[Art Exchange] Covert Courtesy Commutation ~ 6/8 gifts are up.

[FSharp]

FSharp's gifter wants to ask him if there's anything specific he wants.

Still getting back on my feet after recent health worries so, much as I wish I had more to offer, it's the same as it was in the previous round. I can go for fanart of anything in my gallery or my old standby NPC descriptions. I'm also game for fanart/prose/etc of any of the gifter's characters or pretty much anything for that matter. I've greatly enjoyed everything I've received so far.

[Gabi]

More questions sent to me while I was visiting my grandmother in Salta.

Corgatha's gifter wants to know what he would like, characters and such.

Jairus's gifter would like to know whether he prefers "artwork, prose, or short loop animations".

Aisha's gifter has submitted a request for information on a possible story she would want written.

And Bas's gifter has sent me an unusual question: how often does the character Bas wear shirts?

[Jairus]

Um, artwork, but prose is nice too. I'm not sure what you could do with a short loop of animation.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha's gifter has submitted a request for information on a possible story she would want written.

Story, eh?  Heh, that's where it gets tricky for me, because I'm normally used to getting visual art. ^^;  I'm never sure what I would like for a story; I usually write characters' stories for myself.  If it's not too annoying for you, you could probably pick a character of mine and see what says more about them to you and what stories come up.

Come to think of it, if I had to pick one character that I would like others' interpretations of and help in fleshing out her history, it'd be Rynkura, Aisha's mentor.  White tiger angel who hides her wings normally, 950 years old, runs a monastery of healing in a secluded valley.  In her long life she's been the daughter of a noble, a paladin/adventurer, sword master, enchanter, scholar, and headmaster, in that order.  Her profile is listed in the OOC of the Mad God's Masque and Bellicose Ball RP, here, if you want to know more about her personality and such.  Otherwise I'll tell what I can, and I don't mind seeing what comes of it. ^^

A story about a previous venture of hers, mayhap.

[Lisky]

Sorry for the delay, gifter.  It's about 50/50.   For formal events and such, he'll generally wear a backless tunic or some other more flowing type of clothing, something that doesn't catch, and something that allows him a good range of motion.

When adventuring, he tends to forgo shirts, because, unlike his skin, which can harden.  Shirts tend to get shredded, especially when fighting.

so... it's pretty situational.  He tried to keep his shirt on to maintain a good impression, at the same time, it's not exactly mandatory X3

[Gabi]

Late question from Liatai's gifter: what colour and markings does Pikra have?

[Liatai]

Pikra? Oh wow. Either you've gone way far back in my art gallery, random gifter, or I have an idea of who you might be.

Anyway! Pikra's design is in need of a slight revamp, but his body scales are white, belly scales are grey/tarnished silver, claws and horns a lighter/shinier shade of grey/silver, wing membranes a darker shade of grey. His eyes are purple, with round pupils (not slit). I used to draw him with a ridge on his back; if you are drawing him with a ridge, it's the same grey as his belly scales. If you're not, that's fine, too; I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep the ridge or not when I redesign him. Maybe your drawing will help me decide.

[Gabi]

Round 12 is now over. I hope you have all enjoyed it. Here are the gifts which have arrived in time.

-Corgatha Taldorthar wrote the following gift for The1Kobra:

   Giving the old College Try

   I paced along the closed garage, motor oil fighting with the scent of tobacco in a madcap attempt to filter to my nose first. Anger lent extra force to my step, and I had to make sure not to go anywhere near the puddles, producing a clack clack as my heels hit the concrete. They were bringing in Grayson! White, male, twenty three, coal  black hair with a cowlick on the left that never seems to go down, five foot ten, thin, athletic, practitioner of some sort of martial arts, although difficult to ascertain what style without seeing him in combat, only evidence is the rolling confident way he walks, quick, observant, arrogant, lacks knowledge, but he'll get that in time. All in all, a good detective, but not as good as I am, yet. Like I couldn't handle things. The nerve of them. Twenty years of consulting service. Twenty years, and a grand total of three cases that went unsolved, when they humbled themselves enough to admit that their regular bungling blueshirted tame apes couldn't crack whatever trouble it was and they proffered their checkbooks with imploring eyes.
   The image brought a smile to my face. Respect was good. Even a little fear was good. But it wasn't stable, wasn't safe. It was based on the promise, and almost always delivered promise, of a speedy resolution, clean, quick, quiet.  My mind scrolled back to the day they said they needed my help, when the commissioner White, female, aged fifty-three, solid gray hair, used to be blond, five foot four, overweight, although she apparently was still solid on a tennis court and brought an irritating number of sports metaphors into her conversational web. signed over my advance check. The folder containing case data in it was the usual verbose style that was short on actual substance, and a quick inspection in the privacy of one of the conference rooms, once I had shut the blinds, was able to get me all the relevant data.
   One Benito Montillier Odd. Italian given name, French surname. Savoyard in origin? was found dead, in his garage, two thrust wounds consistent with a dagger had to correct them. The report said they were knife wounds, but there was lateral tearing consistent with a weapon that was sharp on both sides and pointed., in between the ribs, hitting each lung once. No signs of scratches or other marks indicating that bone had been struck, so attacker was skilled with his weapon. Skull compacting in the back of the head, indicating a fall. Unclear whether before or after death. Lack of defensive wounds on the hands leads me to think that he slipped and fell, on one of the pools of motor oil, and that his attacker stabbed him as he attempted to rise.  Victim seemed to be attempting some sort of engine work, although the officer's on scene had no knowledge of automobiles, and I had not been able to get my hands on the vehicle myself for personal inspection. No known family to notify, and he worked for, and by himself, in a small auto repair station.
   First officer on the scene was Lawrence Lenar Indeterminate ethnic origin, male, thirty two,six foot three, slight bulge from one too many police donuts, still amazingly fast on his feet., who was off duty at the time of the stabbing, and lived two doors over. He saw a figure running out of the garage, and the window from his house does get a good look. He claimed it was suspicious, and went out to look, and then noticed the open garage door, the lit garage, and our poor Mr Montillier, bleeding all over. He contacted for an ambulance, and the police, as quickly as he could, but he was dead before the paramedics got there. With a lung wound, it was reasonably likely he was dead by the time Mr Lenar got to a phone. Outside of the mess in the garage, the rest of the house seemed undisturbed. Victim had no known enemies, or even close friends.
   As loath as I was to admit it, I couldn't turn up much more. Of course, I had been contacted two days after the fact, when tromping police boots made a mess of the original pattern of oil stains. I can only surmise that our victim was doing some sort of work on his own car when he was killed. No prints or marks left themselves on the hard floor, and the killer had possessed enough sense to take anything he introduced into the crime scene with him. There was plenty of evidence, but none of it pointed in any specific direction, which left me holding an empty bag. And now they were bringing in Grayson. Well, he wouldn't be able to find anything anyway, but it still left a sour taste in my mouth. What if he did see something I had missed? Professional pride was on the line here, and I wasn't about to let that upstart upstage me. Why, he got carded the last time I had to congratulate him for cracking a case, (fortunately it wasn't one I was drawn into), down at Smith's.
   Come now, focus. Every case has some weak point, something odd, that can be focused in on. Very unusual to have an off-duty police officer just happen to spot a murder suspect fleeing the scene. Odder still that he did so little once spotted. The man has an instinct to chase, and  is damn fast. A suspect running away on foot with only around a 60 foot head start shouldn't make it far, unless he was a sprinter or something. Now of course, he said that he stopped to inspect the garage........ Which was entirely reasonable. But it was still odd. Lawrence was a hunter, and given a choice, I'd have pegged him down for chasing the crook. He was aggressive like that. And how the suspect got in intrigued me. Who would leave their garage door open in the middle of the night? No signs of forced entry, either in the house or the garage. Meant our suspect was invited in, almost certainly.
   Grayson would be here soon, and I needed something in place by then. I strolled out to my own car, parked out on the curb at the end of the driveway; my phone was inside. Hopefully my reputation would be enough to pull this off. I called up the commissioner's number, got a recording machine. I glanced at my wristwatch, 1:21. She must be having a late lunch. Or a second one. Made things easier, to be honest.

"Hello, Commissioner? This is me, Bob. Listen, you're not going to like this, especially since I don't have enough evidence to prove any of my allegations. But I'm reasonably sure that it's Lawrence, that he's if not the murderer, he's involved somehow. Has he by any chance argued against bringing me in?" Best not to mention Grayson, and a policemen wanting to keep a private detective out of things is a safe bet. "He could have gotten Mr Montillier to open the door, let him in, they're neighbors, and this is a nice neighborhood,  besides, Lawrence is an active member of the community, and a policeman goes over well. Probably would have let him right in. Once there, he pushes Mr Montillier into one of the oil piles, and when his victim is dazed or unconscious from the bash to the head, he stabs him, twice, once in each lung, and runs out. Then he calls the police, knowing that they'd trample over the one sign of how many people were actually in that garage, the direction of the oil stains, if they were muddled by people stepping on them. Here's the key, go get the body, and look for bruising on the upper chest. It needs to be above the center of mass, or he'd have fallen forward, and we know he fell backwards. Something light, subtle. You'll find your evidence as to how he died, and I've given my best speculation as to whom. It's not enough to bring in Lawrence, but you might want to have him watched. Bob out."

   I stepped outside, wondering if I could prevail upon one of the policemen watching to get me a cup of something to drink. A bit late in the day for coffee, but then again, it was hardly like I kept regular hours. I heard, rather than saw, the car pulling in behind me, and I turned slowly, a wolf's smile on my face. Grayson parked his red Honda right behind my car, an action that seemed oddly fitting. Before he got a chance to get out, I walked back, on the curb, tapped on his passenger side window. He scrolled down, and I chuckled out "Beat you to it kid. You can look, but you won't be needed anymore."

   I strolled away, thinking of how easy it was to find a "subtle mark on the upper body" when you had already prompted someone to look for it. I wouldn't get my whole fee, but I'd get some, and more importantly, my reputation would be intact.



***********************************************************************************************

Kobra, I hope you get the joke.

-Arroyo Milori drew the following gift for Dannysaysnoo:


/**
* Author's comments:
* Hope Danny likes it. I can also put this on FA upon request.
*/

-Inumo drew a gift for Basilisk and provided two links: one for the image alone, and one for the dA page.

-Aisha deCabre drew this gift for FSharp.
/**
* Author's comments:
* Hope you like your sketch of your wind sorceress character from your gallery; I wanted to color her, but lost all incentive a while ago. ^^;  I promise I'll finish it soon enough, but until then, I hope this suffices.
*/

-Jairus wrote the following gift for Spooks:

This started out as a much more serious story before it went in a silly direction about halfway through. Sorry if I didn't get the characters involved "right," but I'm not really familiar enough with them. Anywho, hope you like it!

Akenai, Private Eye

   Spooks knew the jackelope was trouble the moment he walked through the door. But then, they all were trouble eventually.
   The fennec fox leaned back in her office chair, trying to ignore the squeaking and resolving once more to get it oiled someday. She had more pressing concerns, like the bills piling up on her desk. And a notice from her bank reminding her that her savings account had been drained. Oh, and her landlord threatening to throw her out. Akenai (Private Eye) better known as Spooks, had had a slow month. A few slow months, actually. And by this point, Spooks was desperate. There was a calendar on one wall, with next Wednesday circled in red: crunch time. Even if it was a cuckolding wife this guy needed help with. She started to try and get a feel for the guy, try and guess what he needed.
   The jackelope was gray with green hair, an interesting combination. His horns pushed up through two matching holes in a ratty fedora. His suit was neat but slightly stained, a few years out of date. His jacket was unbuttoned, the elbows patched. The 'lopes' shoes were old and worn, his tie stained. His fingers twiddled: there'd be a cigarette there if he wanted it, or maybe it was a subconscious gesture towards a missing ring. The fur on his left left wrist looked weird, not as neat as the rest: a missing wristwatch, perhaps stolen or pawned in desperation? His little pink nose twitched, sniffing at the air. Cheap takeout and old coffee, familiar smells to the detective but strange to her visitor. Spooks suddenly felt a little self-conscious, but decided against opening a window: cool and confident was the way to get a customer. She'd nonchalantly open it a little later... never mind, a crack of thunder and the sound of raindrops tip-tapping against the windows scrapped that plan. Oh well.
   She casually waved at one of the seats across her desk, smiling in welcome. He smiled back, but there was no joy or mirth behind it. He was tired, his shoulders slumped and his eyes sunken and haggard. He wasn't taking care of himself. He sat down in the chair with visible exhaustion, leaning back and making it squeak. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaled long and deep, and then turned back towards Spooks. A missing girlfriend or family member, perhaps. Either way, she probably wasn't going to get much out of the man, but every little bit helped...
   The lights briefly flickered, followed a few seconds later by more thunder. Appropriately dramatic, she supposed,  but annoying if the power went out.
   "Welcome, sir. Coffee? Tea? Water?" she asked with practiced ease and a welcoming smile. The jackelope shook his head, and the fennec shrugged. She stood up to stretch lightly, and walked over to the record player. Some piano piece was playing, she just liked the ambient sound when no one was around. She turned the volume down until it could barely be heard. She sat back down in her chair, lightly brushing her brown hair out of her eyes, her ears twitching in barely concealed interest at her new client. "How can I help you today, sir?"
   The jackelope opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then...
   "What are we doing in some stupid film noir story, Spooks?"
   Spooks leaned back in her chair, looking very confused. "Um... to be honest, I'm not sure. I mean, I don't even like film noir."
   Spooks and the jobless jackelope
   "My name's Raj. "
   "I know your name, Raj, you're my character and I created you," Spooks said with some annoyance.
   "Yeah, but... did you hear someone say 'jobless jackelope?' Also, that's needlessly alliterative."
   "Now that you mention it..." Spooks trailed off. "I kind of heard someone saying what I was thinking, but that doesn't make sense, does it?"
   "Something very weird is going on here..."
   The two looked about warily
   "There!" Spooks pointed in a random direction. "No, there!" she pointed again.
   "I heard it too!" Raj's ears twitched.
   "It's... a narrator?!" Spooks said in a shocked voice.
   Dammit.
   "What the hell?" Spooks shouted as she shot up from her seat.
   "More trite alliteration," Raj sarcastically quipped as he looked around, trying to find the mysterious narrator.
   Oh, come on, it's film noir. It's supposed to be cliché and somewhat silly.
   "Yeah, but film noir is supposed to be narrated by the protagonist," Spooks pointed out as she futilely checked her desk's drawers.
   "Where the heck are you, anyway?" Raj asked.
   I'm the narrator. I'm everywhere and nowhere.
   "You're sitting at your computer writing this, aren't you?" Spooks asked.
   
   "That's what I thought."
   "You're getting outsmarted by a pair of fictional representations of two people you barely know. Impressive."
   Shut up.
   "Nyah-nyah!" Raj said as he stuck his tongue out like a spoiled child. "Hey! Don't make me do that!"
   I'm the narrator. What I say, goes.
   "Really?" Spooks asked as she inexplicably decided to start doing jumping jacks.
   Yes. There was the unmistakable feeling that somewhere, someone was belting out an evil laugh.
   "A thought," Raj wondered out loud as he performed a position from the Kama Sutra.
   "Yes?" Spooks asked as she started trying on silly hats.
   "Can't we just... leave? I mean, we're not really his characters, so we can act like we'd actually act, right? I mean, provided it's not described in narration, right?"
   Um...
   "Good point."
   "So, wanna go out for pizza?"
   In the 20s? I don't know if they had pizza parlors.
   "Oh, shut up."
   But please, I had this great story all worked out. You were looking for this dame with a suitcase, and
   "It's been done before."
   "Yeah, seriously. I'm hungry."
   "Yeah, me too. Takeout? Come on."
   But... but...
   Oh, fine. Might as well wrap it up.
   The room lay abandoned. Coffee cups stacked up in the sink, dust collecting in corners, paperwork on the desk that would never be finished now. A nearby crack of lightning shook the apartment with its thunder. The soft sound of Chopin's second sonata mixed with the pitter-patter of rain, creating a low lulling sound that filled the room
   "Oh come on! Five S sounds in a row?"
   I thought you were going to go get pizza, Spooks.
   "We were, but that was just horrible!"
   All right, fine! I'll just end this now, okay? The end!

-danman drew this gift for Liatai.
/**
* Author's comments:
* Not a visual amazement, but i hope it's at least funny.
*/

-WhiteFox has drawn a gift for danman, but he's still working on another. He also drew an extra sketch for Basilisk. Here's his message:

Well... I had a heckuva lotta crap come down on me this week. So, my gift might be a bit late.

If it is, I have the following to offer danman until my gift is completed:

I have, sadly, not yet completed my gift for danman by the appointed deadline.

However, I have two consolation items:

First, the reason why my gift is late is because I spent four hours on saturday night tutoring your colourist, Meany, in a few digital techniques. I hope this serves both of you well.

Secondly; here's  a little sketch I did when I was going through early concept ideas: We've all been there. I didn't have character reference on hand at the time, so there are one or two inaccuracies, but I thought it was entertaining nonetheless.

Your gift is still in progress, and I hope to complete it soon. Sorry to keep you waiting.

ALSO! I have another little sketch, for Basilisk.

I did this little sketch of Arial and Darkshine, characters of mine and Basilisks, in the Lush Wasteland RP... I figured I might as well throw it in with the rest of the CCC gifts.
Bicker, Bicker, Bicker...

-The1Kobra has made a comic for Aisha deCabre. Here it is:





-Nyil drew this gift for Inumo.
/**
* Author's comments:
* also, i should add, i didn't consider the possibility that the character might not be of adult age, but rather a child. so... it's the character in the future! the fuuutuuuure, woooo *waves hands*
*/

-FSharp drew this gift for Jairus.

Corgatha's gifter has remained waiting for an answer all this time >_>. I'll give Corgatha a chance to answer it before I reveal his gifter's identity. Either way the gift should be up within the next few days.

I have yet to hear from everyone else. I hope they post their gifts soon.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

To my gifter,


Firstly, I wanted to apologize, I must have missed the message on the 17th, so I feel really dumb. Really, really dumb.


But, I have two main characters who have been drawn by forumites Kedered and Corgatha (I can dig up a few more reference pics for Corg if you want, but that's the best one)


Descriptions of each here and here.


I like to write, so I'd prefer something drawn, if you're equally comfortable with the two mediums. If you need more info, I promise I'll pay closer attention this time


Best wishes,
Corg.

[Aisha deCabre]

Kobra: That is the most hilarious thing -ever-.  I love the reference to the stupid guy from Shattered Innocence. XD  Perfect welcome for Aisha. xP  Thanks much!

"Use the damned knob..."  xP

[Inumo]

Thank you, Nyil!!! Awesome job, and fits in with the story I wrote her, too, without me telling you!

Basilisk: I'm going to have a digital version done for you at some point... Hopefully by week's end.

Finally, I'm in for the next round. Gonna stick to one style or the other, though.

[Jairus]

Oh wow, that's really cool, FSharp. What did you do it in?

And, um, I think I can throw my hat in again this time as well.

[Lisky]

Attempted several things for WF, will have one posted up before wednesday... had and still have -way- too many ideas floating in my head

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e268/EWork88/Jadedoodle1.jpg for an example of something i've worked on... at the moment, i'm trying to get a good one of Walsh and Gabe... but... there's the start of one idea :b  I'll post something more complete soon

[FSharp]

Aisha deCabre drew this gift for FSharp.
/**
* Author's comments:
* Hope you like your sketch of your wind sorceress character from your gallery; I wanted to color her, but lost all incentive a while ago. ^^;  I promise I'll finish it soon enough, but until then, I hope this suffices.
*/

Thanks! I like the pose and the sandals came out especially well. I know what you mean about motivation--August was a super busy month and I wound up turning in my gift right on the deadline.

Oh wow, that's really cool, FSharp. What did you do it in?

Glad you like it. This one was done using Poser 8 and Photoshop. The flare was added using Knoll Light Factory.

- F#

[Inumo]

Okay, Bas, just finished your digital version. Here you go!



If you have a deviantArt and want to fav, here's its page: http://inumo.deviantart.com/art/Basilisk-CCC-v-2-178354944

Trivia, it took me probably a good 30 tries just to sign my name, for some reason. I thought it amusing.

[Gabi]

OK, Dannysaysnoo's gift for Corgatha Taldorthar is here.
/**
* Author's comments:
* I'm very sorry, but I'm terrible at wings. And jaguar spots. And the drawing didn't register well with my scanner, so I had to faff with the white/black balances.

But aside from that, I'm quite happy with this. I hope you're happy, too.
*/

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Oh wow, you work quick. I'm impressed. THe picture is nice, especially thrown together on such short notice. Glad to have it.

[Lore]

Nyil! Sorry about the long wait, here's your gift!

Jairus, thank you so much! That was so funny!

[Noone]

I'm Glad you liked it Aisha. Speaking of which, that reminds me, I need to stop putting that off...

That aside, I don't think I'll be entering the next round, sorry.

[Arroyo Milori]

I'll enter next round, just cause I need more practice

[WhiteFox]

danman's gift is complete!
Maniacal Laughter is the Best Medicine (FA)

(Also posted in my art topic, along with the mini-gifts I made this round.)

Sign me up for #13.

[VAE]

I said it on the IRC, and i repeat - it made me laugh hard and is 30 kinds of awesome.
Thanks!

In other news, beam me up, Scotty sign me up for next round, Gabi,

[Nyil]

Ahahaha, thanks Spooks, I lurves it xP I forgot you were there when that happened. Did you know that dude was at Damaris' house, along with Jouster, just a little while ago? Scary! I think he's searching for me - HE'S GOING TO HUNT ME DOWN TO KILL ME, preventing me from stealing his cheese EVER AGAIN

NOOOooooo...

Thank you, Nyil!!! Awesome job, and fits in with the story I wrote her, too, without me telling you!

OhgodI'msogladIdidn'tmessthatuptoobadly - I'm glad you like it x3 Sorry that I didn't ink it, though. By the time I realized that I had to do a CCC type thing it was already a few hours before the deadline, and all I had was the sketch I did when your name was assigned to me. Thank god for Photoshop.

Also, I'm afraid I'm out for the next round, for serious this time. I've got like eight to ten-ish concerts this month/next month, so I have to keep focused on those, as well as commissions. Sorry!

[Lisky]

Sorry for the delay, i've been trying to finish up some various ideas i had... because, well... i had way too many, and had only just done the skeletal/pose for most... here's a few that i went and continued along...

Namely: how i imagine Emmy reacting to the events of the current DSoF Comic  http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e268/EWork88/EmmyWantsherballbacksketch.jpg

Originally i was going to have Gabe leaning against Walsh, with holland in some type of a holster... as a side-note... wrapping my head around steampunk sketches is not a strong suit... http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e268/EWork88/Gabe.jpg enjoy



Inumo: Nice job, i know how hard signing can be, especially digitally :b... I'll finish this comment up after work though... as that's where i need to go


I'll be signing up for the next round as well X3 i had some fun with this... hopefully i can focus my muse this time around

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

I guess I'll sign up for the next round.

[Gabi]

Has anyone heard from Liatai lately?

We can start the next round tomorrow. I'll see who else signs up until then.

[Chairtastic]

Liatai's been on the IRC alot.    Try PMing?

Just a quick review, non-image gifts are acceptable for this, right?  If they are, you can sign me up. 

[VAE]

To be exact, yesterday she was finishing off the pic colouring and was on IRC. Today not yet. but it's early, and i noticed her at forums at waking time.
And yes meany, they are acceptable - that's what folks like Corgatha do

[Aisha deCabre]

I might as well sign up again too. x3 My muse might be taking a break, but at least I can sketch instead of color, if I must. x3

[WhiteFox]

Bas: Many thanks for the arts; they are indeed awesome. I really like the pic of Jade, by the way.

I don't blame you for Walsh... I have yet to complete drawing of it.

Though... I am now suddenly motivated to do so. I'm not sure if I should be thanking or cursing you for that. Hm.