T. K. Arispe

I went ahead and finished Morh's portrait anyway.

Morh is a cool dude who's a good, fair leader and a capable warrior, but is also kindhearted and compassionate. He probably wouldn't be a mercenary if it wasn't one of the only jobs available to orcs in his culture, but he can't beat the pay. He has a soft spot for children, which comes into play in the novel I'd like to put his mercenary band in. I don't want to give away too much, but they'll be escorting some young VIP's on a dangerous mission.

Also Morh is short for an orc (in this world) at 6'. It's something his brod (band-brothers-and-sisters) tease him ceaselessly about, but he hasn't seemed to develop little-man syndrome, although he is somewhat insecure about his height.

Also, updated Iramick portrait because I forgot that in my mind's eye, she always has this cool mottled skin. I like to imagine orcs as having more variety in their skin colors and patterns than humans usually do. Their skin ranges from black to green to brown and every shade in between, and sometimes sports mottles or speckles like reptiles' scales do. Orcs have bony scutes on their faces, and while the exact patterning varies among individuals - and is more pronounced in males - the scutes tend to follow the contours of the facial bones.

I guess maybe I could have tried harder to make them uglier, but nobody's ugly when they're smiling nicely. :) It's fun to portray orcs as more than just convenient antagonists. Too often when I watch movies or read books, and there's an entire race of monsters that you're supposed to dislike, I'm just sitting there like "oooh they're so cool everybody should be friends". I think the world needs more stories like that.

Also, work update! I've finished the illustrations for the kids' book, and now my client wants me to help her e-publish it, seeing as it's her first children's book. It's mine too, so this should be a fun adventure for both of us! I hope to have something to share soon!