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elle-thereafter:

zmeess:

a digital hips-up painting of an elf. he is slender, with a hint of muscle on his forearms, and has medium brown freckled skin and long bright ginger box braids pulled back and out of his face into a haphazard half-bun half-down hairstyle. he is wearing a gray shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a delicate embroidered white silk undershirt visible where the gray shirt is open at the top, and a leather apron. perched on top of his head are magnification glasses with brass-colored metal frames and side shields; there is a silver ring with a black gemstone on his right hand and a few simple bracelets on his left wrist. he is looking wistfully off screen, and in his hands he is holding a small iridescent porcelain cup, with a cinnamon stick poking out of it and light golden tea visible inside.ALT

commission for @elle-thereafter, an original character named Perran from her CR fanfic Gate Building: See also, Bargaining with Archfey, Complications of! El wanted to know what her character would look like if put on canvas, and helping people visualize their lovely brainchildren is one of my most favorite things, so i was very happy to work on this portrait. thank you for commissioning me! 💜

A while back I just happened to be scrolling through Tumblr when I saw @zmeess had opened their commissions 20 minutes prior. I had been thinking for a while I might get some art of Perran from my Gate Building universe commissioned and the prospect of getting that art done by the wonderful @zmeess sounded magical.

As a writer who is extremely, extremely far toward the aphantasia side of the visualisation spectrum, figuring out what things look like is a constant challenge. My descriptions are about vibes and hinting at aesthetic, tone, or emotion because I can’t picture anything, all I have is words. I don’t really know what anything I write about really looks like. My brain works entirely in words and abstract thought.

Seeing this character come to life has been an absolutely thrill and I couldn’t be more delighted to finally know what Perran looks like. I never meant to create Perran. He was a narrative convenience and meant to deliver exposition and disappear in a couple of chapters, but became something so much more complex and real, and I absolutely fell in love with him and his unexpected part of the story.

I’m so delighted I’ve been grinning all week. I can see him! His hair, his nose, his lips, his fucking lovely freckles! His bracelets! His endless tea! The muscles in his arms from smithing! The faraway look in his eyes.

If you ever wonder if commissioning art of your original characters will be worth it: yes, yes it absolutely is.

Thank you @zmeess, you were wonderful to work with! 💜🧡