Character Art

We commissioned indie web-comic artist MORRIE KOESTER for this awesome character art. Razal happens to be one of the lead characters of JM WILLIAMS debut OMAM series, “Call of the Guardian” (*cough* available on Amazon *cough*). In the book, much of the description of the dragon focuses on his horns, a detail which you can see MK took to heart.

In fact, we gave Morrie the choice of which character she wanted to illustrate. When asked about her choice, she said:

“I chose Razal because it was quite refreshing to see a dragon portrayed in a more positive light in fantasy work. We often see dragons as greedy, cunning in a malicious way, and sometimes lacking sapience. I thought it would be a fun challenge to draw a dragon with an air of wisdom, power, and without aggressive qualities. What stood out to me the most was his horn type and scales, although his scales were not particularly emphasized in the sketch. It was fun to draw ram-like horns that curved around his face like a helmet.”

We totally get the desire to see dragons as more than just greedy, malicious, self-centered baddies (thanks Tolkien! ☹ ). Wanting to have his own dragon companion, and inspired by the classic film “Dragonheart,” Williams decided to create his own. That concept—man and dragon working together—was one of the original roots of the story.

MK also offered her thoughts on the book as a whole, saying:

“Regarding the book in general, it’s a fun read with less than perfect characters and really cool worldbuilding. I really enjoyed how flawed Draven was, the sort of hero that relies on others. It’s not just about how powerful he is, but how he utilizes his resources and works to overcome his shortcomings, particularly how fire continued to be a big NO for him. Marten was also a fun character to read. His source of weapons brought out a good chuckle.”

Oh, Marten. We love Marten. Williams has such a huge man-crush on the guy that he dedicated the entire book to him. Bear in mind, Marten was originally only a side character, but evolved into something much greater. We’re sure we are going to see more of the comically out-of-touch, yet inspiringly brave young man in Season 2.

If you like what you see here, you can check out MK’s web series Sea Legs at: www.sealegscomic.com.

And, of course, you can grab your own copy of “Call of the Guardian” and dive right into the OMAM universe at: https://amzn.to/2ygC6IB

Happy reading!