Down From The Mountains

Dear Insane Children, 

I had a nice time in the wilderness mountains above DeQing, China. It's an area I've visited almost annually for the past 15 years. And the amount of change in the region is (like everywhere else in China) mindblowing. Every road, street lamp, rest stop, garbage can, sidewalk, guard rail, etc, etc - everything is new, clean, and beautifully designed. Walking around the little villages and towns, you feel like you're on a freshly built film set. It reminds me very much of Japan when I would first visit there 20 years ago. And it is still being developed and improved. China in another 10~15 years is very likely to be the most modern, safe, and clean country on the planet. Crazy. 

Oh, the temple in that picture... was built in the year 1181.

Speaking of things that happened a long time ago... 

We have another set of sketches from Adam depicting Alice's childhood memories. 

This is the "4th family memory with Arthur Liddell talking to his daughters,"

Have a look and let us know what you think. 

From the Art Brief: Image 4:
13.1D) Show a scene of Alice and Lizzie being spoken to by their Father (Arthur Liddell.)
Eye-level, eye-to-eye connection between Alice and her Father. Alice's Father kneeling down to speak to Alice.

ALICE’S FATHER

There’s something to learn here for yourself, Alice. Your Mother might be harsh at times, but she only wants the best for you.


Run along girls, do as your Mother says. There’s a time and a place for games, and that time may be cut short as you grow. You’ll know when the time is right.

Alice watches her younger self and sister hold hands as they wander up the stairs to their room. Alice reaches out to the memory of her Father, he fades and crumbles to ash at her touch.

Let us know in the comments below which is your favorite. I like C or D. Lizzie in the other two images is holding an odd pose that doesn't seem to fit with the mood or the era. 

We also have a new artist on the pre-production team!

Gareth Keenan is an illustrator based in New Zealand. And his first assigned task is the image you see above. Here's the brief for that one...

38.2) Narrative Task // Alice Restores Hatter's Mind

Page 125 Line 1, to Page 126, Line 11

Art Task Briefing and Output:
At least 1x Image of Alice helping Hatter by Restoring his Mind.
The gift given to her from her Mother in the chapter previous.

This is a scene of Alice showing kindness, and helping and healing parts of her psyche herself.

-----

Narrative Excerpt:

Examining the tiny broken snow globe shards on the floor, Alice then wipes her tears, and addresses Hatter.

Alice

Hatter? What are you doing here? I saw you…

THE MAD HATTER

Die? Be consumed? YES REMARKABLE.

Hatter yells excitedly.

Alice places a hand on Hatter’s forehead. He is clearly mad, and not his calm self. He jitters as his facial expression tightens into a grimace of pain. Alice reaches into her pockets and produces Hatter’s mind, given to her by her mother.

Wonderful! 

A quick reminder there will be NO live stream this week as I must travel to Yan's hometown for some family business. But we'll be back the week after with lots of great new art, design, and other updates. 

Happy Halloween, Insane Children! 

From Shanghai with Boo,

-American