Parallel Lives Art Project: Vampire Pt 1 Rough Draft

I am a big fan of Magic the Gathering and it stemmed my love of art. I am currently taking art classes in college and I thought it would be awesome to start a project. Over the weekend I began a project that has been going through my head for a while. In Magic there is a very popular block called Innistrad. It is full of classic horror troupes such as vampires, werewolves, and zombies. In such a place as Innistrad one human could possibly end up as any one of these monsters, or just a meal for them. It could also survive and remain a human, or could ascend an join the angels. So my goal is to paint the same man as a vampire, a werewolf, a zombie, a human, and an angel (maybe a demon too.) These paintings are mostly for my own benefit to practice and gain experience. The first painting in this series is the man as a vampire. I am starting each one as a rough pencil sketch on canvas, and then will paint them in acrylics. Maybe towards the end I will try using oils, but that all depends on how I feel the series is going.

So here is the rough sketch. One comment already is to make the eyebrows more dramatic. Please share if you have any comments (including constructive criticism) or ideas please comment. A cool artist who did a lot of vampire art for Innistrad is Cynthia Sheppard. Please visit her blog for amazing art here. 

SandShadow and a Little History

Pyramid of Djoser 
Image source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imhotep

The leaves are beginning to change and the mountainsides look as though they're slowly being painted by an amazing watercolor brush brimming with brilliant fall colors. This is the time of year when SandShadow begins to unfold. SandsShadow is a supernatural suspense/paranormal romance story that was first released in 1998 as a PDF. In 2014 I released the novel as an eBook to Kindle and Nook.

I wrote SandShadow when I thought I was going to be a horror writer, but as you can see from my drawings posted here, writing horror is not my thing. This book is a kinder-gentler scary story that I wrote in the mid-90's. I learned a lot from studying the history and mythology of Egypt and Imhotep. Outside of books and the usual TV specials on Egypt I dug into further research at the University of Utah Marriott library and met with a women's group from the Islamic faith to gain a better understanding of the religion. I met with people from the deaf center, joined a local writers group, rewrote, edited, and decided the story had wound it's way to completion.

One of the main characters deserves an introduction: Imhotep. His name means "He who comes in peace." I was introduced to him (or reminded of him from past specials I'd seen on Egypt) when I found him listed in The Macmillan Illustrated Encycolpedia of Myths & Legends I was inspired by his stories to think of a "what would have happened if..." scenario.

When you hear about brilliant people in history Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Isaac Newton, and Leonardo Da Vinci may come to mind. I think Imhotep deserves a spot among them. He was a trail blazer during the Egyptian 3rd Dynasty and he worked for the pharaoh Djoser. His many jobs included architect, engineer, carpenter, doctor, high priest of Ra and it sounds like he was a master artist. Besides being a very busy guy as vizier and his other achievements, he was deified posthumously. Not sure if you've heard of him or seen his work? Have you seen the step pyramid? (See the Pyramid of Djoser shown above?) Imhotep designed that pyramid.

SandShadow $2.99 

by Suzanne Nikolaisen
Available on Kindle and Nook 
Michael lives alone in a crowded city where he is haunted by an extraordinary nightmare. He’s made some bad decisions and the woman he loves is halfway across the world. Time is running out to find what’s behind the paralyzing dreams and the presence that comes with them.

Drawn into an ancient society of watchers who say they know what’s hunting him, he begins to wonder if zombies are real. The answer is coming for him from the desert sands where it has never rested in peace.

"This was a good solid thrill."

- Steven, Amazon Reviewer

As autumn arrives I hope you have fun finding your favorite pumpkin shake and that you can carve out a minute, be it on your lunch break or curled up late at night, for a spooky read!

Suzanne

Sources Cited:
- Cotterell, Arthur. Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Company (1989): 105. Print.
- "Imhotep."  Wikipedia Web. 8 Oct. 2014
- Photograph "Pyramid of Djoser." Wikipedia Web. 8 Oct. 2014

SandShadow was written by Suzanne Nikolaisen. All rights reserved. Copyright 1998-2014.