It has been too long since I've posted an update here. This summer has been a world-wind of so many new projects, and I so badly need to pause, take a breath, and then get some photos of everything. The cast of characters from the world of the Radio kings has gotten huge, with 6 finished figures, 1 more I'm still struggling with a backstory on, and another three that are half or mostly done, that I'm sort of stalled on. A modded Furiosa, some X-men, and lots of little environment details, and some truly HUGE 1/6 dioramas I have in the works.
But 1 of the things I'm most excited for is getting back to the world of Hose of Seasons
The 1st ones were done with 27 cm Volks bjd bodies. While there were some great elements that I've kept and reused right up through the current incarnation and a a few that were a shame to loose (like LED light up eyes) they really do look primitive compared to what they've become.
House of Seasons 2.0 was where I really defined the line and expanded the cast of characters. Lots of work I'm really proud of, as the story started to really gel in my head. The Original Effect bodies were, at the time, the perfect base to start with building these characters. Unfortunately, the shoddiness of their construction became more apparent as time passed. Wrists and necks broke and crumbled. Joints were unstable and figures couldn't be reposed without arms popping out of the sockets and hands falling off. Getting them to stay standing was a nightmare. I had so many ideas for photos, but they just were too difficult to deal with.
Recently, when Phicen/TBLeague released the new smaller bodies, I had hoped that they would finally be the right fit to replace all of the current main characters from the House of Seasons line. While I kept most of the Original Effect head sculpts, the new bodies make such a huge difference, and spurred me to make a bunch of changes I've so badly wanted to make.
With this (hopefully) final incarnation, I've finally started writing down a bit of the backstory of the world and the characters. Hope you dig it!
The House of Seasons
House of Seasons is an urban fantasy, set in a modern world where magik developed alongside of technology. While most people are not gifted with an affinity for magik, the witches who have been are the elite who allow the world to function with magik a part of everyone's daily lives. They are the healers that go beyond the limits of medicine, they design the engines that fuel the giant airships that sail the ley lines between cities, and they are the builders of the impossible. All ruled by four great families, known as the House of Seasons for their powerful magiks heavily tied to seasonal themes. For thousands of years, the country was divided into their four territories, the uneasy alliance between them rife with a constant push and pull for power. Where their territories met, the great neutral city of Equinox, home of Balefire University, the world's most esteemed school of magik.
All this changed thirteen years ago. Barlow of the Worm, a warlock from the lands of Autumn, tapped into something dark and ancient, and was consumed by it. What he became was like nothing the world had seen, and it spread like a cancer. Consuming all in its path, it fed on magik and corrupted all that it touched. Officially considered a war that has raged on for all these years, most simply call it The Blight. Political differences were put aside as the four families came together to hold back the seemingly endless tide of monstrosities born from this primordial corruption. Four years ago, the war reached its darkest point, as Barlow's's forces reached the walls of Equinox. In a desperate act, The House of Seasons executed the most powerful act of ritual magik ever recorded. A great wall ripped up from the ground, spanning the length of the continent, the detonation of a spell so devastating, it destroyed everything for three miles beyond the wall, turning the ground to a sea of glass. Thousands of witches died, their very life energies ripped from them by the all-consuming force of the ritual.
The tide had turned. The glass sea left Barlow's forces nothing to feed on, and diminished, they retreated back into the blighted lands that they had conquered, where they have remained since.
But the cost had been heavy. Half of the territories of Winter and Summer, in the north and south respectively, and all of the eastern territories of Autumn had been lost. And it was only a matter of time before Barlow's forces would return to finish what they had started.
At 18 years of age, all four of the heirs to the great houses meet for the first time in Equinox. While all individually raised in the magik arts and trained by the best tutors that can be found, it's widely accepted that only when brought together in the elite halls of Balefire does a witch's education truly begin. What no one anticipated was how they would be plunged into a world of occult conspiracies, secret history, gods and monsters, and dragged into an ancient battle that would change the fate of the world forever.
Alice of Autumn
Of the four great houses, the House of Autumn lost the most in the war. All the lands of Autumn were taken by The Blight, and the surviving family has been forced to rule in exile from the lands of Spring. And while many of the lesser nobles and some of the Autumn army remain, the royal family had been decimated. King Dallan had been killed in the Seige of Songwood and Prince Solis has been missing since the Battle of Creighton and presumed dead. Only Queen Auria and Alice, the heir to the House of Autumn, remain.
On first meeting, Alice has a tendency to come across as a bit abrasive. As the heir to the throne, she feels a strong responsibility to become everything she thinks a ruler should be, and her rigid adherence to manners and court customs is rooted in that ideal. She can be oblivious to how her directness and impatience can come across to others. Her unwavering sense of justice and fairness transcends any social standing, and she simply can't understand why this puts her at odds with other nobles.
While an excellent student, she has yet to tap into the deep wells of power the House of Seasons witches are usually known to possess. Her connection to nature is especially strong, as she had spent most of her time growing up in the woods surrounding her ancestral home, and has felt cut off from that since coming to Equinox. Since her childhood she has always shown a strong aptitude with swordsmanship and a bow and arrow, skills usually considered beneath strong witches, especially of noble birth.
She had every intention of dedicating her time at Balefire to unlocking her potential and becoming a witch capable of retaking the lands of Autumn. But the paths we take are rarely as direct as they seem. The new friends she makes at the beginning of her first year open her eyes to a side of the world she never knew existed, and she'll need all of their help if she's to survive what's to come.
But 1 of the things I'm most excited for is getting back to the world of Hose of Seasons
The 1st ones were done with 27 cm Volks bjd bodies. While there were some great elements that I've kept and reused right up through the current incarnation and a a few that were a shame to loose (like LED light up eyes) they really do look primitive compared to what they've become.
House of Seasons 2.0 was where I really defined the line and expanded the cast of characters. Lots of work I'm really proud of, as the story started to really gel in my head. The Original Effect bodies were, at the time, the perfect base to start with building these characters. Unfortunately, the shoddiness of their construction became more apparent as time passed. Wrists and necks broke and crumbled. Joints were unstable and figures couldn't be reposed without arms popping out of the sockets and hands falling off. Getting them to stay standing was a nightmare. I had so many ideas for photos, but they just were too difficult to deal with.
Recently, when Phicen/TBLeague released the new smaller bodies, I had hoped that they would finally be the right fit to replace all of the current main characters from the House of Seasons line. While I kept most of the Original Effect head sculpts, the new bodies make such a huge difference, and spurred me to make a bunch of changes I've so badly wanted to make.
With this (hopefully) final incarnation, I've finally started writing down a bit of the backstory of the world and the characters. Hope you dig it!
The House of Seasons
House of Seasons is an urban fantasy, set in a modern world where magik developed alongside of technology. While most people are not gifted with an affinity for magik, the witches who have been are the elite who allow the world to function with magik a part of everyone's daily lives. They are the healers that go beyond the limits of medicine, they design the engines that fuel the giant airships that sail the ley lines between cities, and they are the builders of the impossible. All ruled by four great families, known as the House of Seasons for their powerful magiks heavily tied to seasonal themes. For thousands of years, the country was divided into their four territories, the uneasy alliance between them rife with a constant push and pull for power. Where their territories met, the great neutral city of Equinox, home of Balefire University, the world's most esteemed school of magik.
All this changed thirteen years ago. Barlow of the Worm, a warlock from the lands of Autumn, tapped into something dark and ancient, and was consumed by it. What he became was like nothing the world had seen, and it spread like a cancer. Consuming all in its path, it fed on magik and corrupted all that it touched. Officially considered a war that has raged on for all these years, most simply call it The Blight. Political differences were put aside as the four families came together to hold back the seemingly endless tide of monstrosities born from this primordial corruption. Four years ago, the war reached its darkest point, as Barlow's's forces reached the walls of Equinox. In a desperate act, The House of Seasons executed the most powerful act of ritual magik ever recorded. A great wall ripped up from the ground, spanning the length of the continent, the detonation of a spell so devastating, it destroyed everything for three miles beyond the wall, turning the ground to a sea of glass. Thousands of witches died, their very life energies ripped from them by the all-consuming force of the ritual.
The tide had turned. The glass sea left Barlow's forces nothing to feed on, and diminished, they retreated back into the blighted lands that they had conquered, where they have remained since.
But the cost had been heavy. Half of the territories of Winter and Summer, in the north and south respectively, and all of the eastern territories of Autumn had been lost. And it was only a matter of time before Barlow's forces would return to finish what they had started.
At 18 years of age, all four of the heirs to the great houses meet for the first time in Equinox. While all individually raised in the magik arts and trained by the best tutors that can be found, it's widely accepted that only when brought together in the elite halls of Balefire does a witch's education truly begin. What no one anticipated was how they would be plunged into a world of occult conspiracies, secret history, gods and monsters, and dragged into an ancient battle that would change the fate of the world forever.
Alice of Autumn
Of the four great houses, the House of Autumn lost the most in the war. All the lands of Autumn were taken by The Blight, and the surviving family has been forced to rule in exile from the lands of Spring. And while many of the lesser nobles and some of the Autumn army remain, the royal family had been decimated. King Dallan had been killed in the Seige of Songwood and Prince Solis has been missing since the Battle of Creighton and presumed dead. Only Queen Auria and Alice, the heir to the House of Autumn, remain.
On first meeting, Alice has a tendency to come across as a bit abrasive. As the heir to the throne, she feels a strong responsibility to become everything she thinks a ruler should be, and her rigid adherence to manners and court customs is rooted in that ideal. She can be oblivious to how her directness and impatience can come across to others. Her unwavering sense of justice and fairness transcends any social standing, and she simply can't understand why this puts her at odds with other nobles.
While an excellent student, she has yet to tap into the deep wells of power the House of Seasons witches are usually known to possess. Her connection to nature is especially strong, as she had spent most of her time growing up in the woods surrounding her ancestral home, and has felt cut off from that since coming to Equinox. Since her childhood she has always shown a strong aptitude with swordsmanship and a bow and arrow, skills usually considered beneath strong witches, especially of noble birth.
She had every intention of dedicating her time at Balefire to unlocking her potential and becoming a witch capable of retaking the lands of Autumn. But the paths we take are rarely as direct as they seem. The new friends she makes at the beginning of her first year open her eyes to a side of the world she never knew existed, and she'll need all of their help if she's to survive what's to come.
Hosted on Fotki
