Prince Corwin of Amber

When my wife, Sue, met me, this is exactly what I looked like - except the face. We met on stage at a Science Fiction Convention. No Spock ears for me, no siree. I was Prince Corwin of Amber. A hero from the Chronicles of Amber written by Roger Zelazny.

A good friend of mine and fellow artist, David O. Miller, asked if he could paint my costume. Sure. So here it is. This was back in 1987. Great illustration. Dumb geek wearing the outfit. The cape was made from a woman's velvet coat with the sleeves cut off and the fur color rolled over into the arm pits to give it that padded shoulder look. A capelette served as the ascot. The chainmail was fashioned out of a metallic silver dress. I had REAL chainmail on my hand which was not in the illustration. And I still have the Toledo sword, though the scabbard has been refitted by another friend with brown leather and brass - Corwin would NEVER wear anything other than black and silver. There was a silver rose broach clasped at my neck. All part of the character from the books.

I won first place in the contest. Sue won third. She was dressed as a barbarian woman. Her costume consisted of a chamois cloth. Period. It was love at first sight.

Our sci-fi convention days are over. But I'm still a geek.