In those wool-wrapped, harp-playing, magic-role-playing, ballad-singing days of Darkover, you could not make enough pictures of that world's favorite pair of lovers, Regis and Danilo. Regis was the gorgeous, flame-haired nobleman, part-alien and part human though without the pointed ears. Danilo was the brawny outdoorsman, with no noble heritage to boast of, but he was a really nice guy. They didn't wear cowboy hats, though they should have. I lost count of how many pix of these boys I drew.
It's hard to recall just how enthusiastic, even passionate those Darkover fans were. The gay guys loved these two for obvious reasons. The girls and women loved them because the characters were men being tender to each other. And maybe in their imagination they'd be straight just with them, you know. Even straight guys liked these Darkover heroes, well, they liked it for the swashbuckling action and the opportunity to wear a sword or a dagger.
Sometimes I think of doing a Darkover character in the modern "realistic" digital style. You can create something that is so real you would think it's a photo of a real guy in a real world. I've dredged this piece up from my dusty archive and may use it as a Photoshop practice item. Or maybe not, don't you want more steel mills and oil refineries for your romantic industrial dreams.
Ink on illustration board, about 8" x 10", March 1983.
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