Category: Grasshopper Nation

A collection of my High Castle projects that don’t fall under fan art.

TMITHC – I want an animated film

Posted on by in #FanCastleSunday, Grasshopper Nation, High Castle

Earlier this week I was thinking about all things High Castle (no surprises there!). I know I touched on the finality of the series end last time, so I’ll keep this intro short. With the props and costumes gone, I felt my hopes dashed…and then I started drawing.

The Man in the High Castle – An Animated Film

DISCLAIMER
I am not affiliated with Amazon Prime. As far as I know, an animated film is not in the works. This is purely an idea from a dedicated fan.

My ideas for the film’s opening sequences

Main Plot – Matthew Müller

1961 – Air Force captain Matthew Müller unknowingly travels. He finds himself on the streets of a very different NYC. In disbelief, he stops dead in his tracts. He gazes up at the giant, crimson banner hanging from an unfamiliar building.

He is ambushed and thrown to the ground by the Schutzstaffel

“What’s with the uniform?” a calm voice drawls. The man standing over him lights a cigarette and begins pacing, his movements casual as though he hadn’t a care in the world.

Matthew remains silent as the man carries on like this for what feels like an eternity. The man stops, flicks ash from his cigarette, and nods to someone in the shadows.

Another imposing man in SS black appears and drops a manila folder in front of him.

“It looks like we’re going to have to do this the hard way,” the first man says and walks away.

Secondary Plot

Chief Inspector Kido holds a photograph in his hand, his gaze stern as he looks at the blurry image.

The resistance has been growing bolder, and rumors of a film with dangerous ideas are circulating, but now he has a name.

Trudy Walker

Inspiration for Matthew Müller

I was originally drawing him as a character study for my Alice novel (I will write at least one full paragraph this month, so help me multiverse!). I’ve been discouraged for the past two years, and I want to break past it, but that is a story for another day.

A Circle Skirt of Fandoms

Posted on by in Alfred Bester, Babylon 5, Grasshopper Nation, High Castle, Psi Corps

And trying to make progress on my novel!

I swear I will hit one of my monthly writing goals at one point this year! I’m going to go out on a limb and say I was aiming a bit too high when I sat down and made a game plan. I haven’t been able to finish anything since completing my Sisters novel, and I desperately want to change that.

#HighCastle/#Babylon5 Bester Circle Skirt

Say that ten times fast!

No. Seriously. I am making this, and it is A Thing. I bought myself a sewing machine with Christmas money in January, and life is too short to not aspire to create your own vintage fandom ensembles.

Isn’t she lovely? I got a great deal on her with Amazon Renewed!

My First Sewing Adventure Since 2010

I took time to plan this out because I want this to be the most beautiful and unlikely combination I’ve ever created, which means I wanted to start with something simple. Circle skirts are simple, right?

Step 1: Math. Circles. The waist is the circumference, and you need the radius of it in order to sketch the pattern and cut a proper waistband.

w = waist
r = radius
d = diameter
s = desired skirt length - don't forget to decide how long you want that skirt to fall!

w/π = d
d/2 = r

Step 2: Order enough fabric or you’ll find yourself having to buy another panel and having to sew it together. I must say that sewing was a breeze with my machine.

Step 3: Make an old school compass. No. Really. This is the best way to do it. Get a strand of yarn, make sure it’s a few inches longer than (r + s), and grab the nearest pen. Tie the yarn to the pen. Tie the other end to a pin, and stab that pin into the carpet! It is helpful to secure some measuring tape to the pin as well.

You’re going to use the radius you calculated in the first step and wrap the yarn around the pen until it’s there.

Using the pin you stabbed into the carpet as an anchor, draw a half circle. Add the radius to your desired skirt length (r + s) to draw the skirt part–if you don’t, your skirt will be too short.

Step 4: flatten the fabric (and pin if necessary) and cut 1/2 inch outside the lines.

Step 5: The fun part! If you want to add some flair now is the time to do it.

The next step is to do a little bit of my favorite thing in the universe: hand sew the iron on patches to ensure they stay in place. I am not going lie. I hate hand sewing, so it might be forever before I get around to it. Oh the absolute dread of hand sewing!