Hi Xyliacs!
Today’s update introduces us to a couple new characters…finally faeries in our faerie tale!! Today, we meet Adora and Katharos who seem to have a talent for… bickering?
Thank you to the little group of you who joined me on my first attempt at a talk show- Xylia Chat! We ended up mostly just typing this time around as one of our tiny group had no speakers, but next time I think I’m ready to have a go. The last session was not recorded, since it didn’t have audio for the most part. But the next on will be recorded. So set your calendars for Xylia Chat on Saturday, July 26 @ 5:00 EDT. We will chat for an hour! Please bring your XYlia questions. I will be starting the discussion talking about technique. Please join me!
Question for today: What is your favorite video game?!
Donations have slowed a wee bit, but remember, there is new stuff in the donations area!- click any of the buttons to go there! Let’s get that pot up to $800.00 so we can continue our eight update months! Click on the pic to go to the donation area!
Xylia belongs to some groovy collectives: Tomgeeks, Palace in the Sky Publishing, andTall Tale Features. The guys at Tall Tales posted a very nice welcome to Xylia on the main page, so check it out!
Pretty please go here to vote TWC!
You can visitThe Xyliacs Club here!
That’s all for now! See you all Monday!
~B
July 16th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
YAY. Gorgeous fairies. I like their subtle glows, too.
Singling out my favorite video game would be impossible. Right now Okami, Mario Galaxy, Persona 3 FES, and No More Heroes would be up there, though. Beautiful! Innovative! Artistic games! Yay!
July 16th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Barb, I think your drawings are pheominal, amazing and make me wish that I was anywhere near as talented as you with drawing
I’ve been following your work since early Talismen days. My favourite game is Final Fantasty X. Thanks for being such a great comic artist <3
July 17th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Woah, great page, Barb !
Adora looks so mysterious ! She is very beautiful.
My favourite video games are mostly city builders or strategy war games. I like Caesar, Civilization, Immortal Cities : Children of the Nile, Warcraft 3, and Rise of Nations. But I’m also fond of old Lucas Art games : Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacles, Full Throttle…
Can’t possibly select a single one. ^^
July 17th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Are they sisters? ‘Cause they sure act like sisters! *lol* ^_^ (However, I notice a striking resemblance to Claudius in them…are they HIS sisters…?) <_<
Ah…favorite games…I’ve got many…at the moment I’d have to say Nexuiz–a free down loadable first person shooter death match game. ^///^ But I was addicted to playing the Sims 2 at one point…and Roller Coaster Tycoon. Of course, I’m also fond of playing Serious Sam with my brother–the game that got me into first person shooters. (and then there’s another free game I like to play with my brothers, called Western Quake 3.)
Well I won’t bore you any longer with my list! ^///^
July 17th, 2008 at 5:56 am
my favorite video game? oooh… there are just so many on so many different systems…
I don’t think i’ve ever truly finished a video game, so they are stuck in my heart as fond adventures i am still pursuing.
The latest one that sticks out in my mind is Kingdom Hearts, which came out while I was in high school, and my boyfriend lent it to me to play a little before KH 2 came out. That was about four years ago and I’m still stuck in Wonderland, eep! but i do still love the game. heh, i’m going to have to start checking out the graphic novels so i can keep up with the story.
A more recent game that i guess i have technically beaten and love is Flow for the ps3, though it is more of a mini game. But what’s wrong with mini games, anyway?
k, and the ultimates that stick out in my mind because i have loved them since i was a little kiddie are jetforce gemini for the N64, and Quest for Camelot for the Gameboy Color *that’s right, i still haven’t gotten past the man-eating plant level* i get them both out from time to time and continue my adventures… but i’m really stuck on a specific level on each of them.
well, and of course there’s always mariokart… which kicks butt on pretty much any system it comes out on.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Yay! More fairies!
Yay! I see TDK tonight
Yay! Video games! Oh, but there are so manyt….From Russia with Love for PS3; Indigo Prophecy, Freelancer, and Alien vs Predator 2 for the PC, with an honorable mention for Far Cry; Super Mario 3, Battletoads, and The Adventures of bayou Billy for NES (wow, I’m old); Super Mario Land, Tetris, and Mega Man 2 for Game Boy; Aladdin and Sonic Spinball for Game Gear; and the whole Resident Evil series on all platforms. Oh, and Super Mario 64, but that one I love more for music and graphics than gameplay (although that’s good too).
July 17th, 2008 at 7:00 am
If you mean games you play on a dedicated system (aka Sega, Nintendo, Playstation) then I would have to say the old Kirby games. (Flying pink marshmallow men are so much fun.)
On the other hand, if computer games are included I would have to say my top three are “Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time”, “Zork Grand Inquisitor”, and WarCraft 3. Running a close second would be Baulder’s Gate 1 and 2, the Myst series, and Age of Mythology.
BTW, is that a gold egg laying goose and what is with the pigmy unicorn?
July 17th, 2008 at 7:03 am
wonderful page, dear! i especially like the lighting.
and the way Adora and Katharos bicker seems all too familiar to me. my brother and i fight quite often, and sort of like this. xD
as for my favorite video game…i have too many, i think. i can name a few, though: God of War, Oblivion, Halo series, The Suffering, The Jak and Daxter series, BloodRayne, Guitar Hero series, Spyro the Dragon series (i know, a kid’s game – i still love them though. ;D), Metal Gear Solid, Mario games. :]
July 17th, 2008 at 7:38 am
great page today, the blonde looks alot like claudius or is just me? hmm. my favorite video game would have to be zelda: ocarina of time. I know old school, but ah well.
Keep up the great work!
July 17th, 2008 at 10:03 am
freelancer (PC), GTA3 (PS2), Star Wars Legos (any of them), Indiana Jones Legos (any of them), Super Mario Galaxy (Wii), Castlevania series, Ghosts’n'Ghouls (SNES), and a random King Arthur’s World (SNES)
July 17th, 2008 at 10:23 am
OMG! This page is amazing, Barb! There’s so much info, packed so subtly in a small amount of narrative. So cool!
My favorite game of all time is Prince of Persia II: Warrior Within, though Final Fantasy III (okay, for you true otaku, VI) may be tied. I also adore Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Secret of Mana, and Legend of the Dragoon. Awesome games!
July 17th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I love all the random Creatures floating around in this page. Tis’ amazing how pretty they are, and how perfectly they blend into the scene. Lovely work.
Favorite games are the Zelda series and also Shadow of the Colossus (Ico as well).
July 17th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Interesting story. I started reading this a while ago and only now came back to it to see thing get magical. It’s very touching and very inspiring. Also pretty humorous at times (I like stories with comedic relief).
Favorite video game? Oy vey. I’m a gamer so I have a lot of favorite games. Right now I play World of Warcraft a lot. I like most of the Zelda franchise with A Link to the Past quite possibly being my favorite (Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess tied for second). The Metroid franchise. I like Super Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus. Shadow of the Colossus is another good game… I really liked it because you could pull off all sorts of cool stunts like you would see in a movie. Oh! And Oblivion was a really good game… shame that there were so few quests in original version. However, player-made addons and cheats on the PC made for some good fun when the original content got boring. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here.
Keep up the good work. I’ve bookmarked this place and hope to pay regular visits from now on.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
love xylia so much barb!!! keep up the great work!!
um, for the ??, my fav jeu video is…. LEGO STARWARS II!! yayz for legos!!!
July 17th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Did.. anyone else notice that her birds look like they are talking/arguing for her?
July 17th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
is it just me, or does katharos look so much alike to our hero? it makes me think they might be siblings, or twins even? which would make adora, a seemingly cold-hearted girl, also claude’s sister…
DUNDUNDUNNNNNN……
i don’t own many games really, but i still enjoy rollercoaster tycoon 2 and sims 2 on the computer. i also like zelda twilight princess on the wii, and heavenly sword for ps3. i’m spoiled and lucky ^^ but i can’t say i’m really that much of a gamer type person to be honest…
July 17th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Awesome page! I love all the little details, like how outraged the robins look on Kathros’s head. Great stuff!
As for fav video games, Final Fantasy VII is definitely up there, along with Kingdom Hearts and the Jak games. Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for Guitar Hero too.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I like Adora. I want like Katharos but after the “meat eater” insult, I’m not sure. Self righteous vegetarians get on my nerves.
My favorite video game is the Baldur’s Gate series.
July 17th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Love the page! Very sparkly! ^^ I must say that my all time favorite video game is Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Best. Game. EVER!!! I also LOVE World of Warcraft.
July 17th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Don’t generally play video games, except on emulators. Because of said emulators, I play a lot of old-school games, and I really like classic Kirby. I guess that’s my favorite right now. Most of my gaming is casual, such as the yummy goodness on MoFunZone.com and JayIsGames.
Long-time reader, first-time unlurker, and avid fan of faerie mythology here! I love this story! I didn’t even know you were the Talisman artist until it was mentioned in your newsfeed one day. I loved that, too!
So yeah, good stuff. I can’t figure out what Adora is holding, though…
July 17th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Some games I forgot……From Russia With Love for XBox 360; the Wing Commander series and Blade Runner for PC; and Mass Effect
July 17th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Hey Barb! First post right here! Your stuff is amazing, not that I need to tell you that!
July 17th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
MY GOD, IT’S CLAUDIUS IN DRAG! Not bad….no, a good page, really, purty fairies. I love how the animals all take a side.
July 18th, 2008 at 2:50 am
Yay! Fairies!
Great page.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:44 am
You can see the family resemblance in Katharos – who must be a granddaughter or something? Adora … *shiver* She is an ice queen – very unlikeable on first glance, but it is hard to know someone by their appearance and when they are bickering with their sister. She seems like a button pusher, though, and I REALLY don’t like button pushers … AWESOME page, though – gorgeous, like usual. I love the wee little unicorn!
July 18th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Hey y’all, thank you for commenting! I kinda figured these gals would bring people out of lurk status. Thanks for sharing your favorite games too.
“what is with the pigmy unicorn”
LOL- this IS going to come up…don’t worry.
THe bird is actually a swan, and no, it has no egg laying abilities- Katharos is an avian faerie- surrounded by birds all the time.
“MY GOD, IT’S CLAUDIUS IN DRAG!”
My son said the same thing when he saw Katharos. Not those exact words, but same idea. No, that isn’t Claude. THe nose is WAAAAYYYY too small. ^_^
Adora turned into one of the most fun characters I have to draw. I really enjoy drawing her. Hope you’re all having fun figuring out family relationships…
~B
July 18th, 2008 at 7:52 am
I’m having trouble distinguishing who’s saying what on this page, even with the color coded speech bubbles. Favorite video games: Grandia when I was a kid, Starcraft for casual play, but favorite of all time was Planescape: Torment
July 18th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
But…but…but…what is Adora holding????? I CAN’T STAND THE SUSPENSE!!!!!
I think the pygmy unicorn is neat, personally. You got a thing for small pudgy talking animals or something? I mean, Corgis, pygmy unicorns…will you have a talking pot-bellied pig next? (lol)
July 19th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I like the new characters allready! Adora and Katharos defenately seem sisters. (and family of Claudius since they all share the same nose) lol, even the birds are bickering with them! ^_^ More cute animals! I love the little unicorn. Is he Katharos? He has the same speech bubble colour.
Favourite video game? MYST by far! I love the first 3 parts (myst, riven and exile) after that it looses its charm for me somehow.
On my good ol super nintendo (yes I still have one!) I love Yoshis island 2 (with Yoshi and baby mario) Syberia from Benoit Sokal is also a really good pc game (Im a sucker for adventure games.
Anyone who played Beyond Good and Evil? I really liked that one!
July 19th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I thought the little unicorn was Katharos, too. But it appears the little unicorn’s speech bubble is a slightly different color. He may be a talking animal, like Livy. The other creatures, though, look like they are taking on her consciousness.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Hello, as always your artwork is fantastic! I’m excited to meet some new characters and see how Claudius reacts to them when he meets them. I don’t really have a favorite video game, I have many that I like. Mario, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Animal Crossing and many, many more.
Can’t wait for the next one!
July 20th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Hi.
Nik here. Been perusing your site and some of your friends and can make no real observatory comment at this time because I need more coffee and this is all totally new to me. The only reference I have to this sort of thing is D & D, that I never played growing up, items I’ve seen in New Age stores, and the movie Chasing Amy. I did have a dream about a little fairy one time that I journaled years ago that was very intimate and won’t go into at this time. It involved a cobalt blue velvet pillow as the little nest for the fairie, and she did not have a vagina that I recall.
I am playing next Friday at the Wedge by the by. I talked to the dude that books yesterday. Very laid back and not a big deal, but I guess that’s just how I psyche myself for this sort of thing.
It’s obvious you put alot of work into your stories and visuals and my only thought upon the superficial look was “that looks hard to do” and “what character would I be most inclined to relate to?” No decisions yet.
I will be home around 10pm tonite if you wanna call.
Easy,
Nikoli
July 20th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
soooo cute how the birds try to argue too
lovely page, the resemblence to claudius is endeed very remarkable 
July 20th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
checking posts and I have toi put….
Katharos = little sister
Adora = evil (meaning annoying) cousin
based on the small family resemblance, but not really what you’d get from brothers and sisters. Can’t wait for tomorrow to show if I’m right or wrong
July 21st, 2008 at 6:31 am
That has to be his sister, quite the resemblance.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:13 am
We don’t really have a clear view of “Mom” yet, so its hard to tell if she shares the same features as Claudius and Katharos or more of Adora’s. I would say that Katharos and Claudius are of the same mom(fairy)/dad(human?) lineage and possibly even twins, but Adora is maybe same mom but different dad? If Claudius has a human father it is possible that is why he wasn’t able to remember each of his past lives/read the Journal until his out of body experience.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
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