Seems the campfire served its purpose well! With the distraction in full play, Canid blood already spilt, and the Ermehn so close to Deltrada, it seems that there’s very little chance of anyone turning back now.

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Boston Comic Con draws ever closer, now a mere 3 weeks away! In preparation of the event, which will mark the very first time Beyond the Western Deep‘s hardcover volume I will be on sale, Rachel and I have been preparing the various supplies and table amenities that will be necessary for a good-looking setup! This week, I wanted to share the awesome mega-banner that will advertise our presence from afar.

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Anyone who’s ever walked around an Artist Alley at a major convention knows that it can be pretty hard to find your way around, and even harder to make out each table through the thick crowd. Because of this, it’s important to elevate your presence somewhat — literally! This meant producing a tall banner that was capable of grabbing eyes from a distance. We’ll also be using this artwork for cool bookmarks that we’ll be selling in addition to the book and a couple of different art prints (details to come in the next couple weeks)!

This week, we’ve got some wonderful guest art from longtime Western Deep contributor and commenter, Veigue! Actually, he submitted this fun piece back around his country’s Father’s Day, and as was befitting the holiday, Veigue rendered two of his BWD-influenced characters, Ajule and Topapa, in a sweet little homage to Dad Day!

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As Veigue wrote: “This Monday was my country’s Father’s Day, so in light of the holiday I drew my 2 characters Topapa and Ajule sitting together while gazing at the night sky. The whole background story around it is that….well during Ajule’s younger days, Topapa being his adoptive father and all and due to his lacking of a Tamian’s natural ability to climb and hop from tree to tree, whenever Topapa or Nina (his wife) have the break or opportunity to do so, they basically take Ajule and “tree ride” with him on their back so that way he doesnt feel too left out of the joys of traveling through Sunsgrove’s tree tops.”

While the world of Beyond the Western Deep is indeed a human-free zone, I always find these fun pieces of Ajule hanging out with characters from the various world races to be absolutely charming. And the piece itself is just gorgeous — I love the colors of the forest and the rendering of the night sky. Also, Topapa is such a great name! Thanks for the wonderful guest art, Veigue! We love it!