The Great Criddle-Heine Art Swap

The great K. Marie Criddle approached me to exchange sketches, which does all kinds of nonsense to my ego (e.g. "Your ego's so fat, it uses Wilson Fisk's socks for finger puppets"). ESPECIALLY since I failed to win a Criddle sketch from her recent contest. It's like I won the contest for free!

Well, not free. I got to draw this:


This is Miss Hannah P. Bartleby, the main character of a manuscript Marie is revising for her agent. She's not the most graceful of young ladies, but she can be a mean duelist with that grappling hook when she wants to (that's right, it's for DUELING).

And for me, Marie drew a picture of Ren from Air Pirates:


He's a machinist who took care of Sam for a number of years (before Sam ran off to become a pirate). His face and arm got kinda messed up in the war, but he can still wield a mean sledgehammer.

Speaking of Air Pirates, the YA revision is finished (did I mention that yet?) and in the hands and Kindles of some betas. Also the query is being worked on, even though I plan to do at least one more revision/beta cycle before I call it finished. I'm getting excited, but that always happens in this stage. Talk to me again in 6-8 months when I either have a new idea for revision or have decided nobody wants a steampunk adventure about fortune-telling stones, air pirates with mechanical arms, mothers who were presumed dead...

HOW COULD NOBODY WANT THAT?!

10 comments:

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

I want that.

And my heart is happy for the Great Art Swap! I felt guilty about winning said Criddle Art, when I'd already been lucky enough to have some - and even told Ms. Criddle herself!

Those are some mighty cool characters, not to mention the rendering art! Grappling hooks and sledge hammers? You guys don't mess around. :)

Thanks for sharing!

Adam Heine said...

Yeah, I think a little known fact of steampunk is the industrial-tools-as-weapons aspect.

Or maybe it's just me.

Matthew MacNish said...

Wow. So cool. Dueling with a grappling hook sounds awesome. Reminds me of that weapon in some Kung-Fu flicks that basically looks like a Yo-Yo.

fairyhedgehog said...

I love the pictures!

Oh, and your story is great, I'm sure of it.

writtenwyrdd said...

Great sketches! I particularly like the idea of a grappling hook used in a duel. Let us know when your friend is published.

And I hope to read about your air pirates soon. :)

K. Marie Criddle said...

I said it before and I'll say it again while staring at the printout of her above my desk: your Hannah sketch ROCKS. Thanks again for the swap, Adam! Heavens, that was fun. :)

Adam Heine said...

@Matthew: I was thinking Jet from Avatar the Last Airbender, but the rope changes things. I think you're right.

@fairy: Thank you on both counts!

@wyrdd: I absolutely will let you know. I want to read this thing too :-)

@Marie: Thank you! I loved drawing Hannah, and I love having a visual of Ren while I work :-D

Myrna Foster said...

I love Grappling Hook Girl, and the picture of Ren is cool too.

I didn't know you could read manuscripts on Kindles like that. That's the kind of argument that could persuade me I "need" one ;)

Was I the fastest?

Adam Heine said...

You were the fastest this round, Myrna. Though I once had a beta reader get back to me within 5 days.

And yeah, the eReader-as-critique-device is pretty awesome. Makes me quite jealous.

L. T. Host said...

Once again, I am left saddened by my inability to draw. Sigh.

Pretty awesome swappage though! Always love to see both of your various works :)