Chris Howard's Blog, page 66
April 29, 2018
April 25, 2018
“Cloud War”, an old painting I finally got around to...
“Cloud War”, an old painting I finally got around to finishing. Did this in ArtRage and PSCC. Anyone writing a book with something like an early 20th Century fey aerial bomber squadron? http://SaltwaterWitch.com
April 23, 2018
Although the skies were clear last night, the...
Although the skies were clear last night, the “seeing” wasn’t great–“seeing” is atmospheric interference from temperature changes, convection currents, and other funny stuff going on in the air above your telescope. I did get to test out the Pentax 200mm f/4 lens with the Atik 414EX monochrome CCD, and an Ha longpass filter. These clusters are fairly small, so this isn’t a very good setup for shooting them, but here you go anyway. Top left: the 300,000 stars that make up Messier 13 (NGC 6205), a globular cluster in the constellation Hercules. Messier 5 in the constellation Serpens. The M3 globular cluster the constellation Canes Venatici. Messier 92 (NGC 6341) is another cluster in the constellation Hercules. http://SaltwaterWitch.com/astronomy
April 22, 2018
April 20, 2018
We first meet Sam Vimes as a miserable Night Watch captain in...
We first meet Sam Vimes as a miserable Night Watch captain in Guards! Guards!, when he’s scrambling to keep his sanity as a lowly copper, when all he has are the scraps that remain after the guilds and nobles have divided up the wealth and decided what law and order will look like. As you’d expect, it’s been beaten into a shape that best suits them. He’s often drunk, unable to do his job, haunted by the deeds of his ancestors, but if you stick with Vimes, you see that he knows the streets of his city like few others, he understands the workings and motives of the Ankh-Morpork guilds and aristocracy like an insider, although he will never be one. Above all, he’s just a good guy who has never had it easy, but who has taken the opportunity to learn something at every turn, from his humble beginnings to his marriage to the most powerful woman in the city. We can always rely on old Vimes. We can rely on his solid moral core, and even the need to “go spare” when it’s necessary. That’s Sir Samuel Vimes, Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, Duke of Ankh–also known by the lofty title, Blackboard Monitor. He’s another one of my favorite Terry Pratchett characters–he may be my favorite, although I’m very fond of Granny Weatherwax. This time I’ve painted the mountain pass scene in The Fifth Elephant, when Sam, Sybil, and party are waylaid by bandits. Vimes has other plans, and he has three tools he can use: the one-shot assassin’s weapon he confiscated from Inigo Skimmer, a cigar, and a match to light it.
I’m working my way through some of my favorites in the Watch:
Angua
http://the0phrastus.tumblr.com/post/172602193231/sergeant-angua-of-the-ankh-morpork-city-watch
Detritus
http://the0phrastus.tumblr.com/post/172699455011/sergeant-detritus-of-the-ankh-morpork-city-watch
April 17, 2018
Lurking… Just because you’re from the sea, or have...
Lurking… Just because you’re from the sea, or have saltwater in your blood, doesn’t mean you don’t have to be careful when you’re swimming around in the deeps. http://SaltwaterWitch.com
“Your call is important to us…please remain on the...
“Your call is important to us…please remain on the line.” What if every time you picked up a seashell and held it to your ear–“listening to the sea”, you were actually linking into some deeply connected ocean communications network? But maybe you don’t understand the interface yet? Sounds like a usability problem, Poseidon. Call yourself the “Lord of the Sea” with that third rate, 5th Century BCE interface design? We got to get you into the 21st Century. About 4.5 hours in ArtRage and PSCC. http://SaltwaterWitch.com
April 15, 2018
I added a Saltwater Witch comic placeholder page, with the...
I added a Saltwater Witch comic placeholder page, with the remaining chapters from the book, in case anyone got to #18 and wanted to find out what happens at the end of the story. I have been doing some sketching and storyboarding for the comic, but don’t know when I will get pages complete. I’ll keep moving this placeholder out as I add new chapters/issues, until the comic is done! http://SaltwaterWitch.com/switch
brutgroup:High Island Reservoir East Dam, Sai Kung East Country...
High Island Reservoir East Dam, Sai Kung East Country Park, Sai Kung, Hong Kong. #BRUTgroup photo taken by @timmy727 via _BRUT #utilitarianarchitecture
