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'Cradledaughter': Some Vingan Character Art
These images, submitted by Thunder Rebels
co-author John Hughes merit a page of their own. Read John's description of the 3D
model and the depicted character below.
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An 800*600 image suitable for Windows desktop wallpaper. |
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A 'sepia' (mostly!) version of the image to the left, sans logo and text.
Also 800*600, and suitable for wallpaper. |
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An alternative rendering with drawn sword on a plain background. |
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Another alternative rendering, this time with spear and shield on a plain
background. |
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A closeup of the face in greyscale showing details of tattoos etc. |
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And last but not least, a hasty retooling of the concept after a suggestion
from Roderick Robertson. :-)
Offered in the spirit of the season, with apologies to Laura C. and just about everyone. |
The Model
The 'Cradledaughter' model is a fully poseable 3-D object built and modified
in Poser 3. Some surface textures were created in Bryce 3D. Hair textures, touch up, logos and
backgrounds were added in Photoshop 5. Though not illustrated here, the model has also been
imported into a Bryce virtual landscape for further scene building.
Cradledaughter
The inspiration for the model comes from the character Cradledaughter, a Kallyr Vingan who pops
up in some of my stories and is a central character in my Far Place campaign. She is first
described in the novella, "Fires of Mist and Wind-Blown Snow".
An intruder appeared at the bottom of the slope, a single leather-clad figure picking her way
towards the camp. A woman, blade-thin and determined, leading two Kurian mounts and a pair of
Adari pack horses. Her style of dress was neither Bog Orlanthi nor Aldachuri. A southern Sartarite
perhaps, though her leggings were cross-gartered in the Praxian style. The horses had the look
of good Elmali stock, strong in limb and spirit. The dried mud on their flanks told of recent
passage through the marshes. Whoever they were, my unwelcome visitors were determined and wise
in the ways of the gors and gallt….
The stranger ignored me completely in her final approach, concentrating on guiding her horses
up the treacherous slope.
She seemed perhaps thirty winters in age, a Sartarite by her look if not her dress. Lean and wiry,
faded tan riding leathers embellished with intricate Praxian knotwork, adorned with red-black
feathers and beaded amber. She wore no armour, but a very competent-looking sax blade hung ready
at her hips. It was an ancient weapon, the pommel flecked in gold, the hilt carved in twin
likeness of a wyrmish monster. From her saddle hung a wind-fed spear, crenellated with recurring
hooks: an ugly weapon.
Her tattooed face had been toughened by long exposure to wind and sun. Some
of the tattoos were warrior marks, though others were strange to me. Obviously this woman was no
native Far Walker.
Her hair, dyed with henna to a deep and luxurious red, hung devoid of tribal topknots. She wore
it about her face in thin braids, Praxian fashion. A wedding torc of blackened gold dangled from
her neck on a twisted scarf.
So who was she, this strange intruder? There seemed few ready clues. The figure of a bull had
been worked in white across the leathers on her breast. The feathers adorning her hair were red
vulture, death aspect of the Earth Goddess, also worn for safety in childbirth. Symbols of life
and symbols of death.
Of course. The Red-Headed Lodge. A Vingan, warrior-daughter to the Wind.
A Vingan.
There is also a short story featuring Cradledaughter on this site:
The Finest Music (PDF format, 183 kB).
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Latest revision: 29 Dec 2000, new
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