Grasspeople is a fantasy story written and illustrated by Allan Linder. It is presented in custom made limited edition box sets, wrapped in leather with a variety of embellished castings in bronze, silver and copper, each piece is unique. This first edition series is limited to only seven copies made.
The artist has invested hundreds of hours of work into this project. There are hundreds of drawings, illustrations, character sketches and hand made objects.
Each box is one of a kind, wrapped in leather, pigskin, and (vegan) version is burlap and topped off with a vintage metal mini-sword adorned with hand set gems.
Collectors sets include signed and numbered first edition books out of the author's limited copies of Grasspeople.
Grasspeople is a story I wrote back in 1997. I started drawing the main characters, and story boarded the pages for the book. About a year later, I finished most of the rough drawing during the layout of the book. Life and work have many distractions so this project ended up on the shelf along with Prisoner of the Mind.
At that time, I was working in the animation industry which took up most of my time. Rediscovering this story a few years ago in a box of forgotten things was a pleasant surprise, it revived my energy in the idea and I knew I had to finish it.
The story itself is not a new idea, there are countless stories about a book. There are countless stories about a boy coming of age, but this one is about the people who care for a book about their own history which time has forgotten. This part of the story is timeless.
Grasspeople is inspired by nature. At first glance at the photo above what do you see?
Look deeper, what do you see? I am certain that their are myriad of creatures and an entire ecosystem that lives beneath these plants.
These questions intrigued me because we are so self absorbed with our influences and our own human dynamics that we sometime forget about the small things in life. There are little details and little lives that are all around us if we just look closer.
Can't you just see a little creature come out from under the brush above, stand there and stare at you. "Why are you looking at me that way?" he asks.
All of these little details are essential to Grasspeople, it is their whole world, it is their own influence and their self absorbed dynamic. They are striving to do the same thing you and I do. Live!
Who lives in the shadows of these dark secret places? Are they just trying to survive too or do they have a more sinister plan in mind.
Grasspeople is mystery of survival and the quest to find out who you really are and what you are made of.
Everything your parents taught you comes down to this. Did they give you good advice and the tools to live by? Or, will it put your life in jeopardy because you made the wrong choice. This is part of the adventure.
Monk is the son of an alchemist and the archivist of his people’s history. On his thirteenth birthday following a tradition, he sets off on an inner journey to find himself on the way to becoming a man.
Along his metaphysical odyssey, he discovers his worst nightmares that challenge his inner strength. Using knowledge of the Grasspeople passed down through generations, he learns who he really is, but at great personal sacrifice.
Young Monk is growing up so fast as he travels throughout the region, it is only a matter of time before he solves the true meaning of the book of life.
This is a winged Kalulu that made its burrow on the outskirts of a colony near the dark forest after she was ousted for tricking the governor of the low lands. She's a a little sad, but she has her Independence.
Geksuga lives in the realm of Grasspeople, his family has been domesticating owl moths for nearly three generations.
Germaine Raptar, dignitary to the council of villages was beginning to tire while posing for his annual portrait after the renowned artist Wilton Bark started asking questions about the moth war of Shadow hill village.
Luna Tera, lives a quiet and peaceful life on the outskirts of the grasslands. He hasn't seen many strangers in the time he's lived there, which makes him very curious about the travelers passing through these parts. Most are afraid of this reclusive creature, but he only eats leaves.
Tally, is a wandering traveler in search of his homeland. He was carried far away to the grasslands at birth. He has searched for many years, but hasn't seen another like him in his travels. He prefers not to fight if he has to, but he is ready to make a stand when he needs to.
He won't be in the first issue of Grasspeople but he will be in several issues that follow.
Circinae, a Featherman guard is in charge of watching over the ghost mushrooms that grow only in the cave of perpetuation. They are explicitly reserved for the king, and forbidden to anyone else. This mushroom is a favorite among thieves because of it's temporary ability to render it's user invisible.
Felina, a chaos survivor, wasn't sure what she was looking at in the dark, but then he emerged.
Mordrake, king of the Razor moths wields his tyrannical power over the inhabitants of the Gora forest. There is much to say about this notorious king, but that must wait for another time.
Part of my process is to start with traditional sketches, building an idea into a character while considering their story at the same time. This drawing, once finalized is scanned at a high resolution and then digitally painted.
Here are two buggy panels for Grasspeople that I digitally painted. When I wrote and illustrated Grasspeople I originally saw this as a black and white graphic novel. However, the more I worked on it, the more I realized that it had to be done in color. You can see the difference from these two panels alone.
If it's one thing I enjoy it's seeing the process shots of conceptual art, even my own. There are many times I need to take a step back and get a good look at something to make sure I'm on the right track.
There is inspiration taken from the Japanese culture as well as many others.
Obviously my style and skill has changed over the years, but I did my best to maintain continuity throughout the story.
Here is a working pencil page on my drawing table. You can see how I get my inspiration.
Here are some of the characters placed together.
Grasspeople has been in the works for a long time. The first issue is finally finished and released digitally, the print version is coming this year. The characters have been developed over many years and the first issue gives you just a little look into what is coming in future issues.
Grasspeople is available to read digitally on Comixology here.
There will be a second print edition available later this year.
