelict
A scout from the tribe has found a derelict mech, remarkably intact and still upright after a sudden failure. In the great salt flats, rampant mechs wander, hunt, and stalk each other and the post-humans, in search of materials. The mechs use a system of ancillary drone units who work repairs on a main body frame. These repair drones use sophisticated 3D printing technology to manufacture specialized parts, which are installed, sometimes without even affecting performance.
This particular unit was unable to find materials to repair itself with, and eventually wore crucial components out, slowly becoming crippled, finally just stopping in it’s tracks, unable to move. The once-great machine was thus but a cache of minerals for whomever  -or whatever to find.
All right, no more of this story, I’ll just switch over to some other sub-genre, and come back later.
#3 The Shaman and attendants
The Shaman is the link between the ancient invisible networks and the struggling posthuman tribe. Most of the tribe’s resources are used to maintain the shaman’s sophisticated, and fragile equipment. Composed of a converted television (on the shaman’s head, facing him), aerials, several desktop computers slaved to a master control, and a wide collection of accessory and input units, the shaman’s “suit” provides an imperfect, but immensely useful wireless interface system and internet uplink. It is the tribe’s main means of navigation, information gathering, analysis, as well as a primary defensive asset.
A shaman usually spends so much of his/her time in the suit that a nutrient feed is almost always used. When the tribe is stationary, and when resources can be spared, shamans typically spend days sifting through massive amounts of data, trying to reconstruct a knowledge of the ancients’ time, and to rediscover submerged buildings, cities and vehicles where salvage may be found.
I feel that I may not have invested enough time into this piece. Nonetheless I am very enthused by this story, and will probably make it into a comic. I will probably do one or two more characters around this idea, and then move on to other things.
#2 The Warrior
The warrior is a tribes-woman who chose to defend the tech-nomad tribe. Because they rarely, if ever have enemies in their empty world, she usually acts as a scout, or as a hunter-gatherer with a group of others. However, she maintains strict training regimens to keep herself in a good physical form, and studies sacred tactics transcribed from the net by a shaman. Her and the other warriors of the tribe are looked at as relative outsiders due to their ascetic ways. However this is easily overlooked in the name of good relations, as the tribe is too small to risk a schism.
The main threat to the tribe’s safety are derelict, rampant nano-technological constructs, or “artificial nature” in search of the tech-nomads’ precious materials. In the case of an attack, the warriors rely on an effective semi-autonomous combat doctrine, as communication are difficult at best with their limited means. Depending on the scale of the threat, as the rampant mechs can range in size from only a few centimetres to several stories tall, the group will either collaborate to de-service the mech or to distract it and leave it vulnerable to the shaman’s intervention. The warriors are armed with a variety of makeshift and scavenged firearms and improvised explosives, but are not capable of sustained battle. Fortunately for them, they have rarely faced heavy offensives.
I am not quite as proud of this one. The colors seem off, to me. No3 shall be better, then!
#1 The Elder
The chosen chief of a band of post-human tribes-people. As the leader, his costume, only slightly different from the typical dress of his people, is adorned with ancient relics, such as cellular phones, music players and pens. Their insides have been emptied for their components, but their exteriors retain symbolic value, a reminder of the old gods who ravaged the landscape, far before the coming of the dark times.
The chief has the experience and the knowledge of years behind him, and he has seen much that has made him doubt the mysticism of his predecessors. His privileged access to the wireless databases, the “realm of spirits” has shown him much about the final days of the human order. Yet he is also tired, and maintaining the current status quo is all he feels he can do to, keep his protégés from repeating the errors of the past.
This character has unfolded into an entire setting, to my pleasant surprise! I suspect that quite a few more of my 30 characters will fit into the story of these techno-nomads.
#30Characters Chatter…