Thursday, April 12, 2012

Killsuits

SPOILERS: I'm chatting about my book. You have been warned.

At left is a drawing I worked on and never finished. Hence the "missing background". He's cartoony. I drew it probably ten years ago, I think (maybe longer than that). I honestly can't remember. Don't be cruel people!

Anyway, consider this my "concept art". I have other concept art sketches...some in color...some in black and white...that I've done over the years to help me visualize my characters.

This is what Kolin could look like (it's difficult to find the right picture in my mind). He's the guy that Jordan (my protagonist in SLIPSTREAM) falls in love with (yes there are gay people in my book...run away now). They do gay things together too...not just picking out window treatments.

Kolin kills people for money. He's really good at it too because he's had lots of practice. The suit he's wearing is called a killsuit. It's one of the gadgets that my friend Donna Hole alluded to that I use in my book when she reviewed it. So what is a killsuit? Well it's something that you wear when you intend to kill people. Kolin's a professional assassin. He uses guns, swords, knives...he's really good at murdering folks.

It's a very special piece of equipment that has many properties mostly associated with the metal it's made from.
  1. It's tailor-made so that it fits like a glove. Rather than a boot, the individual toes are separated so that the person walking can get a sense of the unevenness of the ground. All the information is relayed up to the helmet which isn't pictured in the drawing. I imagine it looking kind of similar to the way a mantis-head looks, with a visor of glass. All the suits controls are chosen via a tongue pad in the helmet. You stick your tongue out and select buttons that sit right in front of your mouth.
  2. It's made of corobidian. This is a fictional Avalonian metal. It's a superconductor so you have to wear grounding arm and leg bands. Otherwise just moving around generates electricity. You run around and lightning coils around your body. Corobidian is really light...light as a feather...but stronger than any known metal. It takes tremendous heat and power to forge so suits are incredibly expensive. If it gets superheated, it can give off a fume which is a deadly poison.
  3. The arms are supposed to contain weapons. On one side is an energy net. On the other is a blade that can be ejected from a casing. All weapons are made of cibrian metal. This is another fictional Avalonian creation. Unlike corobidian, cibrian is extremely hard. It's heavy, so unsuitable for armor. But any wound it creates will never heal. Ever. If you get cut by a cibrian blade, you will bleed to death. It's just that simple. There are no exceptions. I don't even use magic or anything like that to get around this rule. Cibrian inflicts permanent damage. Period. End of story. Also a sword made from cibrian is likely to never break. I can't foresee a future where I will go around this rule. And thus far, I haven't explored using cibrian bullets yet. And cibrian cuts through all other metals EXCEPT another cibrian blade.
Anyway, I use these suits extensively in the first book, SLIPSTREAM. Each suit has a color that is matched to the person and it alternates with the color black.

38 comments:

  1. Seriously, your artwork is amazing. And I so want a killsuit right now, and a cibrian sword! It needs to be June now. (:

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  2. OMG it has toes! I didn't remember that. Love the toes concept. this so totally fits the visual from the writing.

    It has toes; TOES :)

    .......dhole

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  3. I'm not reading this because I don't want spoilers 0 but I do like the picture.

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  4. Michael, you're a much better artists than at least 90% of the rest of us writers so stop worrying! I can't draw decent stick figures--ask my seminary students (my stick figures all look like they are doing dirty things, LOL)

    Anyway, love the suit idea! And the Cibrian blade? Awesome!

    I finished part one last night, but had to go to bed because of my early start this morning.

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  5. I like it when you talk about your book. Probably because I read it and this gives me more insight. Love the drawing too.

    (If you could see one of my drawings now that would really be a cartoon.)

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  6. Amazing artwork and an amazing idea.

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  7. Thanks for posting this because I'm reading the book and I like to have an idea of what the writer is talking about. I'm only about 20% done but I love what I'm reading so far.

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  8. That's a good drawing. You could give Rusty a run for his money there.

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  9. That's so cool. And I love the drawing. I wish I had the talent to sketch my characters like that.

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  10. That is a wicked-looking killsuit and you have some mega-talent there! Awesome!

    Laura
    A to Z of Immortals, Myths & Legends

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  11. First. This: They do gay things together too...not just picking out window treatments. made me LMAO

    Second. I think your drawing skills are badass.

    Third. The more i hear about your book, the more i can't wait to read it.

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  12. Very cool pic - and I like the toes as well!

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  13. I like this suit. Will I be able to find it at my local Big & Tall (Fat & Stout) shop?

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  14. Amazing artwork! So talented! ;-)

    Happy A-Z'ing!

    SueH I refuse to go quietly!

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  15. Holy shit, Mike. You can draw your ass off. Is the original digital? It kind of looks like paint.

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  16. Super cool idea! And great drawing! I love that the suit has toes!

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  17. I'm excited to read it and you are a fine artist.

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  18. @A Daft Scots Lass: Oooh you think so? Good.

    @Elise: Thank you.

    @Moody: Thank you

    @Donna: Yeah it has toes. LOL

    @Sarah: Thank you

    @Charity: Wow...you read fast.

    @Cindy: Thank you

    @Alex: I like drawing fingers and toes.

    @faraway: Thanks!

    @Clarissa: Oooh thank you for the compliment

    @P.T.: I'm not a good artist. This took me a long time, and I fail at so many drawings. I'm nowhere near the sophistication of Rusty who not only can produce quality but in quantity.

    @Theresa: Thank you

    @Laura: Thank you

    @Sarah: Aww you flatter me :)

    @Stephen: No it's only for skinny, underwear model, assassin-types

    @Sue H: Thank you

    @Matthew: Danke

    @Sara: hehe it's funny so many people remark on the toe thing. Yes the armor has toes!

    @Brinda: Thank you.

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  19. Couldn't we all use a killsuit? I could. Today.

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  20. Okay, that is an amazing drawing. So much talent!

    You cracked me up with the "picking out window treatments" line.

    Love the killsuit. It looks cyberpunk-ish to me. Being a professional assassin is probably the second oldest profession in the world, combined with such a futuristic piece of technology.

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  21. Concept art sketches? I'm jealous. I can't do such things (I can not draw no way, no how).

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  22. Really freaking love the killsuit concept. Fun adaptation of the super-soldier suit the real military has been working on. Drawing rocks too, btw. : )

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  23. Agreed with Patrick - awesome concept art. Have you just been sitting on all this skill for all these years?

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  24. Hi Michael. You're a clever artist. I found it hard to concentrate with the 'Jugs' just below, lol!

    Denise

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  25. Your drawing is very good, specially if it was from a few years ago.
    In the Mogul dynasty they had army suits that actually looked liked they were crocheted except that the weave was of metal. Then inside those suits were sleeveless tops made from metallic sheets.

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  26. Dude, that art is nothing to sneeze at. I can't believe you've been hiding that for so long.

    But just to ask, what happened to the whole Pixar theme?

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  27. "They do gay things together too...not just picking out window treatments."

    TEEHEE!

    That should go in the description in some parallel world of book marketing that's just for me.

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  28. Writers and their processes never fail to amaze me, but still, you had me when you said you did that awesome drawing...and there are others? That's super cool!

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  29. Gosh an artist as well as a writer...and one who excels are both!

    Kudos, Michael :)

    Hope you’re enjoying the challenge so far!
    --Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012

    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

    PS: pls turn off your word verification to make it easier to comment---you might consider comment moderation instead if you're unsure :)

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  30. Wow, you really are a good artist. Me, I still do stick figures. And you really thought out your weapons and killsuit. Maybe you could provide illustrations in your future books?

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  31. That is very cool art! Even more so that you did it...well done. I like seeing not only the killsuits but Kolin too.

    Are you going to share more?

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  32. Your drawing is amazing. Maybe you should consider doing a graphic novel. You know, after you finish your regular books. :)

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