one of my 2023 new year resolutions was to draw my own d&d OCs more, and i… haven’t really been doing that! but i did draw a new baby for a oneshot i played a couple of days ago. this is my lvl3 tiefling divination wizardling Namylukka, and now they have a cat-shaped celestial following them around π± all in all they had tremendous fun (and so did i).
everyone’s favorite wizards commissioned by @that-wee-munchkin! they requested Caleb and Essek finally getting outside and enjoying some whisky hot chocolate at a campfire π₯ a cozy early autumn night spent sharing stories and petting Frumpkins π±
thank you so much for commissioning me and giving me the sweetest prompt imaginable!
i haven’t really worked on any personal/non-commissioned drawings in quite a while due to just *waves hand around* life stuff, so i tried getting back into it today, and i tried getting silly with it. use a different style, a different brush texture here and there. same wizards though! sneaking a naughty wizard kiss at whatever winter holiday market exists in the empire before Essek has to recast his disguise βοΈ
commission for @elanorofcastile! her character Steve Gilbertson, bartender who stumbled into Narnia and became a paladin πβοΈ thank you for commissioning me! π
commission for piratethextine, an illustration for the second (upcoming!) part of her shadowgast fanfiction On Gravity and Time!
i really enjoy conveying stories in my art, and this was an absolute treat of a commission because i got to illustrate that magical moment of seeing a person you love for the first time in a very long time : ) thank you for commissioning me ππ§‘
just over a year ago, @saturdaysky commissioned me with an absolutely outstanding shadowgast prompt; namely, ‘Caleb helping Essek put on a fancy outfit’. i’m sure you can imagine how ecstatic i was about it (just look at that line, every single word in it is designed to make me go heart eyes), and i’m finally finished and excited to post this bad boy. i hope you guys enjoy this picture too and my very optimistic wish is that it inspires all sorts of lovely stories in your minds π
sky gave me a beautiful prompt and a specific atmosphere/mood to depict, but was very patient and generous about letting me go wild on the actual posing, colors and details, so naturally i did π my idea of using a mirror in the composition was admittedly rather ambitious, and lead me to reading up quite a bit on optics, the physics of reflections and reflections in art specifically (as well as the history of zippers and other closures!), so not only was this commission a delight from the point of view of its topic, but i also learned a fair amount of new stuff while working on it. honestly speaking, i like to think that the bookworm wizards would approve of my little adventure.
two wintery wizards commissioned by @aravhy as a gift for their friends! they requested Essek admiring the first snowflakes, and Caleb admiring Essek : ) i thought that that prompt was the sweetest thing in existence and was incredibly excited to put it on canvas π₯° thank you for commissioning me!
a full year of a lot of drawing! (and many wizards! thank you shadowgast for sponsoring my creativity this year π§‘π)
(september features the only fully-rendered picture i drew that month, but it’s from a very sexy semi-secret project that i might post in 2024 β¨ hence the blurring)
i had set a few very loose art-related new year resolutions for 2023, and…
draw my own d&d OCs more: check! i only finished two pictures and have two in my wips, but i still did it β¨
try my hand at serious comics: CHECK cause while i’m still working on it, i have indeed started one and have done a significant amount of work on it! stay tuned for that one in 2024 maybe π€
try incorporating more environments and backgrounds into my art: big check! i did great on that one!
work on improving my color work and especially my values: check! one of the things that has helped me immensely is creating one solid black layer on top of everything in saturation mode and then turning it on and off every so often to check how my values are coming along when the image is black and white! if you do traditional art, you can step away from your picture and squint (this is a tip i learned in my art class when i was like eight and it was one of those that kind of faded to never being used… it’s a good one though! check your values!)
i think i’ve improved a lot in 2023 and i’m very happy with all the work i’ve done π
i encourage all the artists to look at your art and notice all the things you’ve improved at! even if you haven’t drawn a single thing this year, congratulations on honing your skills by observing the world, experiencing life, and learning and doing other things. it all goes towards making your art more awesome π«