Animations Spotlight - Dawn in Ascala

Hello. C J here. It’s non stop animation asset creation mode around here from now on. I’ve got a trial run sample of a background for my two upcoming Ascala animations. I can reuse backgrounds but making them is fun enough that I might not do it much. This is the bedroom of one of the less known Ascala heroes, Vaun Silver Kin. Vaun Silver Kin is going to star in some of the animations I’m working on along with some of the other characters I have that I haven’t used yet. Next I’m going to have to start designing outfits for him and his friends.

I might put compilations of these animations on USB and sell them later but mostly I’m expecting them to be great marketing for the Patreon. The Patreon is still being set up. This background required about an hour of work and is done entirely in digital fountain pen, chalk and oil pastel. Then I ran it through Krita to get the lighting and mood right. It’s dawn in Ascala, a week before Summermoon. Summermoon is the Summer Solstice festival in Ascala and the entire city participates in it. Blue and his friends are having sushi with the dragon Balath Regal while our draconian main character here might still be making plans.

C J Mcpherson

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Chinese Food That is Very Saucy

Hello. C J here. I read a lot of cookbooks. This is done mostly for fun. I’m currently reading a short but really interesting book about traditional Chinese cooking. The book was written by an Indian author who has clearly researched Chinese food very well but some of the translations of recipes or concepts get a bit strange. I’m currently done the soups and starters section and am onto the section labelled ‘food that is saucy.’ Cool? Is it also savvy? There’s a surprisingly large amount of ketchup in the recipes. No I don’t think I want a recipe for hot and sour soup that is thickened ketchup water with vinegar and a bit of cabbage. No I also don’t want to take a slice of white wonderbread, roll it into a tube, stuff it with canned corn, deep fry it and then top it with sesame seeds. What in God’s name do they eat in China? And why is it specifically an image of white wonderbread? China? Are you okay? I managed to take out the vinegar, water and corn starch that makes up most of the h...

The Tunnels Under Haven

Hello. C J here. Walking down the streets of Haven is not always as safe as the city would like people to think. Yes, they have curbed the banditry that plagues the Southern half of the Coastal Road. The Desert Princes whose cities dot the Southern coast of the Southern Continent if anything make the problem worse for themselves with their constant rivalries and politics. So no, a traveller in Haven or in the River Lands is unlikely to meet a bandit or other criminal sort. But then there’s the walking dead to consider. Many of the basements, catacombs and landmarks of Haven have old foundations from before the city had its current name. In ages long past it was one of two competing capitols for the Desert Empire, both of which unified under the first Sand King of the Gold Dynasty, the God-Lion. It was never his place of residence and both the other capitol and the rest of the Desert Empire are long since buried under the dunes. Well, people like to assume they’re buried. People wo...

Food Notes - Rising Cooktime Hidden Mushroom

Hello. C J here. I have some more adventures in reading cookbooks for you all today. The book I’m currently reading is a thin paperback about traditional Chinese food written by an Indian author. While the author takes great care to represent Chinese culture and recipes properly ome of the instructions get a bit strange. Here’s some fun observations about how to not make traditional Chinese food. We are starting with the chapter ‘Saucy Food.’ Great. Is the food going to give me attitude? We’re making vegetables in Szechuan sauce. First we cook mushrooms in boiling water. Then we wash them. Then we cut them. Then we wash them again to get rid of the hidden dirt. Really? Where is it hiding? Also maybe wash them before you submerge them in water and dissolve the dirt. Okay cool. Chop bok choy. Cool. Boil water. Let it cool. Then cook the broccoli and cauliflower in the cooled water. What? Sorry, what? Then refresh them by giving them a cold water bath. Okay, were they stressed out be...

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