Underground cavern from Theo Paxstone and the Dragon of Adyron

I did all the drawings for Theo Paxstone at the very end of the process, after spending an ungodly amount of time editing it, over and over and over. By then I was beyond exhausted. I've never been terribly happy with the illustrations, and I've thought about revisiting them, but then, it's usually better to just let go, learn the lesson, and move on. 

This one I did rather like though: 

Midjourney AI mechanical steam knights of Palachia

A herald steam knight bearing a locked message signals the King of the Northern realm.

MidJourney is an AI rendering system that works from text prompts. 

The imagery that results can be pretty amazing.

I haven't fully explored it yet, and it has limitations, but it's also terribly addictive.

A mighty front line steam mech, wielding a sword

Steam mech with large viewing window in the helm for the pilot, allowing a clear field of view of the battlefield. It is, however, a point of vulnerability.

A Palachian gargantuan steam knight marching to protect a small village from a menacing dragon. Note the lance.

These models are larger model steam mechs, part of a new breed of machines created in Alandia by the renowned machinist Gregor Malachi. 

*Some minor editing done to the MidJourney images in ProCreate. All four images were created from a single prompt.

Faux film poster for Theo

Made for an art show of faux film posters. 

Steam mech drawing

I got an iPad last year, and I've really enjoyed playing around with ProCreate. It's so much more forgiving than traditional media. There's a lot of hidden depth to the program.

This picture is of an Adyron steam mech, ready for action. It's a basic version without some of the fancy (and unorthodox) features that Sir Bentham's mech had.

Theo Paxstone illustrations

I did a number of pictures for the book, just black and white ink scribbles.

I wanted them to be very loose, just impressions. I am not sure how well they fulfilled their function.




Theo leading Pumpkin and the wagon, with Riley and Bentham aboard.




Theo with Ollie, the spotter bird. He's supposed to be in the foreground. I thought that came across, but some people think he's a gigantic 20 foot tall terror bird.

Ollie would like that.

Map of Palachia, from Theo Paxstone and the Dragon of Adyron

I love maps. Always have. I remember doing a Lord of the Rings map with a friend when in Grade Six. That was fun. Never lost the map bug, so when I did a fantasy novel, Theo Paxstone and the Dragon of Adyron, it had to have a map.

Here are some more images of the mythical land of Adyron...

Southern Palachia, the Land of Adyron and the capital of Alandia

Central Palachia; Theo Paxstone comes from the town of Durham (middle)

The islands to the north (for further adventures!)

Theo Paxstone relaxing

Silkscreen print, 18" x 24", from the Myths, Monsters & Machines show.