I am very pleased to announce the arrival of a brand new section of the site: The custom shoe gallery! It features numerous hand-painted designs created by the author and artist of Skyfaux (aka yours truly). 

The gallery is a scroll-through format, and there are currently 5 shoe designs available for viewing. There are quite a few more in the backlog that will be added in the near future.

This also means that the entire Other Projects wing of the site is now open!  The shoe gallery is the only project available for viewing at the moment, but more are on the way. Enjoy!

The site already has a dedicated section all about Elementals, but I thought it might be fun to periodically delve a little deeper into the world of these creatures and how they live. Occasionally I'll post detail-heavy mini articles to the blog that expands on various Elemental concepts a bit, and the first mini article is all about fire form!

Appearance
When an Elemental changes into fire form, they lose the blue, green, or purple coloration of normal form and instead take on shades of orange, yellow, or red. Much like normal form, the exact color of fire form varies by individual. In this form, the body is often banded with tiger-like stripes and the hands and feet are typically gray or coal-colored.

The flame-like crest that runs from the head to the tail is actually not made of flame. Instead, the Elemental's normal feathers simply take on a striking, flame-like appearance. 

Abilities
In this form, an Elemental can generate a spark by snapping his/her fingers. He/she can use this spark to start a fire if the conditions are right and can control the movement of the resulting flame. Elementals can control any type of fire, even ones that they do not start. When working together, chains of Elementals can control even large infernos. 

Part of a fire Elemental's control is the ability to shrink and snuff out an existing flame by bringing it to an area where it has no fuel to keep burning. This can be useful to prevent property damage or to quench a fire that is becoming difficult to control.

Limitations
As with any fire starter, the spark of an Elemental is most effective in dry kindling or other flammable materials. Fires are nearly impossible to start in damp environments or outside during a downpour. Elementals are taught to be wary, since flames are somewhat unpredictable by nature and can often grow too large for a single individual (or even a group) to control. An Elemental cannot sustain a fire on his/her own; the fire must have fuel and oxygen in order to keep burning. Elementals in fire form do not have control over very hot/molten substances such as lava, but they do have control over any ensuing flames.

Although Elementals in fire form do gain some level of protection from heat, they are not immune to fire and therefore must take the same care as any other creature not to be overtaken by it.

Usage
Elementals most often use fire form not to start fires, but to bring existing flames under control. Large Elemental communities have been known to prevent the spread of forest fires and occasionally even conquer them by surrounding them and burning them out of fuel.

Water and air forms are often used in conjunction with fire form. Elementals in air form can create wind to direct the fire toward or away from a target, and water form Elementals can supply H2O to douse a fire with in an emergency.

Fire form is used in the day to day life of Elemental communities as well. It is used to start and sustain campfires, and also to play a popular Elemental sport called "fire ball."  

Thanks for giving Skyfaux a chance to participate! 

Hi everybody, have some Monday night character sketches!

This year's Emerald City Comicon was a trove of wondrous treasures to behold, and of course I found it impossible to leave without filling my suitcase to the brim with sweet loot. Tradition dictates that I buy no less than 500 things that are Godzilla themed, and I am happy to say I met that quota with little effort. I also scored some excellent new pens!

All three of these pens were gifted to me from various sources, and they're a delightfully diverse and unexpected trio. Since they're new to me, I thought it might be fun to try them out share my experience with each one. This won't be a review so much as just an overview and some general first impressions. Ready?  Here we go!

Copic G07 WIDE (Nile Green)

A lot of the reviews on Blick's website say that this marker is useful for covering broad areas in a single color. While I'm sure it works wonders for that purpose, I think resigning it to only filling in backgrounds would be selling it short of its true potential. It has a crisp, chiseled tip that can be maneuvered to produce lots of interesting shapes, or it can be angled to create a much sharper line. I love the flecks of white it leaves across the paper when handled lightly. It seems like it might be very fun to draw organic shapes and plants with the Nile Green color. 

Blue Sharpie with Comic Bento logo

I love Sharpies. They're indispensable, versatile, and virtually indestructible. You never know when a spontaneous doodling party, box-labeling, or bout of pen sword fighting might occur, so I try not to go anywhere without one! This one was freshly uncapped for the above picture, and guiding a brand new Sharpie across a piece of paper is satisfying at the same level as grabbing the first scoop of peanut butter out of the jar. This was re-gifted to me, but I think Comic Bento was distributing these from their table at ECCC.

Also:  I checked out Comic Bento, and it looks like they're a cool and relatively affordable way to get a box of assorted comics every month. Enticing!

Copic Multiliner 0.3 Brown

If I was tasked with crowning the ultimate monarch of all pens, the Copic Multiliner would be a strong contender. The Copic Multiliner 0.5 Black was one of my pens of choice for the artwork of Skyfaux, and in my world there really are no substitutes. This 0.3 Brown variety was included as a gift in my Artist Alley packet this year, and it is just as crisp and wonderful as one might expect. Admittedly, I don't step down below a 0.5 tip very often because my Hulk-like grip tends to wear the finer pens down well before their time... however, I vow to take care of this pen to my utmost. May it inspire me be light of hand, and maybe to work in a new color once in a while. 

Overall:  These are all great pens. From now on, I'll have to make a point of occasionally acquiring even more unknown art supplies and seeing what inspiration follows.

Thanks for your patience, everyone!  I am pleased to unveil the new and improved Skyfaux.com, now with 100% more Skyfaux and approximately 5% more .com. If you are now overwhelmed by the amount of incredible things there are to do and see, allow me to ease the transition with a mini tour:

Homepage
All good sites need a homepage! We'll be using the homepage in a typical homepage-esque fashion by posting all of our latest and greatest stuff there. Check back frequently to see new features!

Loot
These are all of the items Skyfaux is currently offering in the way of merchandise, either online or at various shows/conventions. Current offerings include buttons, stickers, the book (see above) and art prints. Speaking of conventions...

Appearances
All of Skyfaux's upcoming and past show appearances will show up here, along with information on how to contact Skyfaux with an event suggestion. You'll definitely want to take note of where Skyfaux will be next, since the booth typically offers free stickers and delightful conversation. We really wouldn't want you to miss out on that!

Blog
You've already found it!  The blog should be a great place to find all of the latest Skyfaux news, art, and maybe other miscellaneous things that the author/artist feels like discussing... possibly including gardening, terrible movies, and nifty art tips and tricks. The blog should have new posts several times per week.

Note:  The types of updates that typically appeared on the Skyfaux Tumblr blog will now most likely appear here first. Check back often!

About
If you're looking to find out more the author/artist, Skyfaux and Elementals in general, or if you're looking to contact the webmaster, the About section is the place to do it. This area of the site will expand in the near future to include some other cool stuff, including a Skyfaux timeline/history and a list of other projects by the author/artist.

Thanks for taking the tour!  If you have a question or website suggestion, please feel free to get in touch!