Author Archive: thecapturedspy
Media Arts & Animation student at The Art Institute of Phoenix! :)
Day 14 – Ler Valence
Ler is the High Razuli term for “Leaderâ€, and as reigning monarch of this reclusive people, Valence is the bearer of that title. He is called Boy-King, though not usually by Razuli. None but they know his true age, but Razuli are rumored to be immortal, and there’s much evidence to support this fact. He is still considered a young boy by their reckoning, however old he is.
Valence is very wise for his (apparent) youth, having grown up surrounded by figures of legend who never hesitated to impart knowledge upon him at any time. [ His father was King when the Alks stole a flickering of the Power that was to be the Razuli’s alone—for the Razuli hold the burden of maintaining the stars and other heavenly bodies. (Hence their name, Star People). His father and his current advisor/bodyguard Joaquin were the ones who led war against the Alk Rule of that day and were forced back, forced up into the mountains that no human can reach.] But although Valence was taught to be cautious of outsiders, he is extremely curious about them. He is also lonely, and wants a friend he can talk to openly and honestly. There isn’t anyone like that in his court, as most of his acquaintances are years older than he is. He may be a King but he’s still a Boy.
Day 13 – Nicolai Macamoile
One of the earliest images I came up with for Nicolai was the image of him with his arms out, as if inviting you in. Nicolai never believed he was doing the wrong thing; he always thought that his ideas were foolproof, that he was keeping the greater good above his own, that people liked him because of what he did than because they were forced to—as the case may be when he takes control of Trident. But he never considered himself a villain, even when those who joined him only joined him because they believed he was, or wanted him to be.
Nicolai resembles Skye in all but name, really. They were very close, almost brothers, and were knee-deep in the same research for years. I wanted to keep their designs very similar as well, to contrast the very different paths they chose, and to give a glimpse of who Skye could have become.
Day 12 – Deirdre
For Deirdre, not only did I want to play around with more waif-ish proportions, I really wanted to make her more of a symbol. She is an Alk, but she embodies the result of the downfall of Alk-kind, in that they use their Power for all the wrong reasons. She is one of many victims of the Alk Rule, an example of how self-harming it truly is. Alks possess magic that wasn’t theirs to begin with, but was given to them on the premise that they’d use it to better the world around them. And for a time, they did. But power corrupts, no matter who you are. The Alks began using magic for selfish means. Some of these became very destructive. A new regime was born, where every citizen was forced to use their Power for furthering the Alk Rule.
Deirdre…is a dancer. It’s part of her Power. But ballet has no use in a place where the arts are unwelcome, and try as she might to pursue her creative talent, she was punished, and then cast out. She is inflicted with great pain whenever she tries to dance—that is part of her curse.
Day 11 – Joaquin
Captain of the Razuli royal guard. Also the personal bodyguard of the leader of the Razuli, the Boy-King Valence. He served Valence’s father as well. So he’s really much older than he looks. But then again, the Razuli aren’t exactly…of this world, shall we say.
Joaquin tends to be a stickler when it comes to formality, even though he admits a lot of the rules he follows are just that—formality. He feels that once rules are abandoned, chaos will follow, and Joaquin is one of those who remember a world fraught with chaos—and he does not wish to see a world like that again. It is his long memory and vast experience in the field that gives him wherewithal to advise Valence, but it is that same memory that clouds his judgment against outsiders. He is skeptical of Ordessi and his attitude towards the Alks borders on outright loathing. Understandable, considering what the Alks did to the Razuli many years ago, but he refuses to believe they could ever change.
Day 10 – Devon
She is actually a character who I do not have much planned for yet. Just a few details: she’s lost an arm somewhere, she’s naive as a child but has the wisdom of the ages, she doesn’t pick a side, she was taken in by the Razuli (Star People), and she’s one of the true enigmas of this story. :B
Day 8 – Crispin Teor
Crispin is an extremely bitter person, but he’s very tight-lipped as to why. He’s openly spiteful about anything that bothers him, but when he’s asked personal questions, he’ll divert the questioner. It’s been assumed by the other ‘revolutionaries’ that Crispin is an orphan due to machinations of the Alk Empire and that is why he harbors a grudge against them. Especially its ruling body, Trident. It makes sense for the most part, which is why no one really bothers Crispin about it.
His default expression is sour and there are very few occasions where he’s been seen as anything but crotchety.
Day 7 – Enid
Haven’t posted here for a few days but I have been keeping up with the challenge!
Enid is an Ordessi in a country of Alks. One of Skye’s closest companions…and later, something more. This was before there was visible tension (re: war) between the two races, but Enid has still come under fire before because she lacks magic, and so is viewed as inferior by…well, a lot of people. But she’s a brilliant and creative worker and refuses to let people’s prejudices bring her down. She hopes to change the strained relationship that Alk and Ordessi share as well as bridge new, peaceful relationships with other peoples. Idealistic? That’s Enid for you. Enid herself is devoted to anthropology and sociology, as well as studying the diversity within the vast numbers of tribes that dwell either within Alk borders or nearby.
Day 9 – Toby
Max’s younger brother. His full name is Tobias but I don’t even think their parents call him that lmao so…oh! it was probably a relative’s name or something.
Toby is in his own little world most of the time. He mostly interacts with Tristy and Max, and seems to regard them as benevolent overlords based on how obedient and docile he behaves around them. Not so much the case with Mom and Dad, whom he tends to ignore more often than not. He likes being outside, even in the intense heat.
He’s not in the story too much. I’d planned for Max and Tristy to take him along for when they leave Ordessi country with Skye but it doesn’t seem practical for a 5-year old to be traveling all over the place and enduring some pretty harsh conditions.
Day 6 – Maxwell
Maxwell, or Max, is the primary protagonist of my story Enigma. At least, the second part of it. He’s nineteen years old, fairly mellow, and more than a little antisocial. His twin brother is a bit of a genius and left the country to attend a prestigious university and Max is stuck back home in a backwater town wishing he had a special talent so he could leave too and maybe have some grand adventure.
Day 5 – Tristan
Tristan, who prefers being called Tristy by everyone except Max, is Max’s younger sister. (Max is the primary protagonist of my pet story Enigma). She’s 14 years old but doesn’t want to grow up just yet…partially because she’s jealous of all the attention that the baby of the family, Toby, receives, and she misses when she was in that position. Yet she resents when people (i.e. Max) talk down to her like she’s a child. Ah, puberty is a wonderful thing sometimes.
Tristan really likes dancing. She discovered it one day similar to how Max discovered musical instruments: she saw a picture of a couple dancing in a picture book hidden away in her parents’ storage shed. In a country where music, and subsequently dancing, are foreign (and most often forbidden) concepts, she was enraptured by this image. But she couldn’t seem to grasphow people danced. With no one to teach her and no real source of creative inspiration, she had to put it aside. Her eyes were opened when her brother and she got to leave their country and venture into other worlds where there were all kinds of dancing—and accompanied by music, everything seemedmagical. Whether Tristan actually has a magical gift for dancing on par with her brother’s gift for singing and playing instruments remains to be seen—but it’s not something she’s going to give up anytime soon.
#4 – Ring Deshay
Hayden’s husband. C:  They’re around the same age, and met at a tournament for ‘the combative arts’—Hayden with her fencing and Ring for kenpo (or his world’s version of it). He was entranced at seeing Hayden fight, and when she won her part of the tourney, he approached her and asked her to teach him. He was confident in his hand-to-hand combat skills but wanted to achieve the grace and fluidity he observed from the fencers. And the rest is history.
Ring is fairly big for an Alk—he’s at least four inches taller and thirty pounds heavier than the average Alk. But then, he’s only half Alk. His magic is weaker because of it, but he doesn’t care, not anymore. (It also explains his heterochromia—all Alks have green eyes because of the magic in their blood, but Ring has one green eye and one brown eye).
Ring was raised in a tribe of people who dwell on the waterfront—on the other side of the mountains that surround the Alk capital. His tattoo comes from practices on his father’s (the non-Alk) side of the family; once a boy reaches puberty they must shave their heads and meditate to find their fialg, or spirit animal / animal companion. Ring inked a squid-like design on his head because he remembers his father catching a wandering squid one day and how fiercely it fought. It was the strangest animal he’d ever seen before, but he admired it.
Wow, this got really wordy. ;;
Day 3 – Hayden Deshay
The next few posts of mine will be characters from one of my pet stories. I already have designs for the two main characters but only names for the others.
Hayden is the older sister of Camden, a brilliant alchemist and part-time historian. She behaves more like a mother figure as both of their parents have jobs that keep them away from home most of the time. She teaches fencing at a small school near her family’s estate. Their family isn’t wealthy,  but they were given a large house with an underground laboratory because the ruling party has their eye on Camden and his research and wanted him to nurture his intellect so he would join their ranks as an adult. Camden was a precocious child who created amazing things by combining magic and science even as everyone else was just getting a hold on their magic skills.
She’s always worrying about Camden and wishes he would stop spending so much time in his lab, believing teenagers should be more active, but ultimately she leaves him alone. Deep down she’s really proud of him.
Hayden herself admits to being something of a hopeless romantic, especially when compared to Camden’s technical mind.
Day #2 – Warrior Monk
It’s still day 2 in my timezone. 😉
We studied a bit about the Shaolin warrior monks in my Social Cultural Expression class recently and I found their way of life really fascinating. So I wanted to make a character inspired by them…a young man (I’ve christened him Jan) who discovers a group of warrior monks in a remote place, and longs to join them and bring meaning to his life.
This story doesn’t take place in the world that we know, but perhaps a parallel China, or another place entirely.
Jan is not actually in the ranks of the warrior monks because he got rejected (he was too old when he first asked to join, unfortunately) so he made his own garb, watches them practice from a distance, and tries his best to teach himself their ways in hopes that he will one day impress them so much that they’ll have to accept him!!!1
Day 1 – Swashbuckling Mystic
A mystical rogue pirate elf. I had spare time so I added colors but I don’t know if I’ll be doing that too often. :B
2011 Challenger – Casey Shaffer
Hi y’all! Name’s Casey.
I’m in my last year at The Art Institute of Phoenix, in the Media Arts & Animation program. I harbor a love-hate relationship with animation as my true passion is illustration. I’m also fiddling around with an original story but I’m not sure if I want to make it an actual book or go the graphic novel route.
I hope to experiment with a lot of different genres and character types. Character design is something I really love doing. This is my first time doing this challenge and I’m going to try my best to see it through to the end.
I have a website (gonna revamp in the near future but it’s still up now!), a deviantart, and a Tumblr sketchblog.
I look forward to doing this and I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with! 😀
#30Characters Chatter…