The main character, Jay Gatsby Vanderbilt and his demon Baphomet. The demon is based on a pagan/satanic deity of the same name. Baphomet gives Jay the ability to manipulate his own blood, an ironic twist considering that Jay is diagnosed with hemophilia: a genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to control blood clotting. When Jay isn't busy slaying demons, he's a college student having fun with his art major and supporting his single mother.
A banner using the spines of Volumes #1-5, featuring the main characters. From left to right: Jay Gatsby Vanderbilt, Father Trevon Garvey, Dr. Sariel Skyler, Riley Skyler and Samson Pullen.
Main characters of Apocrypha. From left to right: Father Trevon Garvey, Crusader Jay Gatsby Vanderbilt, Crusader Sariel Skyler, Crusader Samson Pullen and Crusader Riley Skyler.
Dr. Sariel Skyler, a Vietnamese-American Crusader and her demon Draugur. Born in Vietnam, Sariel was a child soldier for the communists during the Vietnam War. Napalm burned and scarred her left eye. An American soldier rescued and adopted her. He gave her the name she has today, since she can't remember her real Vietnamese name. She's a surgeon in addition to being a Crusader. Draugur gives Sariel the ability to run at incredible speeds.
Close up of Dr. Sariel Skyler
Apocrypha's central antagonist, Mastema: the 8th Archangel and the angel of suffering. This was my first proper picture of him. He's a Seraph, but I was too lazy to draw the other four wings.
Close up of Mastema, without the extra layer of blue-green tint and blue facial shading.
Mastema in his human disguise (Lord Drago) and his true angel form.
Samson Pullen, an 8 year old child Crusader from the United States. He's considered a successful prototype of the new child Crusader program. Unwanted by his mother and raised to be a killing machine, Samson lacks the innocence and expressions of a normal child. Later he befriends Jay, Sariel, Riley and Trevon, who help him regain his humanity.
At some point, the main characters head to Europe on an urgent international mission to support the European Crusaders, who head the attack against a demon outbreak on Mont Blanc. Countries closest to Mont Blanc (Italy, France, and Switzerland) deploy Alpha Crusaders, while surrounding countries deploy Beta Crusaders. From left to right: Titus Visser, Karl Muller, Janko Benko, Joanna Laurent, Renato Moretti, Levin Ferrari, Olivier Martin, Tanek Kowalski and Sabine Freud.
A trio of Greek Orthodox Warriors and siblings: Anaximander, Anastathana and Anaximenes Markos. Together they're known as the "Ana trio," and they combine to form the Chimera.
Close up of Anastathana. Her appearance is loosely based on a good friend of mine from high school. Anastathana is fun-loving, capricious and very friendly. She is fiercely proud of being Greek, but not afraid to welcome strangers into her life. When Jay comes to Greece, she doesn't hesitate to make him feel welcome.
More of the Greek Orthodox Warriors in addition to the main ones: the Ana trio.
Close up of Sonya Kova, High Captain of the Russian Orthodox Warriors. After losing her husband and children to the Chernobyl accident and joining the Warriors, Sonya emotionally shut down and became a very focused, stoic woman. Though not necessarily the strongest, she's an effective fighter and leader. Her uncle is the Patriarch of Moscow, further cementing her loyalty to the church.
Portraits of the Russian Orthodox Warrior Captains, human and wolf form. Vladimir, Mace, Nikolai, Alexei and Sergei are under Sonya's leadership. Nikolai and Alexei are identical twins, just two years younger than Jay. Sergei is from the republic of Tuva, which is why he looks Asian even though he speaks Russian. Mace is not Orthodox, he's actually a former mafia gangster recruited into the church for his phenomenal fighting ability. Rough around the edges, nevertheless he remains loyal to the church.
The wolf form of Sonya Kova, High Captain of the Russian Orthodox Warriors. The aesthetic is a mix of gray wolf, Alaskan malamute, Siberian husky and grizzly bear.
More sketches of Sonya as a wolf.
(Really) rough sketch of Clarimond Faust, a German Crusader and her demon, the Leviathan.
My first "official" drawings of the main Crusaders and two from Europe. Clockwise: Jay and Baphomet, Samson and Singa, Riley and Xanthur, Joanna and Shorca, Clarimond and Leviathan. Middle: Sariel and Draugur. They appeared in this format for my HSPVA senior show.
High school drawing of the French Crusader Joanna and her demon, Shorca.
High school drawing of Sariel and her demon, Draugur.
High school drawing of Riley and his demon, Xanthur.
High school drawing of Samson and his demon, which used to be a lion and now I'm considering changing the design.
The world's most powerful demons, collectively known as the "Banes of Job." Ziz is the Bane of air, the Behemoth is the Bane of land and the Leviathan is the Bane of the sea.
Close up of Baphomet, Jay's demon. He relishes fighting and bloodshed.
Close up of Xanthur, Riley's demon. Most demons can talk, but Xanthur is so primal and violent that he is incapable of intelligent speech. He grants his host, Riley, the ability to generate and control electricity.
Close up of Draugur, Sariel's demon. More brains than brawn, Draugur loves going out his way to maliciously torment his host. In turn, Sariel is quite ruthless in getting Draugur to stay quiet and do her will.
Me as an ermine. At first I was going to be a rabbit, but two of my favorite mangakas (Katsura Hoshino and Kazue Kato) have already taken those animals. So I went with an ermine. I'm pretty sure no one has taken it yet.
Just experimenting on how the panels, characters and dialogue would look.
Expression sheet for Jay.
Expression sheet for young Jay.
Father Jake Lesneiwicz, an Exorcist and priest from Jay's parish.
Profile pictures of the Russian Orthodox Warrior Mace and his wolf form.
Concept art of Xanthur, Riley's demon.
One of the earliest designs of Jay and Baphomet, drawn during junior year of high school. At the time, Jay was named Gatsby, and Baphomet looked bulky and awkward. Baphomet went through a pretty big change later on.
First drawing/concept art of Cain, otherwise known as the Gray Wolf. I don't have it all figured out yet, but Cain is integral to the origin of the Russian Orthodox Warriors and their ability to turn into wolves. As the predecessor of all Russian Orthodox Warriors, Cain had to look ancient, formidable and supernatural, beyond the likes of a normal wolf. All the hair gives him the appearance of being aged and otherworldly. And of course, normal wolves don't have a stigma running down their face and back.
Concept art of Voltaire/Julian Steinlin, a Bane of Job and the host of Ziz. Head of the Swiss Guard, he's an extremely powerful Crusader stationed in the Vatican. He is the ultimate sentry, with eyes that never blink and are perpetually bloodshot. His demon, Ziz, has excellent vision and looks like a twisted, unsettling version of a carrion bird. As one of the very first successful Crusaders made during the medieval Crusades, Voltaire is much older than he looks.
Concept art of Levin Ferrari, a Beta Crusader from Switzerland. His hair is like a flame in shape and color, which is ironic because his demon resembles a polar bear and displays icy powers. Despite his thuggish appearance, he's actually a mature and friendly young man.
The Apocrypha gang during their time in Russia. At this point they're fugitives and laying low. They obviously can't be flashing their Crusader uniforms, but they're not allowed to wear Russian Orthodox uniforms either. Their clothes aren't too stylish, since they'll be fighting in them too. To draw these, I put myself in the shoes of Crusaders hunting down this gang: "If these people were my targets, what would I look out for?" Trevon would be wearing his vestments, Sariel has her scarred eye, Samson has red hair, etc. With this in mind, I use scarves and hats to cover up the characters.
Sketch of Jay Vanderbilt in his Crusader uniform.
Jay in casual winter clothes. I really liked the way he turned out, considering I was drawing pretty loosely. He's adorable.
Riley in casual winter clothes. He's the only one without a hat or a scarf. He's too cool for the cold.
Samson in casual winter clothes. Out of his usual Crusader uniform, he looks a lot more like the kid he is. I think it brings the cuteness out of him. :)
Sariel in casual winter clothing. The headband covering her scarred left side is both stylish and functional. Even these clothes need to be tight and streamlined, with minimal distractions so she can use her super speed on a whim.
Trevon in casual winter clothing. He trades his black cassock and purple stole for a black suit and a white scarf. To top it off (pun intended), he wears a Russian fur hat to protect his shaved head from the cold.
The Virtuous Pagans/Inferno Company who guide Jay through Hell when he needs to traverse all nine circles to reach Satan and interrogate him. From top to bottom: Virgil, Ovid, Saladin, Cornelia and Euclid. All five appear in Dante's Divine Comedy. They have the ability to summon demons.
Character sheet for Virgil. He's a leading and guiding figure. Everyone looks up to him. I see him as the kind of a guy who's slow to anger and has a really dry sense of humor, making jokes with a perfectly straight face.
A more complete sketch of Virgil lighting the way against the darkness.
Character sheet for Ovid. He's unusually expressive, dynamic and lively for a soul in Hell. When trying to picture the way these souls summon demons, I took into account the differences between magic and religion. Magic, unlike religion, involves forceful control of the supernatural. That's why Ovid's hands are turned downward for summoning, instead of having hands facing up in prayer. Because they're pagan, making contracts with demons and controlling them is ok.
The rest of the Virtuous Souls. I hope the fact I included Saladin in the group won't provoke controversy from Muslims. That's why I'm hesitant about using the term "Virtuous Pagans."
My take on the Beasts of Worldliness (She-Wolf of Incontinence, Leopard of Fraud and Lion of Violence).
