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Author: Cal

Rest for the weary

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Cal

“Right as expected came those caravans of the underlands. Myriad multitudes joined in tandem, driving their alien beasts to the sound of equally strange horns. Brightly colored robes of glistening purple, iridescent red, vibrant orange. The whole spectacle was almost
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Posted in Geography, HistoryTagged bandit, cave, dark, slave, slavery, trapped, underland
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Nations and shape language

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Cal

been working on this for a while now. Since there are a variety of people groups and nations in the story, I am doing my best to work on making each nation have shapes (roughly) specific to them. not last
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Posted in BLOGTagged art, clothes, concept, concept art, history, language, nation, outfit, shape
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uncommon medical phenomena

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Cal

was looking up conjoined twins the other day. i don’t know why. as an american with the name callum, I have received a lifetime of blank stares in response. is that anywhere equivalent to being born a conjoined twin or
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Posted in BLOGTagged character, condition, conjoined, disability, dwarf, people, people dynamics, twins
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the flag mafia has a gun to my head send help

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Cal

i may have a problem. or maybe it’s only a problem if I address it?? but the might I wielded before was nothing compared to this new dark power I have discovered. behold! it’s really interesting how many flags are
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Posted in BLOGTagged art, color, concept, concept art, design, flag
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mens suits are a proven cure for insomnia

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Cal

i understand that this blog is becoming a fashion one more with each passing day but what are you gonna do I suppose. mens suits suck. they are the same thing over and over again with nearly no variety. in
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Posted in BLOGTagged art, boring, character, clothes, color, concept, concept art, design, history, men, outfit, suit, suits
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Faith versus reason

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Cal

“You have faith, but I have reason.” I’ve heard many variations on this line. I would like to clarify that reason used in this context is usually shorthand for what the given party considers evidence. It can potentially be a
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Posted in BLOGTagged faith, god, jesus, logic, philosophy, reason, science, trust
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MODERN WARFARE

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Cal

well. kind of. the idea is that the shield is connected to the arm and the weapon can fit into a slot in the shield to keep it steady and/or allow the user to use both hands for aiming while
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Posted in BLOGTagged armor, art, concept, firearm, gun, modern, shield, soldier
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ancient relics: part 2

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Cal

This is a continuation of the previous post. People always ask why the characters are not human. in the beginnings of the project they were still always the kangaroo lizard aliens, but originally it was just because i was an
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Posted in BLOGTagged art, concept, cringe, design, old, pressure, process, school, slow, work, workflow
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ancient relics: part 1

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Cal

what a difference twelve years makes. the concept that would morph into this comic started back in 2010 back when I was in early high school. i was really into bionicle and sci-fi and history and i wanted a way
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Posted in BLOGTagged art, concept, cringe, design, old, process, school
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thumbnails and seeing the forest for the trees

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Cal

since i work on each chapter somewhat non-linearly, sometimes I have too many ideas to jot down without forgetting about them. sometimes doing pages back to back makes me forget the main points since I get so caught up in
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Posted in BLOGTagged art, concept, page, panel, sketch, thumbnail
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RECENT

  • the needs of the many
  • Waterfall
  • mood music
  • A Helping Hand
  • Siovak’s Grand Chart of the World
  • All these things will be added: a study on scriptural work
  • Those Ancient Heights available in print!
  • Pressing Questions
  • Twinkling recollections
  • body shape studies 3
  • Rest for the weary
  • Nations and shape language
  • uncommon medical phenomena
  • the flag mafia has a gun to my head send help
  • mens suits are a proven cure for insomnia
  • Faith versus reason
  • MODERN WARFARE
  • ancient relics: part 2
  • ancient relics: part 1
  • thumbnails and seeing the forest for the trees
  • Flags 3
  • (quiet clothes?) LOUD CLOTHES???
  • Otigo Trappings
  • Flag content
  • a need to DANCE!!!
  • The true foreigner
  • the voice of the character
  • The shape of your average LADY (and boy)
  • Get em outta here!
  • I’m just not good enough
  • At a glance
  • Learning from innovation
  • Clothes makes the man
  • It’s always a time for pizzazz
  • A short look ahead
  • An oral tradition
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  • The shape of your average boy
  • First stretch on ch4!
  • Song of the Motherland at Smallville Con!
  • Plate armor helmets STRIKE BACK
  • Chapter 3 on Amazon!
  • Armors for the common man
  • Relative practicality
  • Earnets
  • We can take it further
  • Ancient mystery
  • Leveraging an idea
  • An organ excerpt
  • RED FLAG! (well, grey)
(c) Cal McNichols