View allAll Photos Tagged characterdevelopment
Who was the oldest mafioso that The Curmudgeon ever dispatched? Let me think. Ah, yes. That would be The Alderman who was 70. What, you were hoping for a longer answer? Fine. The Alderman was a nasty sort of man, precocious when he was an ankle-biter, spent a few years in the can, no candy-ass back then, who turned into a lier and a cheat. So for many reasons, mainly his Machiavellian ways, he had his light snuffed out aboard a steamship from Chicago to St. Joseph during that rare warm winter - you know the one I’m talking ‘bout. We good? What do you mean “No”? I can see that you have befriended curiosity and still want more. *deep breathe* Fine, fine. Here’s the tale, nightingale.
Back during that unseasonably warm winter, the Graham & Morton Transportation Company decided to take advantage of the situation and make some extra coin by starting the season ahead of the normal June through September season. Ben and Anna decided to take a train from their home in Elgin, Illinois to Chicago where, at the docks of the Chicago River, they would board a steamship bound for St. Joseph, Michigan. Ben and Anna were married in St. Joseph years prior and they saw it fitting to travel back, February fourteenth of that year, and indulge in some of the wonderful winter fruits of the areas and maybe enjoy a mineral bath at one of the luxury hotels. While the husband and wife planned a special weekend, they did not know what was in store during the voyage on the deck beneath them.
Stronzo Potere Avidità is the Alderman of what was the largest ward in Chicago at the time and had strong ties with the mafia through business dealings. As such, many refer to him simply as The Alderman. He is oddly a gregarious man. While he seeks to be sociable and surround himself with others, it comes at the cost of their mental anguish. For you see, The Alderman seeks to be more powerful and to have more than those around him. He constantly lets them know their faults, as belittles them to the point that they wish to either leave or argue to no avail. Lies are no stranger to his arguments, for he will do or say anything in order to be able to flaunt power over others. For that is what he truly craves and can never get enough of it. One has to wonder if there is a belief that he has something to prove. However, none endure his presence long enough to find out. I could list many atrocious behaviors and actions that occurred during his tenure but that would take quite some time to accomplish. Let us just end this vignette by saying that being given his wealth, The Alderman knew not true struggle growing up but found his struggle is the pursuit to gain power and that is most likely what gave birth to his amoral and sociopathic tendencies.
It could be said that what The Alderman never banked on was the astounding level of psychopathic tendencies that The Curmudgeon possesses. The Alderman’s social/antisocial tendencies brought on by social and environmental factors were no match for more innate traits of The Curmudgeon which were acquired by a chaotic and violent upbringing. This brings us back to the steamship on the Chicago docks.
As departure time grew near, The Curmudgeon, humping his swag up the ramp that consisted of an empty luggage case carried on his back, so as to fit in with others, flipped his fifty cent copper excursion route token to the token taker, and made his way to the private cabin to hide out, ahead of The Alderman. Departure time had arrived and The Alderman was nowhere in sight. Did The Curmudgeon get it wrong? Was The Alderman traveling at a different time? Did he cancel his plans? Time was slowly passing but the steamship was not departing. What was going on? As it turned out, The Alderman had already contacted the crew and ordered them to wait for his arrival. Ain’t that a kick? He was asserting his power to make others wait on him in order to make a grand entrance. The discrete black vehicle drove up as close as it could to the ship and The Alderman was escorted to the ramp and led to his private spacious cabin on the lower deck with all the amenities one could desire, albeit quality befitting a steamship. Once within the cabin, The Alderman was left to his business, as he liked it that way. That would prove to be his downfall.
Once settled in, The Alderman started to conduct business from the wooden table, that acted as a make-shift desk. Not too long after getting down to business, there was the sound of a click and a strike from somewhere within the cabin. A few seconds later smoke came from a darkened area. With curiosity, The Alderman started to rise form his chair, his head cocked to one side. What came out from the smoke, moved with great haste, knocking The Alderman back into his chair. It was The Curmudgeon. He had two lit Luckies in his mouth and he also was ready to get down to business.
The left hand extinguished the first cigarette to the high side of The Alderman’s temple, while exclaiming, “Senza cervello!” The placement was meant to temporarily disorient while the significance was that The Alderman lacked higher intelligence as it was well known that he relied on getting his local news from radio shows that were more fiction than fact. The right hand extinguished the second cigarette on the base of the back of the neck. The significance there was the idea that a man's soul can be taken through the back of the neck so The Curmudgeon hoped the cauterization would block any possible escape of this amoral man’s soul feeling it was better left trapped within.
Seizing The Alderman’s forehead and chin, The Curmudgeon forcefully opened the mouth and emptied down his gullet the contents of a small bottle, to the last drop. He then closed the wretched man’s mouth and plugged the nose to force him to shallow the liquid. The Alderman started to seize up and slumped onto the table.
The Curmudgeon began to speak in a tranquil manner. “You have ingested a grand old tonic that derives from Saint-Ignatius' bean, commonly known as strychnine. Do not try to move, for you will not be able. Do not hope to survive, for there is no antidote. We have some time before you will expire by means of respiratory failure. Now, there is the matter of reparations. Dear, dear, Alderman. You have failed the residents of your ward with myriad atrocities. Your pyramids of money will not cover your debt but I believe flesh will suffice.”
It has been said that the Italian stiletto knife is meant more for thrusting or stabbing. In the hands of a master, it can be much more. Gripping the knife like an icepick, there was a swift downward stroke to pierce through the shirt, flesh, and muscle. With two quick slices, there was enough shirt cut to grab and rip open to expose the upper back. Switching to a saber grip, more slices were made in order to remove a chunk of flesh. “That looks to be about a pound. Would you not say?”, as The Curmudgeon holds the rectangular section of skin and muscle in front of The Alderman’s face in a false attempt for approval, before tossing its bloody form onto the justice scale for measurement. “’Tis the people’s, and they will have it.”
As The Curmudgeon started to calmly leave, he turned to The Alderman and simply stated, “Hey Alderman, vaffanculo”. His statement came with a hand motion where he scraped the back of his gloved fingertips from the base of his neck to his chin then a few inches in The Alderman’s direction before stopping and holding it there for a few seconds, to provide emphasis. Opening the cabin door, The Curmudgeon quietly exited towards the back of the ship, leaving the door open for others to eventually find his handiwork.
Once arriving in St. Joseph, and people were starting to disembark from the steamship, Ben and Anna passed the open door of the private cabin and their screams could be heard from all on the ship. Guess that put a damper on their weekend plans. The coppers were sent for and when they arrived on the bloody scene, they immediately recognized The Alderman. He might be from a different state but stories of his monstrosities reach far. Accessing the scene, the coppers recognized the trademark cigarette burn, although this time there were two, being of what they thought came only from a man born in myth. They even saw a heart with an arrow drawn into the blood that had dripped down from the scale, which they knew from previous fables came not from The Curmudgeon but from some third-party jester that makes it to every crime scene linked to The Curmudgeon and that may still be on-board the ship. However, the scene laid out before them turned the fables into their reality as they realized this was no ordinary murder and the killer was no ordinary person.
Credits:
- The Curmudgeon, played by Dennis Valente
- Stronzo Potere Avidità, aka The Alderman, played by Dennis Fong
- Story, Set design, Lighting, Photography, created by Dennis Valente
View the entire series of The Curmudgeon.
Home Sweet Home or Sweet Dreams, what do you think?
Pen and ink and watercolor, which will be a Giclée print, part of my love bug collection
www.flickr.com/photos/hi_ni/3447374673/in/photostream
Available on my store see profile for details.
Feel free to LIKE me on www.facebook.com/nyhagraphics to keep up-to-date with all my new work
Mistletoe and Wine card design etsy.me/1dkZbqC
1 of 6 in my cute and fun range of crimbo cards available in my store.
Feel free to pop by and say hi www.facebook.com/nyhagraphics
My piece for Mail Me Art 3: Short and Sweet.
Blogged nyhagraphics.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/mail-me-art-3-short-a...
Illustration Friday - Which do you think the Albi family are expecting?? A bouncing baby boy or girl?
Meet the family
nyhagraphics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/day-15-family-picture...
Character Iliana Baker - bikini version
It's summer, it's hot
Character design from "Dig My Way" video game
Character Shirley Malarkey - pink bikini version from "Dig My Way" video game
She goes to the beach once again...
Blue Footed Booby by Naomi C Robinson
Observational sketch, funny little bird.
Blogged nyhagraphics.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/a-new-twoodle.html
Character Hayley Hansen - housekeeper version
she is a bus driver and also a housekeeper in the game "Dig My Way"
#dmw #digmyway #gamedev #gamedeveloper #indiedev #indiegame #workinprogress #character #characterdesign #indiegamedev #videogame #chubby #housewife #woman #americanwoman #bbw #wife #characterart #digitalart #american #indiegaming #gamedesign #characterillustration #videogames #gamecharacter #gamecharacterdesign #gamecharacters #indiegaming #housekeeper #maid
Character Hayley Hansen - bus driver version
she is a bus driver and also a housekeeper in the game "Dig My Way"
#dmw #digmyway #gamedev #gamedeveloper #indiedev #indiegame #workinprogress #character #characterdesign #indiegamedev #videogame #chubby #housewife #woman #americanwoman #bbw #wife #characterart #digitalart #american #indiegaming #gamedesign #characterillustration #videogames #gamecharacter #gamecharacterdesign #gamecharacters #indiegaming #busdriver
Working on our 10-minute video feature. Writing the script, going over the storyboard, pre-production schedule and production deadlines.
Estefania Duran - BCIT Broadcast and Online Journalism
Character Design for Shirley Malarkey - bikini version
from "Dig My Way" indie video game
She goes to the beach...
Patsty just wanted a nice relaxing atmosphere to sip champagne and eat lots of chocolates, what else does a girl need?
This is one of my cards please check out my store via my profile
Illustration Friday more info on blog nyhagraphics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/day-21-something-you-...
Been creating monsters in my course blogged
nyhagraphics.blogspot.com/2010/10/monster-concentration.html
LIKE me on www.facebook.com/nyhagraphics
Character Elizabeth Johnson - basic version
Housewife, she is the neighbor of the main character of the video game
My attempt at a quick character head-drawing exercise developed by @Shaun_Bryant (on Twitter). You can find him on You Tube under the channel name Shaun Bryant Art. My theme for this exercise was Fictional Characters' New Year's Resolutions. Basically, he gives you head shapes and you try to quickly draw characters using those shapes.
Bigshot Toyworks contributed character development and design, as well as digital modeling for the "Salty" character in this new ad for Knorr Sidekicks. The clip was animated by the fine folks at Sons & Daughters, directed by David Hicks, and commissioned by DDB Canada for Knorr. We're thrilled to have been involved in such a quality project! As you can see, everyone's hard work produced a truly quality spot for a happy client.