The Plunkett Collaborations 

[Chakat Snowflake]


When I received an email from John Plunkett way back in 1999 relating to my story "Lost", I had no idea as to what that simple email exchange would produce in later months and years. At the time, John had started writing a story based in Bernard Doove's Chakat universe called "Star Dancer", and after reading the first couple of chapters I was sufficiently intrigued to try my hand at doing some illustrations for it. And as they say, the rest is history...

This is a selection of images produced for John's stories, and where appropriate I have included the text that was the inspiration for the piece. I highly recommend visiting John's site and having a read of both his finished and in-progress works. Click on the underlined headline for direct access to the illustrated stories.

Story Illustrations


"Night's Daughter"

John's second story set in the Chakat universe, and also the first horror/thriller story involving Chakats. "Night's Daughter", and its sequel "Darkest Night" (under construction) are also notable for the first appearance of the undead demon sex-fiend from hell, Daughter Night!
 
Thumbnail Description (click thumbnail for full image)
[Approaching New Karnak]
"Approaching New Karnak" 

Norby came over a low ridge and there, in the middle of a wide valley, was an enormous structure built of gigantic sandstone blocks. The outer walls and roof had fallen partially away, revealing a forest of columns within. The massive entryway at the end of the building was mostly intact, flanked by a pair of towering jackal-headed figures, very Egyptian in character. A little farther out from the statues were a pair of colossal foundation stones; the one on the right still supported an obelisk that towered high above the building. The other foundation was empty; the obelisk has toppled into the sand which had all but obliterated the paved roadway leading up to the structure.

[Daughter Night's statue]
"Daughter Night's Statue" 

Boots drew a hissing breath. Shi didn't run because the people with whom shi felt most emotionally comfortable were right here, and because hir legs had suddenly become rubbery. "W- what is that?" shi demanded, pointing a quavering finger. 
"Her?" R'marl moved quickly to Boots' side, resting a hand reassuringly on hir shoulder. "That's   Daughter Night. Her and her brother, Son Day, seem to be the major deities. At least they seem to figure heavily in all these writings." A casual gesture took in the columns and their carvings. 
Boots wasn't paying the slightest attention. Daughter Night was eight meters high and seemed to have been carved from a single piece of black stone. She was either naked or wearing a snugly fit gown; in the shadowy darkness it was impossible to tell which. She was also rather more full figured than the Tabaqui females Boots had thus far seen, who tended, like their men, to be slender. The eyes of the statue were gold, gilt or more likely inlay to have lasted this long. They seemed to be staring directly at Boots. 

[Daughter Night and Ba]
"Daughter Night"

An artistic impression of Daughter Night in costume, with Tabaqui hierogryphs on the walls and a spirit ba in attendance.

[CGI rendering of desert on Nelhut 3]
"Nelhut Desert"

A CGI rendering, using Vue d'Espirit, of the desert near New Karnak.


"The Sea Vixen"

Inspired by "A Perfect Storm" and a photo I'd sent of a British naval fighter jet (a deHavilland Sea Vixen), John created a dark thriller where a fishing crew working in the Southern Ocean land more of a catch than they bargain for...

Thumbnail Description (click thumbnail for full image)
[Misu the Sea Vixen]
"Misu the Sea Vixen"

Inspired by a chance remark, this concept of a mer-fox / furmaid was used by John Plunkett in his story "The Sea Vixen".

Rather than the traditional 'bolted-on' fish tail to a humanoid(ish) torso, I decided to portray the sea-vixen (named "Misu" by John) as an all-mammalian creature with thick seal-like fur all over its body and whale-like tail flukes instead of fish fins.

[A hooked sea-vixen]
"A hooked Sea-Vixen" ("The Sea Vixen") 

An illustration for John's story "The Sea Vixen". A long-line fishing boat off the coast of New Zealand brings in a most unusual - and disturbing - catch of the day...


Return to top of this page

Return to the Art Home Page!

Return to the Welcome page!

Copyright 1998, 2003 Terry Knight.
For more information contact: Terry Knight