Not bad for my first pattern! Still have to work out some kinks.

Dana

The dragonfly’s a timid thing,
He’s very pretty, too;
His lacy wings are clear as glass
And delicate as dew.
I don’t know why the dragonfly
Has such a fearful name.
I never saw a dragon
That was nearly half as tame.

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham

He’s gorgeous! He’s rich! Kings wanna love him, army officers want to be him!

In The Three Musketeers, Buckingham is a key character involved in all the courtly intrigues. He may not be around too much, but when he is, the reader is made aware each and every time that he is very important, very good looking, and very English.

…it feels like I planted little Asari headpiece seeds in a garden and have just harvested the crop.

Final Asari Headpiece and Friends

My my, don’t they look…pretty ugly, when they haven’t been cleaned or trimmed or painted or looking as if they were a crude sacrifice of rotting alien scalps torn from the dying heads of Asari…quite unpleasant indeed.

*ahem*

So, not including The First headpiece that was constructed, it took me three tries to get a satisfactory headpiece – one that is thin, light, strong and all in one piece (I had a wee bit of an accident with one headpiece as I became impatient and pulled the latex out of the mold before all the tentacles had completely dried). I am in the process of painting this final headpiece, which I’m still hemming and hawing about wearing to PAX. I think it will be the last time I wear this costume.

I’m not sure what to do with the other headpieces now. I will save them for the future and maybe paint them based on new (or returning?) characters in Mass Effect 2.

Anne of Austria, Queen Consort of France

Poor tragic Queen Anne – beautiful but unhappy.

When I had to go about creating artwork for The Three Musketeers: The Game, I was concerned about keeping ‘things’ within a historical contest. Clothing, weapons, furniture, buildings, pottery – so many different aspects of early 17th century life were researched in hopes of making a historical game true to the time period. It was overwhelming initially trying to keep everything accurate. So while I did my best, a lot of things in the game are not “100% true” to the real early 17th century.

Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers is a swashbuckling romantic historical fiction epic; it’s not a period-perfect true-to-real-life non-fiction account of the 17th century. Events that actually occurred are in the book – but at incorrect times. Real people within the book are by no means historically accurate portrayals. There are even items that didn’t exist in the early 17th century that found their way into the book – like a stove-pipe that is crucial to the story. Even the iconic and beloved tabard of the Musketeers is not accurate – the real Musketeers weren’t given uniforms until later on, and there is uncertainty about the ‘tabard’ (or cassock) colours.

While I did take artistic liberties when doing illustrations and animation, I had such a marvelous time conducting research, even if the final products weren’t “100% true.’ All the main characters were based on real portraits from the early 17th century. We traveled to England and France to get a more personal feel for the countries portrayed in the book. And I had such a fun time documenting different weapons and articles of clothing.

So when you’re reading or playing The Three Musketeers, know that both Dumas and Dingo Games had the best of intentions. You can’t watch Pirates of the Caribbean or Gladiator (or any film version of The Three Musketeers!) as a historical documentary – you watch it for fun. And fun is what The Three Musketeers: The Game is all about.

(If you are interesting in a watching a great ‘real history lesson,’ watch ‘Tales From The Green Valley.’ The show takes places in the UK instead of France, but I absolutely loved it – and yes, for those concerned, the DVD works fine on North American players!)

It took 165 years, but The Three Musketeers has finally been faithfully adapted into a video game.

Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu

I am happy pleased honoured (and thrilled) to say that Dingo Games has announced its latest project, The Three Musketeers: The Game. Closely following the story of Alexander Dumas’ original masterpiece, The Three Musketeers: The Game is a unique action-adventure-rpg-story-swashbuckling game for Mac and Windows, coming in August 2009.

I am very excited about this game. It has taken a long time to do (there was a lot of research and travelling on top of all the actual ‘game work’) and I am extremely pleased with The Three Musketeers: The Game. I think Alexandre Dumas, père, would be proud.

In the near future I’ll post more images, and talk a little bit about the project (concerning the story, the artwork, historical accuracies/inaccuracies and of course the characters). I’ll do my best to bring a little taste of Dumas’ early 17th century to you (until the game is released, and then you can experience it yourself).

And for those who don’t know, Cardinal Richelieu is the main meany, the primary antagonist in The Three Musketeers: The Game (and the book). Dumas’ Richelieu differs from ‘the real one’ (as most of his characters do), but both Richelieus were undoubtedly powerful men in France.

(p.s. more about the game and all that press jazz here.)

(knock on wood)

Thank You

A little thank you card I did for my surgeon (who removed my ganglion cyst). Watercolours.

Geoff

My nephew is going to be born. any. second. now. Give or take a few days. And we’ll be ready for him (with a cute and cuddly giraffe). I had some leftover material from Mitch so I made Geoff (or ‘Raff the Giraffe, from the adorable Funky Friends Factory).