July 2018 Challenge: Iri-Oriand, World of Living Magic

[J.Edward]

I went to the generator and right off the bat got this one....



I really liked no.9, so I started in that direction.
"Irioriand, an artifical world of winding stone labyrinths filled with the sound of machinery.
The world is populated by living spells and dweomers."
Here's a crappy photo, hastily taken to show the sketch idea.



I ended up writing a bunch of notes and am now incorporating this into some existing storyline.
So Iri-Oriand will live on beyond this challenge, not unlike other challenge maps, like Harlasea and Haerlech.
Anyways....
I just wanted to sketch and draw last night, so this one came out as pencil drawing.
I'll do the color in Photoshop. I am not sure what that will look like at this point.
This one was and is totally off the wall. Which sometimes turns out being cool.

### Latest WIP ###


The idea sort of connected with some other work I have done over the years.
That series of stuff is called Esoteric Revelations. None of it is online anywhere yet as it is mostly in sketch and outline form.
Some of the sketches are involved, but still sketches. Lots of magic and esoteric imagery that doesn't really fit with what I normally do.
But it does blend quite well with a world of magic and machines.
There's a planar adventure in here somewhere. Which I may write.

All of that stuff ties back into a much larger environment that pulls much of my writing and worldbuilding together in to a larger cohesive whole, mostly.
I've got a lot going on in the background. It just keeps growing... it's totally out of hand.
More as I have more.

This also won't be the only image/map to come from Iri-Oriand.
Oh, and the weird zigzaggy line thing is a magical road from one town to another on the path to enlightenment, Za-Aka-Qa-Ui-Ot.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something.....

[Azélor]

It looks amazing already.

[fol2dol]

I can't not swear in french looking at how amazing your sketch is: putain que c'est beau! (don't translate, you'll lose the meaning )

[aeshnidae]

This is in incredible. I absolutely love the border and the hedges!

[Voolf]

I mentioned this before when i was talking with Mouse. I have this image of you drawing this kind of stuff before breakfast casually like you do not even care so much, but poople around you are just drooling when seeing youir art

[Larb]

Booo, how do I compete with such an awesome maze? This will look so great when it's done though.

[MistyBeee]

Just... wow... and nothing else o_o

[Diamond]

That is fan-damn-tastic, John. You could probably stop there and still have a good shot of winning this thing.

[J.Edward]

It looks amazing already.

Thanks Azelor.

I can't not swear in french looking at how amazing your sketch is: putain que c'est beau! (don't translate, you'll lose the meaning )

You know I have to look it up now, right? ;P
Hehe. Thanks Robin

This is in incredible. I absolutely love the border and the hedges!

Thanks Jen
I can't decide if it should be a huge hedge maze or if it is stone, with a twist...
Like the walls are so big that spells and dweomers actually live within the walls.
That might need a sketch maybe.

I mentioned this before when i was talking with Mouse. I have this image of you drawing this kind of stuff before breakfast casually like you do not even care so much, but poople around you are just drooling when seeing youir art

Hehe, i do recall that.
I draw a lot. usually every night. After a full days work... well, drawing.

Booo, how do I compete with such an awesome maze? This will look so great when it's done though.

Thanks Larb You can. You do incredible mazes yourself.
That's what got me to do some of my recent mazes in the first place.

Just... wow... and nothing else o_o

Thank you Beee

That is fan-damn-tastic, John. You could probably stop there and still have a good shot of winning this thing.

Thanks Diamond
We will see if i improve it or muddy it with color.
Like I said, I'm not sure what direction to go in with the color.

No update yet... hopefullly I'll have something more today or soon.
Part of me wants to use crazy wild colors... like warhammer chaos kind of colors.
But then there's where I usually come back to... the old limited palette.
I don't know. Maybe I'll try something crazy-ish and if it doesn't work I'll just paint over.

[Wingshaw]

As others have said, this is looking good. It's a very intriguing setting and I like the highly stylized elements (like the zig-zag and the square-ish spirals). I'm looking forward to seeing it coloured and finished and I think it'd be fun to see you go crazy with the colours.

The drawing and setting reminds me a bit of Jeff Vandermeer's books, which have a lot of strange biological inspirations - especially funghi. I could easily see that stone labyrinth covered in a motley of algaes, mosses, ferns, lichens, and mushrooms - and stranger things, too perhaps...

Wingshaw