The finalist winners will be announced on Sunday. Until then, I’m thrilled to show you a few more of the semi-finalists. This time, the theme is: EARLY FALSE PRINCE.
Warning for those who have not read the first book: some of these entries could contain spoilers.
KALINDA
This one made my jaw drop. It’s so beautiful and emotional and tragic and wonderful, and brilliantly done in every way. Make sure you keep scrolling to the end. View the work HERE!
MEGAN
I already loved that Megan was filling in a missing scene, but the change in perspective on this story really caught my attention. I hope to be seeing more of Megan’s work in the future. This was a great read!
SOFIA
What I love most about Sofia’s work is the perfect way she captured Sage’s smirk. I imagine that Conner saw that exact look many times – no wonder Conner hated Sage. This is wonderful art work.
DARIYA
I always love mood boards, and especially loved Dariya’s choice in theme for this one. She chose images that I could sink myself into and that broadened my understanding of exactly how profound Sage’s choice was.
SANYA
This story is told from Darius’s point of view, and gets inside that character’s head in a profound and highly emotional way. I felt so much sympathy for him as I read THIS PIECE, and Sanya proved to have great talent in writing it.
SOPHIE
How beautiful is this? I want to make a print of it and hang it on my wall forever, and it only becomes more interesting the longer I study it – such as the way the bridge is crumbling in the foreground – brilliant!
LEM
Lem has been a fan of the series almost from its earliest days, but I also adore not only the quality of this art, but the accuracy of it. I created the castle and Farthenwood both from existing photos of places and then slightly moderated both. Lem nailed both pieces to perfection. These are accurate enough I could have used them as originals to describe these places in the books.
EMMA
There is something of play and fun in Emma’s work, but she also captured the two halves of this one highly conflicted main character in a way that I think draws the reader to him even more. It’s excellent artwork, and something I appreciate even more when I compare the expressions in the eyes. So well done!
LARISSA
This song will go straight to your heart, as it did mine, but it’s best described in Larissa’s own words: I named the piece Saudade, which means “a feeling of melancholy, or nostalgia.”
I imagine Sage looking back and reminiscing about his past. How he set fire to the tapestries in the throne room. How he challenged the King of Mendenwal to a duel. How his father tried to send him away to a school in Bymar. How he escaped the ship and pirate attack. And how his father told him to leave and never come back.
Sage also thinks about what could have been. What if his father had let him return to the castle? What if he had never met Conner? What if his family was still alive? What if . . .
LISTEN HERE.
MOLLY
Aside from being so well-written, Molly handles the emotions of THIS MISSING SCENE very skillfully, and the ending will hit you hard.
Thank you all for your dedication, enthusiasm, and talents. The next round of semi-finalists will be posted on Friday – so stay tuned!
31 Comments
Thanks so much!
These are all really great! I also could stare at Sophie’s picture for hours. Love the enthusiasm!
Dariya’s is really cool too!
THANKS! You have no idea how happy that makes me!
You all did a fantastic job!
Wowza! All of these are so cool! Great job, guys!
These are so amazing! Great job everyone!
Kalinda, your artwork is amazing. I loved scrolling through the story that you recaptured.
Another round of stunning artwork in its various forms…I can’t get enough of everything everyone created to show their love for the series!
Celine, I agree.
Will you be realizing the Finalist winners on Sunday?
Yes.
For some reason I’m unable to see Megan’s work when I click on the link. It simply takes me to my personal One Drive and there’s no additional work there, except my own.
Perhaps there’s a glitch of somekind? I’m wondering if anyone else is having the same problem or if it’s only me. I would love to be able to read Megan’s story.
Now to the astounding entries.
Kalinda’s artwork desplayed so much talent and so many scenes that I couldn’t stop until I reached the bottom and had to stop for a moment to take it all in.
Without a doubt Megan’s work is just as brilliant and I can’t wait to be able to read it.
Sofia has captured Sage’s smirk so perfectly, that I can just sense the sassiness eminating from the drawing. A character like his is near impossible to capture in a single picture, and Sofia was done exactly that.
Dariya’s moodboard fits the theme of the books perfectly and I think the picture choices are on point. This work shows great editing skills and creativity.
Sanya’s work about Darius and Eckbert refusing to tell Erin about Jaron being alive is a scene that I would always imagine in my head and I think it’s so accurately portrayed in this story. The emotions cut deep while I was reading it.
Sophie’s editing skills and ability to put so many aspects into a single picture is incredible. There were so many things happening in the picture, yet it was at no point too overwhelming and I felt only more and more amazed the more details I found.
Lem’s use of imagination and skill to draw Farthenwood and the castle is fantastic. The pictures really bring both places to life and it’s really nice to be able to visually see the two most important places in the entire series so far.
Emma has succesfully portrayed both Sage and Jaron in a single picture, which is amazing. The purple and green are a perfect pair to put together and I love the bright green color of Sage/Jaron’s eyes.
Larissa’s song was so well done and full of emotion. I loved the name choice for the song and the deep meaning for it, that connects so well to the meaning of the piece.
Molly’s scene about the last night of royals was perfect in showing the grief that Darius and Erin are feeling still years after Jaron was taken from them. I particularly loved the last sentence, in a way the final blow to the reader as they finish the story.
All of these people have done such incredible work and should be so proud of themselves for putting so much effort into these. All the hard work has paid off so well. I’m very lucky to have been able to see, read and listen to all these brilliant art pieces.
The amount of talent I have just seen is uncomplrehensible. I enjoyed going though them all.
Okay, I think I’ve got Megan’s link fixed – thanks for letting me know!
Thank you Minea for the kind words..
These were so awesome. All the artwork was so beautiful. Sofie, your art was AMAZING and I love the quote you chose. Kalinda, your art was also truly amazing. You all are so talented.
Also, I wanted to add that I loved seeing short stories from Darius’ point of view. They were so awesome.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it!
I kid you not, that’s exactly how I pictured Farthenwood in my head 😅
Wow. That Farthenwood one is incredible. It’s crazy that someone else imagined it exactly like me based on a little description. And Dariyas board was incredible. Good going guys!!
I love all of these, especially Kalinda’s, Sofie’s, and Emma’s artwork, but they’re all amazing! I’m still can’t believe how you managed to narrow the submissions down to the finalists.
Oooh I love the farthenwood drawing. It’s exactly how I imagined! And the two halves of sage is super cool too! All of these are amazing
It’s so nice to see more of the semi-finalists!
Kalinda, your work made my jaw drop, and the further I went, the better it became. You did an amazing job and I love the way you made it like a story that progresses as you scroll down.
Megan, I love the perspective you used here, and how much of Allena’s character you managed to fit into a few pages. It’s really interesting to see how ‘Sage’ was different when he was younger.
Sofia, you did a really good job on ‘Sage’s’ smile and the shading is good too.
Dariya, I love the colors you used, with the grays and reds. The fonts are really cool too.
Sanya, I really like the scene you chose, I did think about how Darius would have reacted but never could have worded and described it as perfectly as you did.
Sophie, I love the font you used and the sparkles of light. The castle is just like I imagined the palace to look.
Lem, just reading through the comments, it’s amazing how you managed to capture Farthenwood so exactly for so many people. It’s just like I imagined it, right down to the windows! Also, you did a really good job on perspective.
Emma, I love the colors and poses you used! It really captures the two sides of Sage/Jaron.
Larissa, beautiful song! It’s so lovely.
Molly, That story is great and beautifully written! And Queen Erin looking at her sketches of Jaron? That was just perfect, I can imagine that she did that a lot. Amazing job!
I never fail to be impressed with every single one of these submissions.
Kalinda, your piece is ingenious and the transitions between scenes are *perfect* and moving. Megan, what an intriguing encounter your story entails! I love how you created and developed Allena and I instantly took a liking to her spunk and compassion. The detail in Sophia’s work is great as well—the smirk! Mrs. Nielsen is totally right when she says you truly captured Sage’s attitude. Dariya, the images paired with the fonts in your visual are well-chosen and I love the effect they had on me by drawing on the enormity of Jaron’s sacrifices. Sanya, you depicted such a pivotal moment in Darius’ life in such a powerful way and, Sophie, your piece is simply picturesque and gorgeous. Lem’s piece exactly captures how I imagined Farthenwood and the castle, and your perspective drawing skills are really amazing! Emma, what a great way to juxtapose the two completely different lives of Sage and Jaron! I like how they focus on the sword and coin as well as they are key representations of the challenges he faced. Larissa has wonderful talent and her piece was very melodious and thought-provoking. Molly, the ending to your story was mind-blowing! I initially couldn’t predict how your story would unfold, and the last line changed my understanding of your whole piece and made the events building up to the ending precious.
*catches breath*
Great job, everyone! Also, thank you for sharing these submissions with us, Mrs. Nielsen!
Random Question that has nothing to do with The Ascendance Trilogy:
Hi Mrs. Nielsen, I was wondering if you plan to add more Books onto the Traitors game?
I may add more books one day – I never say never – but that is not in my current plan.
Farthenwood and the Castle of Carthya are exactly how I imagined them!
Dariya’s board is incredible. I love it.
Dariya, I absolutely loved your work! It is something I would frame on my wall. I love the rich images and the corresponding quotes. It is very well done.
Sophie, your color scheme is enthralling! The way you used light is quite beautiful. This whole image is enchanting; paired with such a quote, it sends a thrill through this super fan!
Wow Emma! You artwork is exceptional. It is a masterpiece of character! The eloquent expressions displayed in the eyes took my breath away. Your art is more than a picture, it seems to be living! You are very talented and I highly admire this work.
Thank you Miss Jen for the words and I really appreciated it 😁. It’s an honor to share/showcase it with everyone.. Also for the other works from avid fans they are also great!
Larissa, you are so talented!
It seems like there aren’t very many people who appreciate this classical style of music. It has so many different emotions and movements and it encompasses the story so well! Thank you for creating this piece!
Thank you so much Grayce for your kind words! <3