Character Count!

I decided to do my first character count and boy was I surprised! Last I did any kind of count was back in 2006 when I had 9 characters. So I pulled out the three sketchbooks worth as well as all the loose leaf pieces of paper from my mission and wrote every characters name on my whiteboard. Now, I don't have names for every single one, but this count was brought about not only due to curiosity, but for the purpose of giving each character a name and more importantly, for writing purposes, a background. That's right, writing has proved to be extremely difficult and I figure with a bit of back story for each character they can then come into play better. This will hopefully make the writing process smoother than it is right now.

So I'm guessing you are just as curious as I am as to what the number is, well...

Corn's Universe currently holds a grand total of... 128 characters AND COUNTING!

5th & 6th Entries!

Concept Art for Shilo

First up is Shilo. I had a great learning experience while thinking of what to do for this character. I honestly had no idea that the bleeding heart flower existed and I wasn't sure how to incorporate a monkey or grapes into it as well. I was able to make my way to Hobby Lobby and stocked up on more art supplies, seeing as both of my sketch books are completely full now. While I was at it I bought a gigantic white board to help keep me organized with the series' timeline.

 It only took a few minutes after hanging it up for me to start doodling. The photo on the right is the concept art for Shilo, starting with the simplistic figure on the left and evolving into the one to its right.  Thanks to the white board I was able to save some paper and it allowed for easier clean up.

Shilo: based on Garrett Despain's favorites.

Panarthropoda: inspired by KC Harris 

Panarthropoda is based on an existing character that I have, but with a twist to how the character might look in a more humanistic portrayal. While KC's answers were: lion and oranges. I just had to look the two of them up on Google under the same search and I'm glad I did. If you type in "oranges and lions" you'll soon discover that a majority of the photos on Google Images are of Chinese lion costumes. Once I pulled a few for reference what I was going to do became that much more clear. In addition to orange lions the idea behind the original character led me to more of a tiki mask - mannequin type of look and to your right is what I came up with.

Reminder: THERE ARE ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT TO BE ONE OF THE TWENTY DRAWINGS! CHOP CHOP!

They Just Keep Coming!

Okrah - based on Gabriel Black

The third and fourth entry for the Character Contest were posted yesterday on the Corn Ladyman Facebook Page. Each entry will continue to be posted on the blog as well as the page. What's the difference? You'll be able to read more in depth on who the character is and what ideas I have in store for them.

 Let's begin with Okrah - This was one I had a lot of fun coming up with. I was given the answers of elephant and okra as some of Gabriel Black's favorites and it left me stumped. Of course, my brain found a way to put elephants and okras together! The next thing to throw me off was the desired ability to be an animorph. Thanks to graveyard shifts I had ALL night to try and apply it some way. I considered having Ancients inhabit Corn's world, Talitha and my imagination soared. I won't say too much, but Okrah has many tricks up his sleeve being a wise and quite frankly extremely old elephant. Animal forming hands is just one of them! 

Ornito Rince - based on Andrew Collins

This next character was made in less than a couple hours. Andrew Collins had the opportunity to be in the room with me to give me his answers and from there the brain storming ensued. Platypus and asparagus were two of his favorites and I was automatically drawn to the idea of a platypus character. Bone Manipulation was an ability I had considered previous to the contest, but thought it a little much, that is until we got curious enough to look up "platypus skeleton" on Google. That one search solidified my choice to go with the platypus and yet again my imagination went into over drive. The picture you see to your left is more or less a "Before" picture and the "After" will just have to wait. You should be able tell from his costume that he has the potential to be a member of "The Countless". Ornito Rinco has the potential to be a very menacing foe. 

Remember once twenty (20) people have been drawn then the voting will begin for a GUARANTEED role in the Corn Ladyman Series. Currently there are 7 spots left! Read recent posts on the Corn Ladyman Page to find out what you need to do to be one of those 7!

Who and What Are The Countless?

You may have seen this picture floating around my Facebook page and my personal profile and thought to yourself, "Cool." and "Huh?" at the same time. Allow me to explain. . .

The Countless is an evil organization with Count SpudMuffin as its current leader. Count SpudMuffin is the very potato that kidnaps Princess Brielle in conjunction with that, he is who Corn Ladyman is looking for. Find the spud, find the princess. Unfortunately for Corn SpudMuffin has a "countless" army at his disposal, consisting of other cold hearted characters that have dabbled in the dark magic such as himself. 

Originally Count SpudMuffin was practically on his own, paying people along Corn's journey to make sure he never reached the princess, but that just seemed to be rather bland, I just had to spice things up a little. Thus the organization was born and it should not be any wonder why the name Countless was the first and only considered  title that came to mind. Through the creation of the group Corn's stumbling blocks along the way quickly turned to walls. . . cliffs would be more appropriate of a term. 

Through the years I have been greatly entertained by each addition to the group and even more so about the twists and turns involving members backgrounds and identities. Having a history to the Countless prior to SpudMuffin was key and WILL be key as the series progresses. This is no normal band of miscreants where the closest thing to a name you get is, "Generic Bad Guy #5". 

In closing, The Countless is a force not to be reckoned with, but Corn can handle it right? Below is a music video by Snow Patrol preforming "Take Back The City" from their album A Hundred Million Suns. This album is the very thing that brought these villains to mind. The very first members were inspired by listening to this very song on repeat. The rest of the album inspired other members as well as a variety of other characters. Which is why I have Snow Patrol to thank for being the band that allowed me to expanded Corn's universe.

Can you guess what this song might imply corncerning The Countless?

First Two Entries Are Up!

The first two characters have been completed! Each character is based off of how each person answered five simple questions. The winners of the first selection were Heather and Seth. Here's what I came up with-

Pesca: Peach-headed girl dealing in rope manipulation.

 AND

Kuma: Pineapple Bear that fits perfectly inside its pineapple shell.

I'm currently working on another draft for Pesca, so we will see how that turns out. If either of these sparked your interest and you would like to have a character based off of some of your interests then check out www.facebook.com/cornladymanpage  for details. All it takes is a little "liking" and a little "sharing" to have a chance at your character earning a guaranteed role in the first book of the Corn Ladyman Series!

Creative Character Contest!

The Creative Character Contest is a go!

For every twenty (20) "likes" on the Corn Ladyman Facebook page a drawing will be held, resulting in two winners. The lucky two will then be asked a few questions regarding their interests, likes, favorite things, and what special abilities they would like to have. All answers will be taken into consideration and then molded into a character (good or bad) that has the potential to be apart of the Corn Ladyman Universe.

Note that I stated "for EVERY twenty" meaning there will be more than one drawing, but of course, you guessed it the "likes" need to keep rolling. Without the participation there will be no competition. Once the page has reached one hundred (100) "likes", resulting in a total of 10 finalists and 10 characters the elimination will begin. Only one of the characters will have a GUARANTEED role in Book One of the Corn Ladyman Series and the person behind the character will be able to find their name in the list of Thank You's at the beginning of the book.

Character based on Melissa Walker's interests

I cannot reach this dream on my own. I need your help and support to spread the word, along with the name. If you are not chosen to be a finalist (have a character drawn up), there will still be chance for up to three (3) "Wild Card" candidates to be thrown in with the ten others! You can start now by referring friends and family to view the blog and "like" the page. In order for me to keep track of who referred who, you must have the person simply write "Name of who referred them told me about this blog/page." The top three with the highest number of referrals after the ten have been selected will then be revealed the following day and characters will then be made up for those individuals.

Hope everything was clear enough! 10 finalists and the possibility of 3 wild cards for a max total of 13 drawn characters and a chance to earn a guaranteed spot in my book series! Thanks for reading, following, and "liking" cannot wait to see who makes the top 10!

Corn, Potatoes, and a Pinch of Magic

Some call it "Veggie Tales" meets "Zelda", I call it as it is - madness. How the story of Corn Ladyman came about is a rather interesting one. It all started with the second most bizarre nickname I have heard any human being give another - Grass lady man. The name was easily forgotten by the name giver and the next encounter Corn Ladyman was born. Due to the infatuation I had with this young lady, I did what I do best, I took it a step further.

Corn became a mascot of sorts. Prior to inventing Corn Ladyman's image I often tried to invent something new and "original" (whatever that means). Creations such as: The M Team (a team of super powered monsters), Roboman (Robo cop but you know... different), and JT Detectives (inspired by my love for Scooby Doo). As you can see none were exactly original and one after the other became bland, but Corn, he stuck like glue.

Corn Ladyman and the Search For the Fairy Princess was a project that began in September 2006. The title itself clearly illustrates the basic premise I had in mind. It was simple, a simple boy (Corn) saves a princess (now called Brielle) from an evil power (SpudMuffin). Over the next two years I had fallen in and out of pursuing the making of this book. It wasn't until I found myself in the small town of Geneva, New York. Living just minutes away from a lakefront it took scenic walks and a blank sketch pad just enough of an opening for my cob-headed friend to find his way back into my thoughts.

Since Geneva a variety of characters were added and upon my return to Utah I attended Utah Valley University. Participating in a few art classes caused characters to be recreated and the story line to become deeper and more complex than I ever imagined it would be.  Now six years later the dream of sending Corn and all that follows close behind him out into the world has transformed into a realistic goal of mine that I plan on achieving.

Once Upon A Time. . .

There was a young corn stalk named Corn Ladyman. Corn was a dreamer and an adventurous soul just like his father. He had never been this far from Towne before. Now he had all of Talitha to explore, however this was no sight-seeing vacation, he had a serious task ahead of him- rescuing Brielle. Once Corn found the items the Count requested he would have her in his arms again. Sure he barely knew her, but that night at the festival, there was something there, the dancing, the gazes, it all felt so surreal. Full of determination and hope he continued onward, believing he would see her again.