QUEEN OF PIRATES!!! New 10/22/07

[MTJpub]

QUEEN OF PIRATES
Story by Kunzite
Art by Kalamos

Infamy on the high seas is a commodity quickly won, and even more quickly lost. In a flash, the tides of battle can send the most fearsome of pirates to a watery grave, their fortunes lost and their names forgotten. But fate come as it may, there is one name that will live at the height of villainy among seafarers forever. Captain Blaze, the most formidable lady pirate the high seas have ever known, whose name is anathema to sailors and buccaneers of all waters.

It was the course of duty that led Rebecca Saunders, privateer and bounty hunter for the Royal Navy, to cross paths with this legendary foe. But now, captured by Captain Blaze, Rebecca discovers that the lady pirate’s skill in combat is matched only by her skill in tickling! With her secret of a buried treasure hoard spilled under the Captain’s interrogation techniques, Rebecca is held prisoner as her captors set full sail towards the booty. Can Rebecca manage to escape the Captain’s merciless clutches? And what ticklish perils will stand in the way of these buccaneers and a fortune in gold?

QUEEN OF PIRATES
**19,000 + words!
**Cover Art!
**3 Illustrations!
**Bonus Sketches!
**Bonus Roughs!
**Relentless Tickling!
E-Mail Delivery!

Product & Ordering Information
http://www.mtjpub.com/enovels/QOPirates.html

 

[MTJpub]

Please enjoy these bonus sketches By Kalamos!


Other titles by Kunzite..

Sisters at Arms

A New Project -Interactive Fiction Game

Other titles by Kalamos..

The Art of Kalamos

 

[Low_Roads]

A generous bounty of piratical imagery! Everything but a peg leg (and considering the story's special necessities, such would be an unwanted handicap anyway!) The cast of characters looks strong, most fitting subjects for Kalamos' pen and brush! The Amazons are particularly feral, their lion-like manes, tattooing and barbaric ornamentation firing wild speculation about the primal fetish punishments they'd aim at sea-going invaders!

 

[Kalamos]

A generous bounty of piratical imagery!

A veritable booty!

He... he... he...

The cast of characters looks strong, most fitting subjects for Kalamos' pen and brush!

Oddly enough, this is one of my few pen-less jobs.
Everything has been rendered in pencil.
I did use different kinds, with varying thickness and density, for deeper lines and pasty shading.

While it might seem otherwise, the computer touch-up has been relatively minimal.
A lot of the shading comes from the pencil-work itself. 🙂
A bit of an oddity, compared to my previous jobs.

And you should just check the inside art!
I cut myself a bit of slack, and cut a lot of clothing away too.
You could get a general idea from the banner pics.
I wanted to draw something that could appeal to the general audience too.

The Amazons are particularly feral, their lion-like manes, tattooing and barbaric ornamentation firing wild speculation about the primal fetish punishments they'd aim at sea-going invaders!

Ah, those would require a thread on their own.
We did not have a clear idea on how they should look - I only knew they had to be well-muscled, but that did not tell me much.

Before joining TT I seldom dabbled in fetish art. Or anything that even remotely looked sexy.
My female chars were tough and almost manly, as I expect real female soldiers would look.

When requested to draw muscle-bound natives, I had to try hard, and avoid making them look like Conan in drags.

:super_hap

...

So, from Kunzite's specs, I worked hard, drawing ideas from actual ethnic beauties, making sure the amazons looked exotic, while still being appealing to the typical readers of adventure comics.

The tattoo work posed a problem too: in the original draft we had envisioned the natives as much more feral than this - with black paints almost obscuring the facial features.
Later, I lightened the details up a bit, and worked on making them look savage with the elaborate hair-dos and jewellery pieces.

Between the huntresses and the championess, they are literally covered with shells, pins and skulls, but the features and bodies are still recognisable.

...

Ah... All in all, I'm quite proud of this job.
Hope you'll love it too.

I have a couple more unreleased sketches to post.
Just show some appreciation with those comments, and I'll be happy to share!

😉

 

[eagphilly]

More wonderful work from a venerable artist. You put such vivid detail in your work. Your linework is bold but not overbearing, and your coloring is just the right amount of soft. I tip my cap ^_^

 

[Kalamos]

More wonderful work from a venerable artist. You put such vivid detail in your work. Your linework is bold but not overbearing, and your coloring is just the right amount of soft. I tip my cap ^_^

Ve...venerable...? I... I am not THAT old!
I think I am actually younger than... er... oh.

...

Mmm...

...

Ok, alright.
You can venerate me.

No sloppy kissing though.

...

😉

 

[eagphilly]

Ve...venerable...? I... I am not THAT old!
I think I am actually younger than... er... oh.

...

Mmm...

...

Ok, alright.
You can venerate me.

No sloppy kissing though.

...

😉

Looks like i need a thesaurus or dictionary 🙂
I'll venerate you good, like no one else!! I think I venerated before, so don't worry about sloppiness XD

 

[Kalamos]

I'll venerate you good, like no one else!! I think I venerated before, so don't worry about sloppiness XD

Mmm... well, yeah, I think I could do as a domme.
I sure have the right mindset - lacking the right gender.

😉

...

Now, speaking of business, I still have a bunch of unreleased teaser pics.
I nearly flooded MTJ with stuff, even after QoP's official release, and I still have pics to send.

This must be the largest, richest, project I've ever worked on: I never had so many extra pics, after submitting the final package.
And not just alternate versions of the same pics; I'm talking about extra preliminary sketches, behind-the-scenes pics... that kind of geek stuff you get when you buy the Platinum edition of your favourite something.

I'll start posting when MTJ gives me a green light, or when I forget I needed one in the first place, and I absent-mindedly start posting anyway by mistake.

...

🙂

 

[MTJpub]

I'll start posting when MTJ gives me a green light, or when I forget I needed one in the first place, and I absent-mindedly start posting anyway by mistake.

GREEN LIGHT! 😉

 

[Kalamos]

GREEN LIGHT! 😉

😉

...


Ok, I am going to go easy on you guys.
I'll start with a couple of rather tame teasers.

...

Teaser 01 is yet another rendition of Caroline's - Captain Blaze's former superior officer.

In art specs Kuzite briefly described her a tomboyish woman with a close-cut hairdo.
Without giving too much plot away, she makes a relatively short appearance in the story.
It is interesting that her role is fairly minor, compared to her raw "show time" in pictures.
She gets the cover - none of the other main chars do - except a younger Blaze, I managed to sneak in, in what I assumed to be her older [younger?] attire, without the tricorne hat.

Again, I had to "twist my wrist", metaphorically speaking.
Caroline could end up looking like a muscle bound virago with a cleft chin - but I wanted her to ooze sex appeal, or at least as much sex appeal my drawing skills could afford.

I blended facial features from a couple Italian tv starlets, going for a wavy hairdo and a few extra details - such as the lacy bustier and the heart tattoo.
She is a FEMALE pirate, so while her trappings have to be practical, I wanted to her retain some feminine flair.

It should be mentioned, when I did the basic char sketches I also built my palette up, so each char had a distinctive set of colours - matching hair, complexion and demeanour.

Caroline is cruel, bloody minded and greedy. I already knew she had to be blond, so I chose a tanned skin tone, and went for a set of reds and purples.
Purple is the colour of covetous hunger, they say.
Caroline is definitely a covetous character.

Captain Blaze came second. I had a few fantasy chars in mind, and I could choose from many kind of red-heads to draw from.
In the end, I probably made her less flashy than requested, but I added a few not documented details, such as the lacy bustier - stolen from Caroline? - and the decorated sash, doubling as a sword baldric.
I had some fun adding ribbons and lace to the groin piece... the coloured version is actually shaped as a heart... bet you had not noticed that. 😉
She is a red-head, but she's not pale. Actually, she's got a sexy tan, that - I think - confers her a warm and earthy charm.
In specs she was meant to wear black and white; I opted for a cream coloured blouse, some dark grey details, such as hat, shorts and boots, and some green for the sash and bandanna.
Again, earthy colours, for a strongly physical character.

Rebecca came third - and I never quite got her appeared the same, throughout QoP. I was not sure about her ethnicity.
While she ends up laughing a lot in the story, she is supposed to be a cold huntress of bounties.
So I chose steely greys and metal hues, and a matching pale complexion - which does not make sense since all chars are meant to be sea-faring people, but complemented the iron tones nicely.

Finally, the Amazon women were pure joy to draw and colour.
I wanted their body to be strong yet feminine, so I chose natural hues and and darker "cappuccino" complexion that just screams "bite me".
Literally... 😉
As I said, they are patterned after a few ethnic beauties I spotted on tv.
I've actually developed a soft spot I was not aware of for some of them.
I am so proud of the Amazon huntress from picture 02 - it's actually the third one, but I have this thing with zeros... - I just had to feature her in the animated ad icon.
You can see it over TMF... I hope you'll love the flipping page effect too.

...

Teaser 02 is actually a mock-up I cobbled together after the whole job, for the fun of it.

While I did not plan on drawing an actual scene from the story, this pic is actually faithful to the novel, as Rebecca and Blaze make it to the native village and...

Hehehe, you gotta buy the novel to know, but if you scallawags are reasonably familiar with piratical literature, you can figure it out on your own.

😉

...

Speaking of it, this is one of those novels that got me hooked.
I am actually a semi-avid reader - and let me say, QoP is more than just a collection of nice words with flashy pictures.
It is a finely wrought story, that draws from a rich background, and seamlessly adds a series of fetish ideas to the already enrapturing narration.
In a word, Kunzite wrote a fine story, and only my tenuous grasp of English bars me from giving the proper tribute to his work.

I wish others - I know you are there - offered much needed support in offering due tribute to this compelling ezine.

...

All in all?
It was fun.

🙂

 

[Low_Roads]

Have no fear! Caroline is oozing (not the happiest metaphor for a one-eyed girl!) I note that her eye patch motif is echoed a little lower down with the cutlass strap... intentional?

The background map seems to indicate the location of the Rorschach Islands... anyways, a fun location for these fully-loaded Vargas gals to strut their charms! The Amazons in picture 2 bookend the action in coifs that rather reflect their grass-hut architecture... flaxen-haired with a vengeance!

 

[Kalamos]

Have no fear! Caroline is oozing (not the happiest metaphor for a one-eyed girl!)

Ew...

I note that her eye patch motif is echoed a little lower down with the cutlass strap... intentional?

Er... where...?

The background map seems to indicate the location of the Rorschach Islands...

A lot of fun drawing that map.
I had considered nabbing a map motive from Google, but drawing and colouring it proved easier and much more fun.

🙂

...

Now you mention it, though, it might give insights on my mind...

😉

a fun location for these fully-loaded Vargas gals to strut their charms!

Vargas no less? I guess all that experimenting paid off.
Or I have to buy you a drink... 😉

The Amazons in picture 2 bookend the action in coifs that rather reflect their grass-hut architecture... flaxen-haired with a vengeance!

Eh, yeah, I did chose a recurring design - or thatch-work...? - for both hairdos and monkey huts...

Felt it was fun and doubled as a comic relief...
After all, I kept whistling the bar tune from monkey island for a couple of months straight for inspiration... I was not exactly in my sanest state of mind.

...

If I ever had a SANE mind to begin with.

😛aw:

 

[Low_Roads]

I note that her eye patch motif is echoed a little lower down with the cutlass strap... intentional?

Er... where...?

Caroline's buckled cutlass strap (or perhaps the belt is there to hold her pistols) stretches diagonally from right shoulder to left waist, in a mirror of the way her eye-patch extends from left temple to right jaw. Such accouterment is a swashbuckling staple, yet Caroline is the only one of the three featured characters so fitted. It occurred to me that this continuity might have been intentional, though I don't discount the possibility of subconscious suggestion either.

 

[Kalamos]

Caroline's buckled cutlass strap (or perhaps the belt is there to hold her pistols) stretches diagonally from right shoulder to left waist, in a mirror of the way her eye-patch extends from left temple to right jaw. Such accoutrement is a swashbuckling staple, yet Caroline is the only one of the three featured characters so fitted. It occurred to me that this continuity might have been intentional, though I don't discount the possibility of subconscious suggestion either.

A matter of symmetry I guess - also, from art specs alone I felt she was a bit under-equipped, given her role and position.
Of course she was meant to be portrayed while roped to the mast and tickled, so it made sense she would be wearing just the barest minimum.

The doublet itself was a personal addition of mine. So were the powder charges and the brace of pistols.

...

I tried to make each and every one of the main chars different by trappings too.
Caroline is practical-minded; her equipment reflects that: the cutlass is unadorned, and she's wearing extra weapons.
The anklet and tattoo help tone an otherwise too manly char down.

Blaze is flashy, and she's carrying a highly decorated blade, with gilded guard and ivory hilt.
Even the scabbard and the sash are full of decorations - such as jewels and pins.

Rebecca is the coldest char, with much more formal training than the above, so she wields a weapon that shows that accordingly: a rapier.
Actually, by mid XVII, she would be sporting a colichemarde, which is actually a thinner derivative, but given how physically strong she is, and the fact she is a sea-faring char, a thicker blade would work well against cutlasses anyway.

I originally planned to draw Rebecca in high uniform - but that would have required an unhealthy amount of assumptions about history, nationality, and so on... so I chose something in-between - also to avoid possible conflicts with Kuzite's vision.

🙂

 

[Kunzite1]

Let me tell you Kalamos, it's been a real pleasure listening to the artistic background that went into the creation of these illustrations. As I told Kalamos in an e-mail, a lot of his illustrations were more visually perfect than anything I had imagined while writing the story. I have always thought more in words than images (one reason I write; there is enough sadness in the world without seeing me try to draw). As a result of this, I sent Kalamos paragraphs describing the characters' traits but did a rather incomplete job capturing how they would look. I really only realized what I had wanted them to look like when I saw his illustrations for the first time. Believe it or not, I wrote all of Queen of Pirates without really visualizing Rebecca, and when Kalamos finally showed his Rebecca to me she was perfect.

With regards to Caroline, her "camera time" does indeed outweigh her time in the narrative, primarily because of the cover. I knew that I wanted the cover to take place on a ship's deck (this is a pirate story, after all), and the best scene on deck happened to involve her.

It was really the attention to detail that made these illustrations turn out as wonderfully as they did. It was a real treat for me to see them, and I hope everyone else who reads QoP agrees.

 

[scavenger]

Wow! Awesomeness! All those great teaser pics, they're all magnificent pieces of art by themselves.
I wasn't able to visit the forum the past days, so I only just discovered this thread, and people already seem to have commented extensively. Nonetheless, I think it wouldn't hurt to share my thoughts as well... 🙂
If there's any artist fit for a project like this, it has to be Kalamos. To my opinion (and others will agree) he's a master of Fantasy Tickling art. I mean, look at all those details! Judging from what been said in previous posts, Kalamos really did some extensive history research for this project, and while I couldn't possibly say which rapier/sword dates from which century, somehow it makes the characters all the richer and more believable, convincing the viewer each character has a history of her own.
Something that especially struck me were the Amazon women. Far different from the Xena-type amazons that are so abundant in fantasy art. And much more fitting to the pirate theme. They look far more savage (and indeed, Kalamos confirmed in an above post they were based on real ethnic women)

I figure it's the addition of these little historical facts from the "real world" that makes Kalamos' art work like it does... plus the fact that he draws so well! 🙂

 

[Kalamos]

-> Kunzite.

Making the characters come to life is the best part of the whole process.
It brings back good old memories, when I was a kid and I used to devour those fantasy art books, full of artist commentary and insight.

Why the sword had to look that way, how a certain char ended up wearing longer sleeves, or another one lost her pants.
The creative process behind drawing itself.

...

Of course, it was your narration that made the imagery all that vivid to me: I could see in my mind the characters running, fighting, leaping and bounding.

There was a particular scene, when a certain pirate raises her gun, to shoot down a foe, that I could picture in my mind frame by frame!

...

QoP is actually engaging beyond the fetish value itself, and I ended up reading through it twice, for the sheer fun of it.

🙂



-> Scavenger.

Scav, man.
Thanks. 🙂

It took me a while to sort things out and reply, but let me say thank you for your words.
As I was saying, designing things - making sure they make sense within the tale itself - is an important part of the job to me.

I am glad it shows. Well, at least a bit. 🙂

...

Beyond the designing part itself, I think QoP is the sexiest project I've worken on to date.
Blending classical piratical imagery with believable yet alluring feminine figures was part of the challenge, and I am really glad I was part of the crew.

...

It was fun, and a real pleasure.
And I'd like to thank everybody with an extra sketch, just to celebrate.

:redstar: :redstar: :redstar:

 

[Kalamos]

Adding fourth teaser pic - as promised.

 

[scavenger]

And what a TEASER that is! How could a pirate babe not be teasing, wiggling her toes before our very nose like that? Fantastic drawing, Kalamos! Thank you! 🙂

 

[Kalamos]

And what a TEASER that is! How could a pirate babe not be teasing, wiggling her toes before our very nose like that?

Hehehe, yeah, she is quite... teasing.

...

Tried out a different style and technique.
I don't like much trying the same thing twice in a row.
Since I had already spent the "heroic pose" card for your tribute pic, I tried dabbling a bit with "mangaish" [manguesque...?] imagery.

In my original plans I wanted to try a F/F scenario, but the blasted piece of paper wasn't big enough!
Sometimes I have to stitch several sheets to get a pic done...

Colouring is a bit of an intermediate thing: since lines were very simple this time - but bolder, since I wanted to convey the position and depth of limbs - I felt I needed some colour to enliven the pic a bit.
The trick here is very, very simple: borrowed the idea from manga as well.
They usually paint light as coloured spots with sharply contoured areas.
Did something similar: building from shadow up, and finally adding light spots in my usual manner.
Loved doing the jewellery quite a bit: really like the rich golden hues.

...

Well, not my most complex pic to date, but it was an "extra" bonus pic, and I wanted to test things out for future projects.

Thanks for your support, as always!

🙂

 

[MTJpub]

Kalamos,

Outstanding my friend! You always go above and beyond all expectations.

Your work on this project has been magnificent!

Thank you!

Morandilas
MTJ Publishing

 

[Kalamos]

Outstanding my friend! You always go above and beyond all expectations.
Your work on this project has been magnificent!

😉

...

I won't be stealing thunders here: the tale was just as good, and inspiration flowed to me easily.
Cheers to Kunzite.