sneak peek at Cartouche Chronicles 3: maze of the Minotaur Artwork
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Note: All artwork created by Eric Cutright with Clip Studio Paint EX and a Gaomon PD156 Pro graphics tablet (plus Microsoft Visio Pro 2019 for precise linework and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 for miscellaneous photo editing).
See the Illustration Narrative in Cartouche Chronicles 3: Maze of the Minotaur for a complete listing of all artwork materials and references. All artwork Copyright 2021-2023 by Eric Cutright, All Rights Reserved. |
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Front Cover
Working rough draft, still lots more crazy to add ! Eventually I want to work in the Minotaur either right between Anubis and Horus or at the end of the maze, but I haven't figured that out just yet. I also want to add a golden string behind the Six as they begin to work their way through the maze (so they don't get lost), just like Ariadne's in the classic myth - or is it perhaps all true, hmmm ?
Working rough draft, still lots more crazy to add ! Eventually I want to work in the Minotaur either right between Anubis and Horus or at the end of the maze, but I haven't figured that out just yet. I also want to add a golden string behind the Six as they begin to work their way through the maze (so they don't get lost), just like Ariadne's in the classic myth - or is it perhaps all true, hmmm ?
Chapter 1: Doppelgangers
First draft - still need to add posters and other room bling plus more Easter eggs!
Characters (left to right): Tyler, Sophia, Akiiki, Marc, Aniya as Lucas, Tut as Asim, Priya as Mensah, Ankha as Sydney
First draft - still need to add posters and other room bling plus more Easter eggs!
Characters (left to right): Tyler, Sophia, Akiiki, Marc, Aniya as Lucas, Tut as Asim, Priya as Mensah, Ankha as Sydney
Bonus Chapter 1 Easter Egg poster! I had so much fun creating this "Visit Oak Island" poster as an Easter egg for Marc's room in Pompeii (above) that I decided to post it here as bonus material! This poster is a spoof on Asim's ridiculously romanticized version of his "first date" on Oak Island with Sydney from CC2: Practice (right before she conjured Big Spikey to clearly express her disagreement).
Characters (left to right): Past president One Eyed Willy Fan Club pirate zombie, Templar Knight zombie, past president CC Fan Club pirate zombie, Bastet (still need to fur her), Anubis (still need to fur him)
Characters (left to right): Past president One Eyed Willy Fan Club pirate zombie, Templar Knight zombie, past president CC Fan Club pirate zombie, Bastet (still need to fur her), Anubis (still need to fur him)
Chapter 2: Snafu
I'm getting close to done with this one - still a few final tweaks and more Easter eggs to add!
Characters (left to right): Ummm, sorry - too many spoilers. Let's just say time travel is involved, so maybe you can figure it out!
I'm getting close to done with this one - still a few final tweaks and more Easter eggs to add!
Characters (left to right): Ummm, sorry - too many spoilers. Let's just say time travel is involved, so maybe you can figure it out!
Chapter 3: Leeloo
Getting close to finished with this one. My first-ever attempt at drawing a massive makhluq alwasi ! Leeloo is a crazy mix of fierce lion, gorgeous spots like a jaguar, dangerous build of a saber-toothed tiger, wicked teeth that remind me of the spiders from The Hobbit (old animated version), and a colossal spiked-back dinosaur with a deadly tail like a mighty stegosaurus.
Characters (left to right): Leeloo, unlucky bird, Sydney, The King
Getting close to finished with this one. My first-ever attempt at drawing a massive makhluq alwasi ! Leeloo is a crazy mix of fierce lion, gorgeous spots like a jaguar, dangerous build of a saber-toothed tiger, wicked teeth that remind me of the spiders from The Hobbit (old animated version), and a colossal spiked-back dinosaur with a deadly tail like a mighty stegosaurus.
Characters (left to right): Leeloo, unlucky bird, Sydney, The King
Chapter 4: Truce
Just about finished (I think!)
Characters, front (left to right): Marc, Akiiki, Ankha as Sydney, Tut as Asim
Characters, rear (left to right): Dad, Lucas, Maud' Dib (tiny mouse on Lucas' shoulder), Emma, Mom, Chunk, Kate, Sloth, Marion, Ava, Mensah, Sallah
Just about finished (I think!)
Characters, front (left to right): Marc, Akiiki, Ankha as Sydney, Tut as Asim
Characters, rear (left to right): Dad, Lucas, Maud' Dib (tiny mouse on Lucas' shoulder), Emma, Mom, Chunk, Kate, Sloth, Marion, Ava, Mensah, Sallah
Chapter 5: Mystics
Just about finished (I think!)
Characters (left to right): Anubis, Sydney, Asim, Leeloo
Just about finished (I think!)
Characters (left to right): Anubis, Sydney, Asim, Leeloo
Chapter 6: Reunions
Working draft - still need to add posters, Easter eggs, and other room bling!
Characters (left to right): Marc, Akiiki, Sophia, Asim, Tyler, Leeloo, Sydney
Working draft - still need to add posters, Easter eggs, and other room bling!
Characters (left to right): Marc, Akiiki, Sophia, Asim, Tyler, Leeloo, Sydney
Bonus Chapter 6 Easter Egg poster! So obviously I love all things ST, so made an Easter egg poster for Marc's room as a little homage to my favorite show. It was incredibly fun to draw, especially Anubis' evil god-buddy Khepri, the scarab headed god whose grotesque body is entirely made up of squirming beetles and insects, maximum yuck! This is a first rough draft - I still have a bit to do (mostly making Khepri look nasty, dangerous, and evil enough to fit the vision in my crazy mind, plus maybe adding a couple more characters behind them) !
Chapter 7: Seabase
Just about finished (I think!)
Characters, left to right (ummm, not counting Lenny the leopard gecko, iguanas, ducks, and chickens): Marc, Akiiki, Alec, Emily, crazy kite-surfer, Tyler, Sydney, Asim, Sophia
Just about finished (I think!)
Characters, left to right (ummm, not counting Lenny the leopard gecko, iguanas, ducks, and chickens): Marc, Akiiki, Alec, Emily, crazy kite-surfer, Tyler, Sydney, Asim, Sophia
Chapter 8: Shipwreck
This is my first released chapter illustration for CC3, and is based on the real-life Scouts BSA Troop 1028/9 Seabase adventure in July 2021 to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. I really had a blast drawing all my favorite USVI sea creatures (plus a few crazy Easter eggs) for this one, but it was a little bittersweet to draw as Marc and I were set to go a few weeks earlier but our trip was cancelled by nasty old Hurricane Elsa. But I'm happy to report that we both had a wonderful time on our rescheduled Seabase adventure in August 2022 with an amazing crew of Scouts (several of whom, like Marc, have characters in my book series based on them) and naturally there was some new Scout craziness on the trip that made great material for this chapter!
Still have a few final tweaks to make!
Characters clockwise from left: Akiiki, Marc, Sophia, Asim, Alec, Emily, adults on boat: Miss Jenifer (Alec’s mom), Captain Charlie, Mr. Eric, and then Sydney and Tyler on the far right
This is my first released chapter illustration for CC3, and is based on the real-life Scouts BSA Troop 1028/9 Seabase adventure in July 2021 to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. I really had a blast drawing all my favorite USVI sea creatures (plus a few crazy Easter eggs) for this one, but it was a little bittersweet to draw as Marc and I were set to go a few weeks earlier but our trip was cancelled by nasty old Hurricane Elsa. But I'm happy to report that we both had a wonderful time on our rescheduled Seabase adventure in August 2022 with an amazing crew of Scouts (several of whom, like Marc, have characters in my book series based on them) and naturally there was some new Scout craziness on the trip that made great material for this chapter!
Still have a few final tweaks to make!
Characters clockwise from left: Akiiki, Marc, Sophia, Asim, Alec, Emily, adults on boat: Miss Jenifer (Alec’s mom), Captain Charlie, Mr. Eric, and then Sydney and Tyler on the far right
Chapter 9: Babysat
Just about finished (I think!)
This was my first-ever attempt at feathering, and I absolutely love the way it turned out! It's also just a bit easier than my crazy furring technique for all my furred creatures, and weirdly satisfying to draw!
Human/god characters, left to right: Mensah (giant Aztec Roc form), Lucas (jumping to rescue the falling Chunk), God (grey dove), Isis (pink dove), Emma, Ava, Horus
Creature characters, left to right: Whale sharks (bonus!), Chunk (falling), Maud' Dib, Sloth, Heart of Hathor, Third Eye of Horus, manta rays (bonus!), Swift Wing of Ra (top right), plus dolphins (bonus!)
Just about finished (I think!)
This was my first-ever attempt at feathering, and I absolutely love the way it turned out! It's also just a bit easier than my crazy furring technique for all my furred creatures, and weirdly satisfying to draw!
Human/god characters, left to right: Mensah (giant Aztec Roc form), Lucas (jumping to rescue the falling Chunk), God (grey dove), Isis (pink dove), Emma, Ava, Horus
Creature characters, left to right: Whale sharks (bonus!), Chunk (falling), Maud' Dib, Sloth, Heart of Hathor, Third Eye of Horus, manta rays (bonus!), Swift Wing of Ra (top right), plus dolphins (bonus!)
Chapter 10: Zachary
Finally, a relaxing day of lowkey fun (plus a Seabase reunion) for most of our heroes!
Characters, clockwise from bottom center: Marc, Akiiki, Asim, Sophia, Emily, Alec, Third Eye of Horus (TEOH), Tyler, Sydney, Leeloo, Zachary
Finally, a relaxing day of lowkey fun (plus a Seabase reunion) for most of our heroes!
Characters, clockwise from bottom center: Marc, Akiiki, Asim, Sophia, Emily, Alec, Third Eye of Horus (TEOH), Tyler, Sydney, Leeloo, Zachary
Chapter 11: Knossos
First rough draft! I felt obligated to really try to do this wonderful site justice, so it took me forever to do the linework (over 13,400 lines) for this 3D birds-eye overview of the whole palace of Knossos (back in its hey-day). It was a huge challenge but I love the way it is turning out! I still have lots to do including a little more coloring (see my Chapter 12 artwork for the authentic color scheme), adding trees and landscaping throughout and a lush garden on the right, maybe a bull or two, and of course adding a bunch of ancient Minoans moving around the palace and grounds going about their normal routine (while Lucas is spying on them via his time window). I took a few artistic liberties like adding a Pompeii-style oval theater in the top center instead of the more rectangular (and a bit boring) one from antiquity, and obviously I went a little crazy with the roof-top bull horn decorations and Minoan light-wells (basically open skylights to let sunlight in which are cool, but must have been a bit annoying when it rained).
Characters, left to right: Mensah, Ava, Sloth, Emma, Maud' Dib, Chunk, Lucas
First rough draft! I felt obligated to really try to do this wonderful site justice, so it took me forever to do the linework (over 13,400 lines) for this 3D birds-eye overview of the whole palace of Knossos (back in its hey-day). It was a huge challenge but I love the way it is turning out! I still have lots to do including a little more coloring (see my Chapter 12 artwork for the authentic color scheme), adding trees and landscaping throughout and a lush garden on the right, maybe a bull or two, and of course adding a bunch of ancient Minoans moving around the palace and grounds going about their normal routine (while Lucas is spying on them via his time window). I took a few artistic liberties like adding a Pompeii-style oval theater in the top center instead of the more rectangular (and a bit boring) one from antiquity, and obviously I went a little crazy with the roof-top bull horn decorations and Minoan light-wells (basically open skylights to let sunlight in which are cool, but must have been a bit annoying when it rained).
Characters, left to right: Mensah, Ava, Sloth, Emma, Maud' Dib, Chunk, Lucas
Chapter 12: Minos
First super rough draft - just my linework and base colors for the awesome throne room in the Palace of Knossos (back in its hey-day). Characters King Minos, Theseus, Ariadne, and palace guards coming soon! Still lots to do!
Cool fact: The solid stone (and vividly painted) throne here is the oldest throne ever uncovered in Europe!
First super rough draft - just my linework and base colors for the awesome throne room in the Palace of Knossos (back in its hey-day). Characters King Minos, Theseus, Ariadne, and palace guards coming soon! Still lots to do!
Cool fact: The solid stone (and vividly painted) throne here is the oldest throne ever uncovered in Europe!
Chapter 13: Bull-leaping
Almost done with this one - so far my background of the central courtyard of the mighty Palace of Knossos (back in its hey-day) and crazy bull-leapers, but lots of spectators, Easter eggs, and more details coming soon! The bull-leaping scene is based on the famous fresco from Knossos, and I tried to get the bull and the leaper poses as close as possible to the ancient original!
Characters (left to right): Icarus, mighty Minoan bull, Phaedra, Ariadne
Almost done with this one - so far my background of the central courtyard of the mighty Palace of Knossos (back in its hey-day) and crazy bull-leapers, but lots of spectators, Easter eggs, and more details coming soon! The bull-leaping scene is based on the famous fresco from Knossos, and I tried to get the bull and the leaper poses as close as possible to the ancient original!
Characters (left to right): Icarus, mighty Minoan bull, Phaedra, Ariadne
Chapter 14: Ariadne
Almost done, but still a bit to do!
Characters, left to right: Ariadne, Theseus
Almost done, but still a bit to do!
Characters, left to right: Ariadne, Theseus
Chapter 15: Schemes
First rough draft of the Queen's Hall in the mighty palace of Knossos (back in its hey-day), still lots to do. I'm almost done with the famous Dolphin Fresco on the left (still need to add the little fish in between), and I haven't started on the trim and the famous Dancing Girl Fresco for the white walls in the center.
Characters Phaedra and Theseus coming soon too!
First rough draft of the Queen's Hall in the mighty palace of Knossos (back in its hey-day), still lots to do. I'm almost done with the famous Dolphin Fresco on the left (still need to add the little fish in between), and I haven't started on the trim and the famous Dancing Girl Fresco for the white walls in the center.
Characters Phaedra and Theseus coming soon too!
Chapter 16: Storm
Working draft, still a bit to do!
Sneak peek dialog from CC3 (blatantly working in one of my favorite power quotes):
A few seconds before this scene - "Trust me, youngling, you cannot withstand this storm," Anubis growled menacingly to Sydney.
This scene after Sydney's surprise teleport - "Trust ME, dog, I AM the storm," Sydney whispered fiercely, neatly slicing off his ear with her lightsaber while breaking his necklace to retrieve the three precious cartouche bracelets.
Characters, left to right: Anubis, Sydney (post-teleport), Lucas, Ava, Sydney (pre-teleport), Asim
Working draft, still a bit to do!
Sneak peek dialog from CC3 (blatantly working in one of my favorite power quotes):
A few seconds before this scene - "Trust me, youngling, you cannot withstand this storm," Anubis growled menacingly to Sydney.
This scene after Sydney's surprise teleport - "Trust ME, dog, I AM the storm," Sydney whispered fiercely, neatly slicing off his ear with her lightsaber while breaking his necklace to retrieve the three precious cartouche bracelets.
Characters, left to right: Anubis, Sydney (post-teleport), Lucas, Ava, Sydney (pre-teleport), Asim
Chapter 17: Despair
Almost done, but still a bit to do!
Characters (left to right, not counting beetles, skeletons, and lava monsters): Tyler, Emma, Mensah, Sophia
Almost done, but still a bit to do!
Characters (left to right, not counting beetles, skeletons, and lava monsters): Tyler, Emma, Mensah, Sophia
Chapter 18: Oracle
Working draft - still lots to do!
Characters (left to right): Alec, Emily, Sloth (jumping), Chunk, Ankha, Lucas, Ava, Zachary
Working draft - still lots to do!
Characters (left to right): Alec, Emily, Sloth (jumping), Chunk, Ankha, Lucas, Ava, Zachary
Chapter 19: Search
Almost done, but still a bit to do!
Characters, left to right: Icarus (flying), Greek oarsmen, Daedalus (flying), Theseus, Phaedra, Ariadne, Ava, Lucas, Maud' Dib (tiny mouse on Lucas' shoulder), Kate
Almost done, but still a bit to do!
Characters, left to right: Icarus (flying), Greek oarsmen, Daedalus (flying), Theseus, Phaedra, Ariadne, Ava, Lucas, Maud' Dib (tiny mouse on Lucas' shoulder), Kate
Chapter 20: Maze
First super rough draft - will be an extract from the final CC3 cover art.
First super rough draft - will be an extract from the final CC3 cover art.
Chapter 21: Minotaur
Coming REALLY soon! I just started working on this one, and so far so good!
Coming REALLY soon! I just started working on this one, and so far so good!
Chapter 22: Seeds
Working draft - I still have lots of furring, makhluq alwasi weaponizing, Easter egging, and resizing to do!
Makhluq alwasi characters, back (left to right): Sloth (still need to fur him), Leeloo (rough draft model), Chunk (still need to fur him)
Human characters, front (left to right): Ava carrying Mensah, Asim carrying Sophia, Sydney carrying Tyler, Lucas carrying Emma
Working draft - I still have lots of furring, makhluq alwasi weaponizing, Easter egging, and resizing to do!
Makhluq alwasi characters, back (left to right): Sloth (still need to fur him), Leeloo (rough draft model), Chunk (still need to fur him)
Human characters, front (left to right): Ava carrying Mensah, Asim carrying Sophia, Sydney carrying Tyler, Lucas carrying Emma
Bonus Artwork
Sneak peek at a new cartouche type unveiled in CC3, also discretely hidden somewhere above! Whoever it is, they obviously reveal it in Charlottesville! Good or evil? You'll have to wait for CC4!
Sneak peek at a new cartouche type unveiled in CC3, also discretely hidden somewhere above! Whoever it is, they obviously reveal it in Charlottesville! Good or evil? You'll have to wait for CC4!
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