Guest Artist Kevin "Ayelid"!

My second guest artist is Kevin, known as "ayelid" on Deviantart.com. Yes, his name is a link to his page. When you're done reading here you really should check it out! Kevin did a pencil drawing of five GZ characters in one picture. I will tell you right now that this has spurred a short story idea with me! But back to the picture (click on it for larger view), from the top you have King Frederick the giant rat, Bloodraizer the assassin with his secret mentor hovering over him, Victor Darksong, and War Horse. King Fred and War Horse are the heroes of this picture by the way. Below you'll see the original works of these characters. The most awesome thing he did, was to create a connection to autism, that's the puzzle pieces.

I want to pause and make note that you will likely see differences between my drawings of my characters and the guest artist's renditions. But that's what's amazing about sharing views of other artists and I am honored and humbled when ever someone comes in and gets involved. It's about involvement and an interactivity. When it comes to autism education, nothing could be more true or of more importance. People with autism need patience and understanding (in general as not all of us feel this way). They need interactivity to help them get along in a world that never quite feels right. So when someone comes in and does this kind of work out of such generosity, I am truly honored and grateful for it. Galaxy Zento, no matter where it goes, will always stand for autism education. I'm also posting this at both my autism and GZ blog for this very reason.

Now about Kevin, I asked him a few questions. Here is the short interview:

ME: How long have you been doing your artwork?

KEVIN: I've been dedicated to drawing for as long as I can remember. My parents have photos they took of me studiously doodling away on a little chalkboard or paper and such. I guess a lot of parents cherish and encourage creativity, but my whole thing went beyond the folks just putting the random drawing on the refrigerator lol. I was getting awards and such for drawing throughout grade school and all the way into high school. I was known as that guy who draws lol. I could get other kids to pay me while I was still in elementary school for drawings they'd want done. I never attended college, but I continue to research and learn whenever I can. I began to seriously try to hone my skills and pursue a career with my artwork around my senior year of high school. I've also been a student of the guitar and other stringed instruments for about as long.

ME: What are your mediums for your work?

KEVIN: Mostly pencil and black ink on good thick, sturdy sketchbook paper. It's always fun to try other things just to see what results I'll get, too, such as using a throwaway ball point pen on cardboard. If I'm working with black ink, I may cover large areas that require ink with a paintbrush, and do little detailed work with technical pens. When drawing with pencils, I might sketch the basic structure of the drawing with an HB pencil, and add finer details with a 2H pencil and use a 2B for large areas that require darker shading. I've also tried my hand at sculpting small scale figures, and tattooing, in a proper safe environment, of course lol.

ME: And what's your favorite part of art?

KEVIN: I think my favorite part about the art that I do is the part when you begin to have a drawing or sculpture that is taking form and beginning to look like you've created something. It's nice to make it look as slick as possible, and get compliments from people on it, but that point where you're like, "yeah, it looks like what I was going for" is the most enjoyable, I think.

I think I couldn't agree more! There's a journal on Ayelid's page where he talks about doing commissions and you can see that and his work through the link above. This work will also be posted at the Facebook fan page, faves at my Deviantart page and the website when it launches.

I may not be able to do much, but if you want to be a guest artist for GZ, all you have to do is browse through my characters and pick one. Then draw him/her in any medium so long as it's family friendly. I will showcase your work, just like this!

By Request: Jojo versus Monolith

Over at my Deviantart page, one of my new friends made this request of me. He requested to see Jojo versus Monolith. I thought about it and decided "why not?". So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to work some requests into my schedule of illustrations that I am doing. If guest artists jump in, I'll even write the blog article for how the fight would go, just like I'm about to do here. And this is one serious fight.

In the reptile corner: Jojo! Jojo will tell you that he's "the baddest mudda around!" and he's about right. Jojo has a mutated strength power that magnifies his feats of strength at random 10-100 times. You never know just how hard Jojo is going to punch something! Not only is he impossibly strong, but fast and acrobatic too. He's only 3 feet tall, so expect him to be really hard to land a hit on. When he is hit, he can take some of the hardest punches you can imagine. Even so, hit Jojo hard enough and he will go down for the count.

In the rockslide corner: Monolith! Monolith was a human who suffered complications with his dwarfism. Through an evil ritual, he and his friends each became transformed into a different servant of Set. In this case, the transformation was to a Stone Demon. Stone Demons absorb brute force attacks and half of energy attacks, converting them straight to strength. They exert and use the energy they build up on their very next feat, causing almost the same multiplier effect as Jojo. They just have to be hit first. Monolith is much meaner that most of his kind, being enhanced by an evil god. Psychic powers and magics are the best way to take down a Stone Demon. Monolith stands about 7 feet tall.

The fight: Jojo is a master at taunting his enemies. Thanks to that, Monolith causes nearly all the wreckage their fight brings. Jojo scores lots of direct hits, knocking Monolith all over the place. He gets Monolith to run head on into walls, but that all takes its toll toward a deadly mistake. It's hard for Monolith to land a punch on the little green guy, but that's not going to last forever. They lay waste to several city blocks before Monolith finally catches Jojo by a foot. He bounces the little lizard off the pavement. That won't hurt Jojo much, but the next thing that happens is a well placed football kick that launches Jojo right out of city limits. So, while they are equals in strength, the ability to absorb and feed back is what wins the day. Jojo can't take as many hits as Monolith, especially for long distances. Jojo gets up, shakes it off and decides to try again another day.

The winner by a kick: Monolith.

Spotlight: Arconia!

If you read the spotlight on King Falcon, you know he's from the planet Arconia. Today, for the holiday posting, I am going to give you the Arconian grand tour. I hope you enjoy meeting this special race.

Arconia is a lush jungle world with 3 moons; Colas, Laros, and Venure. Only Colas is uninhabited and frozen over with ice and snow. Naturally, that makes Colas the furthest from the planet. Laros is home to the house of Paradien, and Venure to the house of Kasau-Ki.

As you can tell, Arconians are humanoid (male or female) formed with the heads of various birds. A trivial note is that they are born without their beaks, allowing a live humanoid type birth. They also nurse like mammals until their beaks grow in. The family types depend on the Royal house they are from or related to. Royalty has ability to summon wings of fire and lightning (allowing them to even fly through space) thanks to and ancient relationship to the race of the Star Phoenix. See the pic above of Lord Valderon (father of the Arconian race and legend).Peasantry have no wings. The wings of an Arconian can be a serious weapon, able to raise temperatures hundreds to even thousands of degrees in a fifty foot area or more. The lightning can be cast up to a hundred yards for attack purposes.

Their government is formed of five royal houses with the Royal House itself making number six. Each house takes turns in ruling Arconia as a revolving monarchy. Each house is ruled by a Lord and Lady, assisted by a Duke/Duchess, and finally an Earl (who acts more like a regional Sheriff). So lets take a look at the five houses:

Paradien: Represents nobility and law. The birds here look like falcons, ospreys and eagles. Royalty come to this house to learn the laws of Arconia, and ways of nobility. No youth may take official status of a house without their lessons in each royal area. This house also enforces trials over Arconia's laws and metes out punishment for serious offenses. Even the King may have to face Paradien, but only by unanimous ruling of each of the five houses. Pictured here is the current Lord of the house, Lord Harp. He's holding the scales of guilt and innocence. Facing those scales makes a trial very short indeed.

Kasau-Ki: Represents warriors and ways of defense. The birds here look like kestrels, hawks, and owls. This is where royals are taught how to fight with their wings and cosmic powers. Yes, they have cosmic powers. Arconians are quite adept in using several tactics and archaic (enchanted) weaponry. Arconia uses no technology. They have powers and magics that take care of all they need. This house developed diving attacks and the use of another potent weapon; the Arconian war shriek. King Falcon's shriek and shatter some of the strongest metals in the universe. Interestingly enough, Arconian usually only needs one protective force to keep invaders away; the King. Each King of Arconia is gifted with great power and considered to be the god and protector of the people. For this reason, Arconians practice what they call, Monarch Worship. The King is God to the Arconians. In the picture you see Lord Owl with his mystical sword.

Magor: The house of magics and great knowledge. The birds of this house look like toucans, cockatoos, and cockatiels. This is where teachings of spells, bardic music, and standard academics are given. The members of this house are powerful in magic enough to shield their world from nearly any threat. Magic is considered to be the blood of the universe and therefore very important to understand and respect. In this picture you see Lord Lord Heziah and just behind him, Lord Chamberlin. Lord Chamberlin represents the House of Magor in the Royal house. All representatives serving in the royal house are honorary Lords.

Fau Lin: The house of life and nature. The birds of this house look like the many forms of parrots and macaws. Arconia is such a lush and life filled place. There are even other magical beasts such as dragons and gryphons. Once a year, around our holiday season, they have an annual dragon hunt (for the non-intelligent species only) and a great feast at the Royal House. Hunters who participate have three choices to hunt with, spear, bow, or bare hands. King Falcon always uses his bare hands. At the house of Fau Lin, royals are taught how to respect all life and the ways of nature. They learn all about the harvest and how to grow all the foods Arconians live on. In the picture you see Lord Macau using powers of nature to grow a vine.

Iyson: The house of balance and powers. The birds of this house look like nightengales (dark black), jays, cardinals, and magpies. Arconians study the Balance of Good and Evil with a watchful eye. They also study the use of powers as much as the use of magic. If you follow the characters of Galaxy Zento, you will see many beings with amazing powers. The House of Iyson studies the use of powers and respects that they have a source in creation all their own. This house also helps write the laws and politics enforced by the House of Paradien. In this picture you see Lord Yiro with his staff of power.

There are several Arconian characters in Galaxy Zento and they are coming soon to be posted at the fan page and Deviantart. Be sure to follow along and I hope your holiday season is exceptional blessed!

Spotlight: The Teri-Moors

I didn't intend on Teri-Moors to become one of my major alien races, but there is growing interest in them, thanks to Chessmen. I actually made them as a cousin race to the Orcanians and they are very similar in several ways. The Orcanians are for another time, though. Today, it's all about the Teri-Moors.

As you can see from illustrations, Teri-Moors have three eyes, pointed ears, four arms and a tail in addition to a muscular build. They have no hair anywhere on their bodies and their eyes have a silvery hue in addition to any other colors. They are a space age cousin to the Elves, but they don't go out of their way to claim any kinship. They prefer to keep to themselves. They aren't part of any alliances and were at war with the Orcanians for many generations.

Teri-Moors are pretty strong, as in lifting small cars strong. They can easily wield a weapon in each hand over a hundred pounds. Their tails are prehensile, giving them the same ability as their hands. So it's not uncommon to see a Teri-Moor in combat with five weapons going. You might think that's hard to concentrate on, not for them. Thanks to how those three eyes are positioned, Teri-Moors have excellent eyesight with broadened peripheral vision. Their hearing is even better. Finally, there's one more thing that makes a troop of Teri-Moors especially dangerous; teleportation.

The trinity of these races; Teri-Moors, Orcanians, and Perithins are all long range teleporters. All of them train excessively in using their teleportation and other attributes in combat. Teri-Moors are especially brutal warriors. All males are expected to be able to take up arms and fight. Females can fight too, but they do so closer to home so they can protect children and elderly.

In technology they have starship capabilities but none of the major technologies (Dimensional, Time, Reality, Genetic). Even so, they have a fair armada of ships. It's not their ships attackers should worry about anyway, it's being boarded. Thanks to the extra arms and tail with heavy training, Teri-Moors are easily able to take on multiple opponents. They actually consider being outnumbered quite funny.

The leader of their race is a Chieftan with several Chief's under him to govern various tribes. Religiously, Teri-Moors have abandoned religion because the god they had used them for bloodsports with two other gods. Any weapons or documents of those times are sealed and outlawed.

As you can see, I have a few characters and if you peruse my fan page or deviant art page you can learn more about them. Perhaps they'll get their own spotlight soon? I'll take requests.

Guest Artist: Brian Rogers!

Known best as Labguyinwa on Deviantart.com, Brian is my first official guest artist for Galaxy Zento. He perused my characters and something about Victor Darksong said, "hey, try me!". And let me tell you, you can see the result. We have hopes of another artist jumping in to do inks, but that's for another time. Brian did a great job of making Victor look grim and gruesome. Victor is also one of the villains from my Chessmen novel. How fitting a first is that?

But enough about that, more about Brian! Brian is an artist of many talents. He's been doing the art thing since 1980 and been on Deviantart for two years.

He does professional caricatures, comic strips, and various other comic art. He writes a strip called "North by Northwest". You can check out his work HERE (there is one naked elf so mature notice just to be on the proper side). As you can see, Brian is a family guy with a dedication on page to his lovely wife, Michelle. His favorite part of doing his art is any inspiration he can give to youth.

Now, I'm going to hand out hint and promo here. As I write this, he's doing a sale on black and white caricatures for ten bucks each! You can contact him at labguyinwa@gmail.com! So, if you would like to get one for your loved ones this holiday, now's your chance! Here's the link to his caricatures folder HERE!

Now, finally, I post my version of Victor Darksong so you can see both of them. Big thanks to Brian for being the first guest artist!

Now, how about you? Can you do my characters? Pencils? Inks? Colors? Waterpaint? What ever you got, show me! Whether you want to get in for fun or show me how it's done, the guest artist project remains open! Any medium is fine from crayons to acrylics! I only ask that there are no adult themes. Contact me about any character info you want to know. Just peruse through my characters and see which one challenges you to draw him or her! Dirty secret: I have the most trouble drawing the ladies *shrug*. See my characters at the facebook fan page or my Deviantart page.

Who will I get to write about next? Will it be you?

A slight hiccup and hold up

Well, I actually don't have any new pics colored and ready to post. That's because I actually have to draw new ones! So I'm doing that and there will be new art to see soon. I have done several pencil sketches and they need to be inked in, so I'm on it. Writing is moving along too. I hope to enter a contest in January for short stories.

I won't be getting the website launched this month after all. There are delays and things that need to be taken care of first. I'm bummed but a lot has been accomplished this month so I'll survive to launch later. Aiming at January now. That would be a great way to kick off a new year right?

In the health zone it's been confirmed that I do not have MS and that's great news. Still don't know what autoimmune I do have but I'm being scheduled for a lumbar puncture to find out. Yeah, that won't be fun.

So, the pic I posted is a marker colored drawing of Lord Kestrel getting some magic on. There was an accident with the pic that I decided to keep because it looks like green magic orbs. Weird. I may try to digitalize it since I recently learned how to get that effect going that way.

Well, sorry for the slump in posting. It's the holiday season and busy busy busy! Have a great holiday season and I'll be posting again soon!

Spotlight: Maestro!

Ronin Xavier Jordain used to be a great hero on his world, Seenan. He was loved and praised and always ready to help someone in need. Then his world was invaded by a sorcerer's group called the Sevin Council. With his world in great peril, Ronin set out to find something to defeat the Sevin. The only thing that stood any chance of beating the sorcerers was a book hidden on a desolate island and Ronin found it.

Unfortunately, the book itself was evil and belonged to the god of all demons, Graethmael. A voice shouted out when Ronin picked up the book.

"You may take my book, but to use it you must serve me!"

Ronin took the book anyway and went back to his capital city. He didn't want to use evil to fight evil. But, when he got home, he found his wife dead and children missing. He found bodies littering the streets. He stormed the capital building where the Sevin based themselves and opened the book. He pledged allegiance to Graethmael and cast "blood of the earth".

All of the sorcerers hemmoraged and exploded. Blood flowed down the steps of the capitol and washed over Ronin's boots. From that day, he turned evil. He became a bard of exceptional musical power and magic. He decided that, if he served a demon god, he would be king of the demons as well.

So, with his magic at it's peak as both sorcerer and bard, he went to the current King of the demons and asked him about a place in his court. The King laughed at him and sent him to retrieve a powerful artifact called, the Sphere of Kings. He considered a way to be rid of Ronin. But Ronin got the artifact and used it to kill the King and take over.

Now, he is Maestro, the deadliest villain of Galaxy Zento. He casts spells that mix bardic, alchemy, sorcery and even altering reality. He has a vast castle that heroes get lost in for Maestro's amusement. He makes demonic monsters to wander the halls and you never know where any corner or door may lead you.

Maestro has been a solid favorite amongst those who know Galaxy Zento. It's my honor to introduce you to him today.

December update

Wow, is this month getting started off with a bang!

First, I'm getting some of my best art yet done and moving on towards my big goal of all those illustrations. My Christmas shopping is very close to done, yay. I just bought a new artpad with 100 large pages for those illustrations and....

I have my first official guest artist, Brian Rogers! Be watching for my posting on him, it's in prep now!

This month I also plan to launch the website! Oh yes! There will be lots of awesome information and activity going on there! I plan to have character bios, artwork, short stories, and a forum too! So I really hope that all the Zento fans and more will join in! I'm pretty excited about this, can you tell?

I've about got the flavor of the query letter ready. Yes, it takes a while and should for a good query letter. You really want the ideas to simmer in your brain for a good two or three weeks before you finish them on paper. That includes writing and rewriting until you think it's good enough. Fortunately, I'm not doing it alone. I have some great support here and proofreading help. I have people to bounce ideas off of. It's really great.

So, I hope you stay tuned in, some great activity coming this month!

A marathon project

I wrote out a list yesterday of all the characters I need to draw. It's not a short list. I've developed over 400 characters and only a portion of them are on the fan page or DeviantART. Put that with all the writing I want to get done and it's a marathon project.

I'm still working the kinks out of the query letter for Chessmen. I look forward to getting it out to be looked at by agents and publishers. Becoming a graphic novel would be awesome too, but I need more artistic help in that area. Most of the time, I'm okay with my own artistic talents, but they are slipping. The kind of work needed for a graphic novel is not the kind I can do.

Speaking of artists, I'm happy to say there has been interest in the guest artist program. It will still take a while, but eventually I think we'll see some cool guest work with articles here and postings to show it off. So off I go with lots of work to do. Back soon with more to show!

The You will rise project: King Falcon Poster

Through my page at DeviantART, I was contacted about an amazing project. You can check out this project HERE.

It was asked of me, would I be interested in submitting the King Falcon anti-bullying poster. Of course!

The project is all about rising above bullying. If you've been a victim of bullying and you use art or writing to overcome it, they want to hear from you. You can see the King Falcon entry on their blog site HERE.

I think any project that takes on bullying is worth while. Especially one that shows people with talents who have overcome or are in process. You see, you don't have to listen to the bullies. They put you down, but they are wrong. Just check out the talents on that page to see what I mean.

And don't say you have no talents, it only means you are still finding your way. Things will get better and you can rise above bullying. I did.

Spotlight: King Falcon

King Falconus is the monarch of the distant planet Arconia. Arconia is the richest planet in the known universe of Galaxy Zento. It's rich in all sorts of wealth, from gold and treasure, magic and knowledge, to mineral and resource.

King Falcon stands 7ft, 11in tall.

As the King, Falconus is gifted with special artifacts that allow him to protect his world and others. First is the Amulet of Arconia, found at his waist, attached to his mystical armor. It does two things for him. First, it enhances the phoenix blood in his royal veins. Should he fall in combat, the amulet will resurrect him in a giant ball of phoenix fire. This is potentially hazardous to his foes. If someone manages to take the amulet and slay him, the amulet must be delivered back to Arconia. It will resurrect him there. It's not perfect, the amulet is "sensitive to fate". There is always a chance that it is King Falcon's time. At that point, the amulet will vanish and reappear in it's holding case at the royal palace.

Second is his personal weapon, blessed for him alone. It's called the Axe of Arconia. It can respond to King Falcon's will and cannot be lifted by anyone but him without his permission. He can recant permission at any time.

To fly, he summons wings of fire and lightning (only royalty can do this) and he can fly the voids of space. With his wings he can fireblast large areas and raise temperatures to molten levels around him. His wings also enable him to fly at extreme speeds through space and even to warp to other worlds instantly. His other natural weapons include cosmic class phoenix rays, a war shriek that can shatter steel and stone, and his incredible strength. King Falcon can lift 100 tons with ease and more if he takes time to "gather" and absorb energy from the universe. King Falcon has moved moons in their orbit.

He is immune to disease and impervious to base physical damage.

He also carries one of the legendary Rings of the Multiverse; the Ring of Knowledge. It allows him to gain all knowledge on any given thing or subject he comes across. It also gives him a lie-detecting sense. He also took the Ring of Alchemy from Maestro, but doesn't carry both rings at the same time.

On Arconia they believe in Monarch Worship, who ever is King, is their god. There is no technology on Arconia. They don't need it. The only military is the royal guards and they are to protect villagers and palaces in royalty's absence.

King Falcon helped to form the Council of Leaders, a panel of leaders from various planets for the good of their universe.

King Falcon is one of the most powerful heroes of Galaxy Zento. He's always ready to lend a helping hand to stop the evil forces of the universe.

Two special posters

So I've done two special project posters. One on Bullying and the other on Autism awareness.

You see the Autism aware poster here first. I drew my character, Dimension Man for the very first time in making this poster. I've put it in several groups and have it available for purchase at my DeviantArt page. Just click on the "prints" tab toward the top of the page. A large poster is only about 20 bucks and I get a small commission of that. Past that, it's okay to share on your website so long as you post links back to me. It's okay to share on your Facebook page so long as you post link to the fan page or share about me. Fair enough, right? I also want to give access to the Autism Society.

Dimension Man is a cool but rare character. He exists on multiple dimensional planes so nothing can physically stop him from going where ever he wants. His evil counterpart is Tick Tock.But more about him later.

I chose King Falcon for the anti-bullying poster because he's the defender of several planets in his stories. It just made sense to me. I wanted that arm to come across really huge in the picture and then I did my own form of lettering. I ordered a print to donate to my son's elementary school.

So, how easy is this for me? Well, as you can see in this picture, I tried to draw a single line. My hands shake so badly at times, that it takes me quite a while to get a drawing done. It gets frustrating too. I'm hoping, once my diagnosis tests are done, there will be something that I can do to help steady my hands and slow the tremors. Till, then, no giving up!

Still no entries for the guest artist program, but it takes time so I'm hopeful that maybe the holiday week will stir things up. I really look forward to writing an article here about a fellow artist!

Touch ups

I'm almost through the touch ups on the Chessmen novel. I've found a lot of problems with my "it's" and "its" being mixed up. I really don't know why I keep doing that. Good ol grammar program does help by marking it at least.

We have a copy of this years Writer's Market and I need to start going through it and seeing what there is in information on agents and publishers.

There's still a lot of illustrations to do and I'm adding pics over at Deviantart. For the fan page, I've actually caught up with myself and now have to post my custom miniatures to fill in while I do more illustrations.

I have had a couple of artists show interest in the Guest Artist project. It will take time.

The current count in three weeks at Deviant art is 359 page views and I'm on four peoples watch list.

On the Facebook fan page, current likes are at 38. I would really like to see that number climb some more. People are looking and I love that. I've had some very nice correspondence and I love that too. There has been a very nice show of support. It's still a good start, and still early too.

So, it's just a short update today as I catch up on a few things around here. We just got our dog home from heartworm treatment and I had to make a hundred mile trip yesterday to a neurologist. As for that dr trip? There's more testing to do. I had lots of blood drawn to do an "auto-immune" panel. An auto-immune" condition is a disease that causes your immune system to attack itself or other points of your own body. MS is an auto-immune condition, but we still don't know if that's the one we are dealing with.

Looking forward to posting more soon!

Guest artists, what's in this for you?

Yes, this is another bid for guest artists to come and take part in Galaxy Zento. But I realize you must be wondering if it's worth it. After all, I'm just getting started. Still, I'm not showing any signs of stopping, and I won't. Just check these places out.

My deviant art page!

My Facebook fan page!

My Facebook page! Add me, I have over 3000 connections and growing.

My Twitter! Follow me and I'll follow you!

Numbers are growing, even if slowly. So what will I do for you?

- Blog article all about YOU. I'll post links to your pages where ever they are and I would also like to interview you about your art and influences in art. The article will include the piece you do for Zento and hopefully a couple other pieces of your work to showcase your talent. I've been writing for some time and gathering a decent following of readers, just look here: Wildeman's Words So, I'm putting my writing to work for you, plus the publicity.

-Exposure across all my mediums. I will create a guest artist folder on both DeviantArt and the Facebook fan page. When the official website launchs there will a guest section there too! I will put links to you with your work in any place that I can. As I get more attention out there, so will you.

Naturally, you also get to post the work you do on your own pages so long as you do the same in links for Galaxy Zento. That way, we create publicity for each other.

Want another twist? Did you create your own universe and characters? Tell you what, you draw one of mine; and I'll draw one of yours!

What am I looking for? For you artists, no matter how good you are, to do a Zento character in any medium except adult themes. This could include doing just pencils, inks, caricatures, cartoony things, what ever. If you want to get cute, try doing a Zento character versus one of yours (I'll do the same). Do one against any fave character of yours, whatever! But please, no adult themes. Galaxy Zento is family friendly and for a young audience.

Special considerations: Galaxy Zento is all about overcoming disabilities with me. Why? Because I have conditions that I am fighting with daily. I live with Asperger's Syndrome, Bipolar disorder and a degenerative condition yet to be identified (possibly MS- I see the neurologist tomorrow because my MRI was "abnormal"). So I consider anyone who clicks LIKE on the fan page to be a supporter of the same idea. This is why I'm pushing as hard as I can to make something out of Galaxy Zento, while I still can. That includes a series of novels. That being said:

Special consideration goes to any pictures that mix theme with Autism Awareness, Anti-bullying, Anti-child abuse and Anti-suicide. I plan to do some portraits in that way soon too. This will involve yet another special folder in the websites. If there are enough pics done for Autism, I plan to submit work to the Autism Society of the United States. Other considerations are possible.

Special consideration will also go to guest artists when it comes to the novels or any possible graphic novels (at least that's the pitch I will give the agents and publishers).

Remember, it doesn't matter how good you are, it's a show of support with lots of possibilities. I don't care if you are just 10 years old (with parental permissions) or a top notch pro. And that's not to say a 10 year old can't be a top notch pro.

So what do you think? Do you want to be a guest artist for Galaxy Zento? I would love to have you.

(We do reserve the right to refuse any work deemed a conflict of interest or inappropriate for Galaxy Zento)
(Galaxy Zento and it's characters are property of David J Wilde)

Great friends remembered

The picture you are looking at was drawn by my best friend and brother, Denver Steele. This blog is a dedication and memorial that shall live on in Galaxy Zento for me, forever.

You see three characters in that drawing. Those characters are an interpretation of three friends who formed a kind of trio when they met at Clearfield Job Corps Center, in Clearfield, Utah. The middle one is Denver, I'm the "falcon" and the bear? The bear repesents another dearly departed friend, Nelson Howell.

Denver wanted to be an actor and he was very good. We lived in Henderson, Nevada and he had a job at a small video store. I was working at a cabinet shop. With my writing and his acting, we hoped to get something started out there. That plan was cut short when his store was robbed and they shot him three times with a .22 revolver. I was the last person to see him alive (that was considered family)on the double shift he agreed to work. His killers were caught, and because I was part of that timeline, I testified in court back and forth for two years. They rot in prison to this day.

The news hit us all hard, but life goes on and more is always to come.

Ten years later, after we all had moved one. Nelson had a family of his own in Washington, Iowa. I had a family of my own too in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nelson was a big man, no denying that. We called him the bear because of it. He never worried about his weight. It ran in family heritage so he just took it as it went. It was early in the morning when his mother called me with the news. Nelson was out on his paper route when he simple passed out and fell. He was on blood thinners for a clot in his leg. There were already concerns that the doctor had him on too high a dose for his body, but it was too late. He left behind a wife and two kids.

So, that makes me the last of the trio from Job Corps, but there's one more who deserves just as much recognition.

Zach was a great kid, who was part of my last gaming group for Galaxy Zento. He went to Gen Con with us twice and I considered him and his sister as "god-children" to me. These two were very special to all of us. At first they were scared to hang out with us and join our little group. Why? Because they and their mother had to hide from and abusive man. He was dangerous and had tried to kill them before by setting fire to their home. To say the least, we took these kids under our "wings". Our group was comprised of people who worked heavy jobs, law enforcement, and bar "bouncing". No one was going to hurt these kids with us around.

But then, life changes again, one of us got a new job, and I moved to Wisconsin. I don't think it was six months after we moved before the phone call came. Zach was killed in a head on car accident with a truck and trailer. He was on his way to a heroclix game across town. He was 19 and studying architectural drafting. At his funeral we all put dice in and on his casket to send him off as a gamer should.

All three of these special and still missed people, created characters to help test Galaxy Zento. Those characters will live on in memory of them so long as I can keep it that way. So, if you are looking through pics on the fan page and see their names, you'll know why.

Spotlight: The Cyborians

The Cyborians are a highly intelligent and scientific race. For many eons they lived in peace on their metallic planet until they were forced to drastic change for survival.

Cyborians are metaloids. Metaloids are beings with organic metallic skin. To look at their faces, you would see two large black eyes and two sets of gill-like slits in a v-shape (like: / \) from the nose area to just above the chin. Their mouths are located under the chin. In this fashion, digestive tract and airway are separate from each other. They speak through the gills,so they can actually talk with their mouth full. They digest their foods with powerful acids. For that matter, their blood is called "metaphoric acid" and is the strongest acid form in the known universe (of Zento). Naturally, Cyborians themselves, are unaffected by acids. In reproduction, Cyborians are A-sexual and each capable of creating offspring.

The race is proud to have one of the highest technology levels possible in Dimensional technology. They perfected the use of linking dimensional pockets, anomolies, and energies to each other for power and tools. For example, they developed a high powered energy called Metron. One tool using this energy is a one ton cannon made for excavations through Cyborus's metal mountains. This massive device is harnessed in an easily carried, wide barreled, rifle shaped device. Because the tool is completely anchored and buffered in a dimensional anomoly inside the rifle, it's power can be fully used, hand held, with no kick back.

Being peaceful, the never thought twice about building a military until the Rotanians came along and nearly wiped them out. Because of the severity of damage and dwindling numbers of their race, they Cyborians took drastic action. They had all adult citizens bonded to multi-dimensional combat armor. That's right, it never comes off. Never again, would their race be defenseless.

Cyborian armor is formed to the scanned personality of it's wearer to maintain individuality. The armor itself, carries hundreds of computers and programs to maintain it in every way. Because the wearer is actually in another dimension attached to the armor, they are very hard to hurt. Past that, all manner of weaponry is capable of extending from nearly any surface of the armor. It's common to find a Cyborian armed with laser cutters in their optics and all manner of rifles, cannons and small missile launchers extendable from their arms, legs, and torso (front and back). The armor can cloak itself, fly through space, teleport from planet to planet, and link to or decipher any lesser technology they come across. Enough damage to the armor or it's total destruction, will kill the host. Still, that's no easy feat.

The armor comes in different sizes because of the personality traits scanned. Some Cyborians or as much as 50 feet tall. The Cyborian Overlord is as tall as the Sears tower. Larger Cyborians are given purposes to match their size, such as construction or anti-enemy starcraft details.

There is one drawback. A rare side effect of the bonding process is criminal insanity. This created the renegades, dangerous beings who could be anywhere. Most of them are wanted for reprogramming to try and correct the side effect. Some have to be destroyed.

Despite all their armor's abilities, Cyborians also created a fleet of star ships. These are huge craft with just as many capabilities of the armor itself. The Wrecker class is the largest of these powerful ships.

Cyborians are just one of the feature races in Galaxy Zento. You can see more of them at the FAN PAGE. Hope to see you there!

Table of Legend

So, how serious or crazy about my characters am I? Well, about 11 years ago, I built a table and burned a mural of my characters in it. The whole pictures goes from one end clear to the other.

It's a heavy thing, around a hundred pounds. I made it from a solid wood door and some banquet table legs. Once the picture was all burned in via a woodburner, I put some brass corner fittings on it. This was our gaming table.

We sat around this table for several games, but mostly for playing Galaxy Zento. What was special about this table, was that I didn't just put core characters on it. I put many current player characters on it too. So who all is on this thing and have you seen them already? Lets see, and remember you can click on a picture for a larger image.

In this first image, you can see King Falcon and just behind him is Lord Kestrel. This is the left side of the table centerpiece. Up in the right you can see someone's legs, that's EO, the Equal and Opposite man. EO is the upper center of the centerpiece.

Now, you see Maestro clashing with King Falcon. In the lower section from left to right there's General Zarose (bad guy), Galose, and Crazy Harry. You can see and arm up on the right and that belongs to Anubis's best bud, Horus. You'll see soon enough. Did I mention the table is made of oak? Well, now I did.

Now you see EO. To the left you can just make out Doomsday Weapon. On the right is a big clawed hand belonging to the Stardragon, Gilgameer. You can see a leg belonging to Nyhtwulf too.

In this image you see Anubis and Horus fighting a villain named Mr. Wicked. You can also see a tornado twisting away behind them and someone's shield. Yes, this table took a long time to do. Currently it's my work station where I do art.

Left to right, you see Lord Turindell (half angel/elf bard legend), Serka the gray elf, Jojo the dwarven sized lizard man, and Monolith the stone demon. Yep, there's more behind them, but too much to put into just one section now, so next;

Okay, so I really do need to take better pictures of my table now. When I took these, I was using a pretty basic grade point and shoot camera. It served the purpose but you have to look closely here to see all the characters. At this point, I could name them all, but you don't know all of them close up yet. Even if you've been following the FAN PAGE. You can make out Gilgameer's head, Boreas the wizard, the Kyte, the Serpent, and the other giganto guy is called Warhammer (yes, even those he's covered with axe blades). See what you can make out.

A closer look at the upper left of the table. You can see the dragon, the wizard, and one the right is Captain Bizarre. Look in the upper left hand side and you'll see a cosmic faerie. Yes, a faerie.

To the right, you find Red Rhok, Barger, and the spacey looking guy is called Omni. There's more to see as you go. These characters are on the fan page.

In this section you see Maniac and the Sphere. I will have a color pic of Maniac coming soon!

Here's another small faerie who appears on the table. Her name is Ecstasy.

So, I do need to get better photos and all of these will show up on the fan page as linked above. If you haven't already, visit and click LIKE. I appreciate all the support. Enjoy Galaxy Zento!