Aliens, Monsters, and Earthians
Conceptual story art of characters and creatures from my stories
I love visual storytelling.
A few readers have told me that reading one of my novels feels like watching a movie because it is so easy to visualize the characters and settings I’m describing. I take it as a great compliment. My writing style is highly visual by design.
Before I write a scene, I close my eyes and visualize the whole scene as if I’m watching a movie. This helps me quickly figure out which details to focus on and how to pace the scene correctly. Taking this approach also gives me a clear vision of everything in the fictional world I created.
Two years ago, I had a chance to feed descriptions to an image generator and produce a wealth of conceptual art related to characters and settings from my stories.
I shared some of this conceptual art in a previous newsletter:
I’m going to share another batch of conceptual art with you all again, so you can get a feel for what I’m thinking as I write my novels and novellas.
Paige Beck
Paige is the lead protagonist in Under a Fallen Sun and returns to play a key supporting role in Alien People later. The image here is based on how Paige appears around the time Under a Fallen Sun takes place. I feel like the image generator does a good job of capturing both her attractiveness and her no-nonsense demeanor. Her hair coloring, eyes, skin tone, and facial structure closely match what I see when I think of Paige.
Kevin Riley
Kevin is a key supporting character in the Alien People Chronicles trilogy. He is a US Army ranger who flees Earth and inspires Calandra and Xttra to incite a rebellion against the chief sovereign of Ra’ahm. The image here captures Kevin’s fit military physique while also hinting at his underlying loyalty and kindness. His eyes, skin tone, hair, and facial structure are quite close to how I picture Kevin in my head.
Dray Le’al
Dray is a humanoid alien from the planet Lathos who is a supporting character in Among Hidden Stars. She is a strong-willed assistant pilot serving on a Stellar Guard scout ship. Dray has vivid, piercing eyes like all Lathoans. She wears distinctive braids that are popular in her homeland. I feel like the image here captures Dray’s essence.
Delcor Cirkoy
Delcor is ultimately unmasked as the main antagonist of the Alien People Chronicles trilogy. He rules as chief sovereign over Ra’ahm, a leading nation on the alien planet of Lathos. Delcor is a ruthless dictator who has reigned for many decades when the events of the trilogy unfold. The image here does a good job of capturing his stern and intimidating demeanor. Delcor is a cunning adversary who is not to be trifled with.
The Snow Dragon
If you think the titular monster of Snow Dragon is nightmare fuel, you’re not wrong. This subterranean predator is supposed to resemble a giant towering snake with sturdy limbs and a long tail. Again, this image does a good job of capturing what I first visualized with this mythical creature.
Alien bugs
I feature many alien animal species throughout my Alien People Chronicles trilogy. This naturally includes insects. Two notable insect species in the trilogy are setaworms and ictus bugs. The image on the left is a setaworm. The image on the right is an ictus bug. Both are smaller than the image generator suggests (think along the lines of a large spider or wasp) but it does capture their respective unsettling appearances. (Fun fact: calling someone an ictus bug or a setaworm is a popular insult on Lathos).
The Staff of Onrai
A desperate search for a powerful ancient relic drives the plot of Among Hidden Stars — the concluding chapter in the Alien People Chronicles trilogy. The Staff of Onrai is that relic. It is a staff, according to Lathoan legend, forged by Ahm (the Lathoan creator god) to assist in building in civilization on the planet. Peering into the stone atop the staff lets a person see the past, present, and future simultaneously, rendering it a powerful weapon in the wrong hands. The image matches up well with how I describe the staff in the story. (Fun fact: I drew some inspiration for this relic from the white stone mentioned in Revelations chapter 2 in the Bible).
What are your impressions of this conceptual art I shared? If you’ve read my novels and novellas associated with this art, do the images match how you envisioned the characters, animals, and objects mentioned in this article?
A good character bible is essential for every sci-fi and fantasy.
I think you're very talented!