Giants Battle Illustration

Color illustration of the giants battling: http://www.michaelpaulhoward.com/thelittlepeople.html

Color illustration of Uktena. http://www.michaelpaulhoward.com/thelittlepeople.html

Color illustration of the giant turtle DuGa-Si.
http://www.michaelpaulhoward.com/thelittlepeople.html

Color version of my ink illustration of when Daya first met Adam in the forest behind his home.

http://www.michaelpaulhoward.com/thelittlepeople.html

How I Created The Cover Illustration To The Little People Part I

Once the final written draft to the Little People was complete, and as my family and friends began helping me proof it, I began the process of trying to come up with the cover illustration. I knew that I wanted to include at least one of the main characters as well as several of the animal spirits mentioned in the book.

My initial thought was to show Daya and Adam together so I began doing sketches of various scenes from within the book. Besides doing sketches, I also went into several 3D animation programs. These programs allowed me to take 3D human figures and place them into assorted poses to help created different scenes. One rough scene I did included several of the Little People, animals and Uktena in a large battle scene. I eventually decided it was too busy. After many attempts, I finally settled on a rough sketch that I was happy with. This sketch depicted Daya along with two of the animals perched on a limb in the trees.

I next began doing sketches of Daya’s clothing and ornaments. I went through several designs before settling on what was used in the final rendition. I was looking for something that was recognizable as Native American, but had an original look. I also wanted it to appear to be made of natural elements such as animal hides, bone and stone. I tried to keep the colors somewhat muted so they would appear to be made from natural pigments.

Once Daya’s costume was complete, I then began doing more detailed sketches. I used my 3D program to design a human female figure pose and incorporated that into the design. The final sketch was a composite of several sketches that I put together in Photoshop.

Once the sketches were complete I began looking at how I wanted to illustrate it in color

More in part II

The Change Of Seasons

Lately we’ve seen quite a fluctuation in the weather. One day it is sunny and in the 60’s, the next 10 degrees with snow, sleet and freezing rain, all in the same day. A favorite saying here in the south is all you have to do I wait and the weather will change.

One of the things I tried to incorporate into The Little People while I was writing it, were the changes in the seasons and the weather. Growing up in the south, we were use to extreme changes. The seasons also tied nicely into events such as holidays, school events, birthdays and more.

At the beginning of the story, it is summer. Summers were always a great time for me as a child. Right after my family moved to the south, the time I spent with my grandparents up in the mountains on the river during the summers are some of my fondest memories. Even though the summers were hot and humid, the things a child could do far outweighed the heat. Other than the occasional storm with a chance of tornadoes, summers weren’t bad.

There was always an adventure to be had, some place to explore, and something new to learn. My grandfather taught me how to fish. My grandmother taught me how to cook. There was nothing better than sitting in a lawn chair down on the riverbank with a pole and a line in the water.

Exploring the woods was a favorite pastime. Seeing wild animals in nature was always exciting fun. Of course the insects were never welcome. Mosquitoes, chiggers and ticks were not any fun.

Summer always ended too soon. When school started and fall came around it was always back to business. Of course then there was always winter break to look forward to. We were always happy to get a snow day. Funny how as children we had no idea how stressful and dangerous the snow and ice could be. We were just happy to be out of school.

I could never think of winter and not think about the holidays. The three biggies were Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Halloween was always cool outside and by Thanksgiving we were getting a lots of rain. By Christmas we were hoping for a little snow. Very seldom did we ever actually seem to get any.

We always knew when Thanksgiving was getting close because my father and older brother would begin practicing their duck calls. That’s all we heard around the house for a month up until duck season. It was worth putting up with the noise to get to taste my grandmother’s duck and dressing however. It was always one of my favorites at that time of year.

I think for most of us, the seasons always bring back memories that connect us to important times in our lives. 

Michael Howard

10 Ways To Spread The Gospel

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Matthew 28:18-19

Jesus commanded his disciples to teach all nations. Christians have a responsibility while here on this earth to reach out and teach the lost, unbelievers and erring members alike. There is no retirement from being a Christian. Revelation 2:10: "be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Here are ten ways we can spread the gospel of Christ, help the church grow and save the lost.

10. Study God’s word. II Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We must first have knowledge of God’s word before we can adequately share it with others and the only way to do that is to study the Bible regularly.

9. Pray daily. 1 Peter 3:12: For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. Prayer strengthens us and God hears the prayers of the faithful.

8. Do good and help others. 1 John 3:17; But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? By helping others we show God’s love.

7. Participate in and support the works of the church. Reach out to church leaders and finds ways to help with current church programs and events such as gospel meetings and mission works.

6. Invite people to come to church. It could be to regular services, for a gospel meeting, vacation Bible school or any other church event or activity.

5. Speak to people about your Christianity in person or by phone. Romans 10:14: How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? We should always be on the lookout for opportunities to speak with people about God’s word.

4. Reach out to erring members, let them know you care about them and encourage them to repent and return to God.

3. Hand out books, tracks, flyers, DVD’s, Bibles or other materials and tell people about works of the church such as the Speaking The Truth In Love television program. We can keep Bible material with us at all times and if an opportunity presents itself, give it to someone in person or leave it somewhere that it might be found.

2. Share God’s word online. God’s word can effectively be shared on the internet. Here are a few examples:
    a. We can send emails to people in our list with articles, letters, and links to assorted Biblical content.
    b. Facebook – Create Biblical posts or like and share posts from sources such as Apologetics press, GBN, or Nettleton’s Facebook page. If every member that uses Facebook shared God’s word regularly, how many people might be reached?
    c. We can also tell people about and share YouTube and other online Bible videos from places such as World Video Bible School.

1. Be a living Christian example. Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. When people see God’s light shining through us, then they will want to know more about us and who we are – Christians.

My Top Ten Authors Reading List

When I was around ten or eleven, my father gave me a copy of John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the first time I had ever read a novel. It was with Burrough’s Mars series that I obtained my love for reading fantasy novels. These author’s novels later influenced me to begin writing my own stories. If any of you ever get the chance, I encourage you to read some or all of their works. Out of all of the author’s works I have read, I would have to say that Robert E. Howard’s Conan and Edger Rice Burrough’s Mars series are still my favorites.

1.     Piers Anthony

2.     Robert Jordan

3.     Joel Rosenberg

4.     Marion Zimmer Bradley

5.     David Eddings

6.     Anne McCaffrey

7.     Terry Brooks

8.     J. R. R. Tolken

9.     Edgar Rice Burroughs

10.  Robert E. Howard

The Little People Excerpt #1

Excited at this new discovery, Adam eased forward to get a better look. The turtle was a giant of it’s kind. Adam thought it must have been three feet across and weighed at least a hundred pounds. It had a large brown, dome shaped shell, with yellow spots all over it. Adam remembered his father saying they were called box turtles or terrapins. He didn’t know they grew to be so big.

The turtle’s head was out and it seemed to be looking right at him. Curious, Adam eased his stick forward to poke it to see if it would move. As he did so the giant turtle quickly reached out and grabbed the end of his stick with its mouth. This caught Adam by surprise and he almost let go of his stick.

Adam grabbed the end of his stick with both hands and tugged on it, several times. He tried to get it to let go, but has no luck. The turtle hissed loudly at Adam as it pulled back on the stick. He was surprised at how strong the turtle was. Back and forth they went for several moments until there was a loud snap and the stick broke in two. With the sudden release of his end of the stick, Adam stumbled back, lost his balance and then fell.

As Adam hit the ground he thought he heard someone say, “Humph, pesky human!”

Adam quickly stood up and looked around, but he didn’t see anyone else in the area. As he dusted himself off he looked back at the turtle. It had come out from under the brush and was slowly making its way along the edge of the stream toward the back edge of their property. The turtle stopped once and looked right at Adam. It then slowly set off again. Adam followed the large reptile until it eventually crossed a gap in the fence at the edge of their property. He watched it make its way across the woods, heading toward the distant lake. It eventually disappeared in the forest beyond the fence line.

http://www.michaelpaulhoward.com/thelittlepeople.html

Five Choices We Must Make To Be Right With God

    From the very beginning of creation mankind has been making choices. Adam and Eve made the first choice to disobey God in the Garden of Eden when they chose to eat of the forbidden fruit. They quickly learned that there was a consequence to their choice, and were cast out of the garden and into a life of hardship.
    Every day we have to make choices. We choose what clothes we want to wear, what food we want to eat. We choose what jobs we want to work at, what vehicle we want to drive and what type of dwelling in which we live. We choose whom our friends are and whom we wish to date or marry. However, the most important decisions we can make are the decisions that affect our spiritual well being and that will determine our final destination.
    For those of us that say we believe in God, the Bible and Christ, we need to ask ourselves if we are making our choices according to God’s word. We know from the Bible that in order for us to be right with God, we must adhere to what the Bible teaches. Luke 11:28 says: But He said, More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!
    When we choose to become a Christian, we accepted God’s directions and instructions. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 states:  For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
    God’s word should guide us in all of the choices we make, but ultimately it is up to us to make those choices. When God created us he gave us the right to choose what we do in this life, but also provides for us instructions. Proverbs 16:9 tells us: A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

    Let’s look at some of the choices we must make to be right with God.

    1.    First of all we must choose to obey God’s plan of salvation for man. The Bible tells us we must:
      a.    Hear God’s word. Mark 12:29
      b.    Believe God’s word, John 20:3
      c.    Repent of our sins, Luke 13:3
      d.    Confess that Jesus is the Christ, Acts 8:37
      e.    Be Baptized for the remission of our sins, Acts 2:38
      f.    And we must live Godly, 2 Peter 1:5-11

    2.    Living Godly includes many choices we must make including worshiping God as he has directed.
      a.    We are to worship God on the first day of the week. Hebrews 10:25
      b.    When we worship we are to sing to God: Ephesians 5:19
      c.    We are to pray to our creator: Acts 2:42
      d.    We are to hear the preaching of God’s holy word: II Timothy 3:16
      e.    We are to partake of the Lord’s supper: Acts 20:7
      f.    We are to give as we have been prospered: I Corinthians 16:2
      g.    And we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together: Hebrews 10:25

    3.    We must also choose to submit ourselves to the authority God has given to the elders in the church. Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

    4.    Another aspect to making Godly choices are the things we choose to do outside of the church in our daily living. Matthew 5:16 says: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
      a.    When we make choices to do things that are ungodly, we shed a negative light upon God, the church and ourselves and not only put our own salvation at risk, but could hinder others from ever obeying God’s word or cause other Christians to stumble. Romans 14:21 tells us: It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
      b.    Who we choose to spend our time with can also effect our decisions. If we spend a lot of time with people who are not Christians or those who do things that are immoral and unscriptural, we can be influenced to do likewise. I Corinthians 15:33 states: Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.

    5.    Finally, we need to choose to share God’s word with everyone that we can. Mark 16:15 And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

    If we truly believe in God and care about the people in the world around us, we will choose to follow His word to the best of our ability, worship and obey Him faithfully, live a Godly life to be a shining example to everyone around us and share God’s word with whomever we can.