The Liahona

Happy New Year! At this wonderful season of direction-shifting and course-correcting, what better topic to draw than that great director, the Liahona, which led Lehi and his family through the wilderness!

I envision that beautiful "ball" as a tiny marble, able to fit snuggly in the palm of your hand. A brass assemblage surrounds it and "supports" it, although most of the time magnetism keeps it floating in place--magically!

When they are righteous and need to know the way, it points a clear stream of light in the direction they should go.

Keep in mind this is only concept art and the actual design may vary in the story. We've got a long way to go yet! Hopefully it will guide us aright in this coming year.

I have so much news to report that I will have to hold off--suffice it to say that things are going strong and we hope to have the first comic completed and published for you this summer!

Jericho

This is an iPad painting that I did months ago. It's just a sketch but it has an important feeling of mystery to it that is important to the story. So much of what really happened anciently is shrouded in mystery. We know so little!

These two prophets walk alongside the Jordan river near Jericho, a desert city about 15 miles from Jerusalem.

Olive Groves

Little Nephi explores an ancient olive grove (it's his first time in such a place). These groves are sacred locations that have been corrupted with pagan sacrifice by the worshippers of Ba'al. This one is one of the few that has not been polluted...

In real life, some of these groves were thousands of years old, even in the time of Jeremiah. Yes, olive trees, when taken care of properly, live for thousands of years!!!

This is getting close to the quality that I want panels in the comic book to be. It's so hard to set (and keep!) standards that are better than you are!

Stay tuned! More coming next week!

Back in Business!

The hiatus is over! Please understand any hiatus from this blog DOES NOT mean I have stopped working on the project--it means I am working harder than ever! Some things I have accomplished in the last two months:

Finished Season 1 script (100pages)--CHECK!
Made some money from unrelated projects (so this one can keep going)--CHECK!
Went to LA for CTNX and made many important contacts--CHECK!
Got professional feedback on my work--CHECK!
Ate some great Japanese food--CHECK!
Designed a totally new website (coming soon) --CHECK!
Designed more of the world--CHECK!
Acquired additional professional talent--CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!

Lots to be excited about. One of the many goals we have made include improving our web presence and our communication with our fans. The story and the project continues to grow! Here's some recent artwork from our design archives:

Jerusalem may look like this...so if you were thinking something less magical--HA! Jerusalem is perhaps the world's most magical city...ever. In its best days it was a city of great wealth and beauty.

Jerusalem's richer sections are filled with architecture like this.

Near Bath-Sheba on the Southern, desert side of Israel is Abraham's Well, a beautiful spring of water that served as an important and vital life-source in the arid Negev desert.

Not everyone is rich in Jerusalem. The poorest of the poor make their homes on tels--mounds that have been created by the repeated destruction of buildings over thousands of years. They have no choice but to live in these undesirable locations...until the next destruction comes along.

Lachish was arguably the next most important Judean city besides Jerusalem, the capital. The Lachish region is verdant green with spring flowers and beautiful limestone formations. Lachish itself was a great fortress...before  the destruction.

The Hebron region lies due south of Jerusalem and consists of hill country blown dry with the hot, East Arabian winds. 

In Jerusalem they build with rose-colored limestone and plants grow in abundance. Despite everyone living within the protection of the massive city walls  that David built, the people have found creative ways to grow gardens in their wonderful mediterranean climate.

The richest parts of Jerusalem are ornately designed--a culture that was annihilated when the Chaldeans razed the city.

Jerusalem was ancient even in the year 600 BCE. There are ruins everywhere--lasting remnants of previous empires.

Thumbnails - I draw these first, then go to a final image.