so just a few words about this journey:  2 months ago, my computer was stolen.  right from behind my back at starbucks, can you believe it?  me neither.  but, there it is.  an event worth writing about.  so, it’s been all about gathering back my stuff, getting a stand-in computer (thanks, melissa and daniel!), and getting back on track.  oh, and i went to indonesia for 3 weeks.

so where are we now on the road to elaris?  refining the story, folks.  it’s all about the story.

here’s a tid bit we might not all know:  our main character, laneupi, falls in love with a new employee at the elaris company named “mark.”  guess who else did when she was in high school?

i actually designed a similar dress in 2002 when i was inspired by a couple scenes in star wars episode 2.  despite the film’s yakness, i adored all of padme’s outfits.  who feels me?

terah, the world in which the story of elaris takes place, has extreme terrain.  some lands are complete plains and some are actually nothing but cliffs and mountains.  homes are even built on cliffs and rhythms of life have evolved to accommodate.   therefore, you can easily know from where a person comes by his/her dress.  those living in the plains have the luxury to wear minimal fabric and sheer material, whereas those living in canyons and cliffs are adorned in rugged gear and intricate footwear.

here’s a peakle:

they look like birds, but have fur instead of feathers and fly with insect-like wings.

so the design of laneupi was birthed out of pain.  during an intense time of my life, i found myself needing to relate to my surroundings through a detached medium.  due to my immaturity and also some false teachings my by then leaders, i believed that admittance to pain, confusion, doubt, and fears meant wickedness.  therefore my mind created this creature to hurt, lose, question, and fear for me.

it’s interesting that her design became the one for a character that does all those things in a story that examines the significance of confrontation in the journey to become one’s true self.

laneupi is torn about joining the elaris corporation

this is the scene i’ve drawn a million times.  it needs to set the tone of the entire story, so her face, the composition, and the colors need to evoke the element of fantasy, as well as the moment of anguish and self-persuasion that’s taking place.  lots of convey, no?

but it will be fun to design all the toiletries and such that go on the vanity below the mirror.

some thoughts i had once about anue, sirch, and laneupi.  what’s going on with this scan?

do you like how sirch stands like a girl?  i need to work on drawing men…

this is laneupi elaris, the daughter of mr. and mrs. elaris, CEO and CFO of the elaris organization, which is a family-run real estate development company that exists in a universe different from the one earth is in.