Imaginary Drum Rolls

Sooo this post features a project begun for Illustrative Drawing last year... I liked the project, but the work load got the better of me and resulted in a spectacular crash and burn. So, naturally, I have mixed feelings about bringing this up again. The project was to span the whole semester, beginning with character creation and concepts, the final result being a nearly complete story with concept boards for all the characters, some specific environmental sketches, and a few scene story boards. I got about as far as the story and character profiles... and an environment sketch I'd rather forget about (I'll post the scans next post)... For now, a summary.
My story revolves around this crotchety old lady named Miss Alice Gale. She's the self-appointed weather witch for this podunk town in the middle of nowhere (loosely based on Pataskala, Ohio) unbeknownst to its residents. Her only neighbors (she lives pretty far out from the town, surrounded by a tiny wood) are a single mother (sick with cancer) and her 12-year old son, West. Battling her cold was the only thing Alice wanted to do, one afternoon and seeing as she was a bit of a hermit, didn't expect to be bothered. And so Miss G was quite annoyed, of course, to see West nervously raking her enormous lawn. Slamming her door open, she shouted at him to explain his trespass. West manages to stammer that his mom had sent him over as a gesture of being 'neighborly', which annoys Miss G. enormously. She shouts at him to scoot, coughing all the while, when suddenly with a body-shaking hack, produces thunder and lightning right above her house. West gapes, drops his rake, runs away.
End scene.
The rest of the story is about how West goes back day after day to pester Alice, begging her to teach him weather-witching, eventually tries something on his own with Miss G's stolen umbrella (it's magical! And talks. Kinda corny, but oh well. I thought it was funny), things go awry, attracts the attention of a rival weather witch (Byron! He's a big ol' bully); seeing West's potential for the craft (and how dangerous it could be if ungoverned), Miss G. reluctantly takes West on as an apprentice. Somewhere in there is a big bad battle with Byron (he's abusing his powers, other towns suffer for it) and West's momma has a crises, West messes up, and the bad guy wins for the time being. I didn't want a happy ending with a twelve-year old hero. Not realistic! How COULD he win??? He's freaking twelve. So Miss G. says to stop being a pussy and train some more so they can really kick Byron's ass.
So yeah, scans of Miss G and West and such will be up next post...