June 2024

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seven sketches of Essek Thelyss from Critical Role. in all of them he is depicted as a young-looking drow with long wavy hair with the bangs pinned artfully back, wearing layered robes with a high turtleneck, or a cloak with a large fur collar. in the first sketch, Essek is holding a lantern in one hand and turning Ashton's head with his other hand on their chin. he is studying Ashton's glass scar intently and saying "Impossible". in the second sketch, Essek is looking off-screen with a lofty expression, elegantly gesturing with one of his hands, and saying "It's magic." there are sparkles drawn around the word 'magic'. in the third sketch he is looking down with a slightly bashful smile. in the fourth sketch he is tilting his head to the side with an alarmed and confused expression. there is a question mark and an exclamation mark next to his head. in the fifth sketch he has a quietly panicking expression on, with wide eyes and pursed lips, and is saying "Well, we fucked up." in the sixth sketch he is doing an exaggerated shrug, hands splayed out, eyebrows raised and the corners of his mouth turned down in a somewhat amused expression, as if saying "hell if i know". in the last sketch, he is looking at someone off-screen with an exasperated expression, his mouth flattened in annoyance and eyes narrowed.ALT

Essek’s expressions in the newest episodes have been so precious that i Had to draw some of them. these are only the TIP of the iceberg of all of my favorites, but gods willing i will draw more

special shout out to the confused puppy head tilt Essek did at Ashton’s head, which is a mannerism i chose to headcanon he’d picked up from Caleb

tip jar!

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opening commissions for a second there

i could use a couple because a plane ticket to visit my family has drained the hell out of my bank account 😮‍💨 you can drop your request via my commission google form and i will get back to you for a detailed description!

you can see my commission info and prices here 💜

EDIT: commission form closed! but i will be opening commissions again for a full batch in a month or two once i’m done with my current commitments. stay tuned!

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several digital sketches of Essek Thelyss from Critical Role, who is depicted as a young-looking drow with artfully pinned back wavy hair, wearing a cloak with a big fur collar. 1. Essek pulling one side of his sleep mask up with a greatly annoyed pout on his face. 2. Essek pointing with his index finger, his hand next to his head as if he bent his elbow in the middle of gesturing empathically; he is looking down with a frustrated expression. 3. Essek wearing his sleep mask with his head thrown back, as if resting, though what is visible of his face looks very displeased. 4. Essek smiling graciously in the middle of talking, eyes closed. 5. Essek with a frown on his face, squeezing his eyes shut as if bracing himself for something. 6. Essek delicately nibbling on a piece of meat held between the index finger and the thumb of his left hand; he looks rather miffed. 7. Essek leaning forward, his eyebrows raised sarcastically. 8. Essek looking up with a pensive expression. 9. Essek looking to the side, his expression suspicious and alarmed. 10. Essek dramatically casting a spell, arms crossed in front of him, fingers flexing and tense.ALT

episode 96 Essek expression studies! one sheet was not enough, the hot boy is too expressive

tip jar!

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a digital painting of two people cuddling. one of them is a tall athletic-looking firbolg with tan speckled skin, a darker brown beard and long blue hair swept back in a braid; he has large ears and a nose resembling those of a cow, as well as a long tail with a tuft of blue hair at the end. the other person is a much shorter lean drow with dusky purple skin and long silver hair in a high ponytail, with small braids woven into it. they're both wearing comfortable pants, shirts and tall leather boots, the firbolg's clothes being in shades of brown and mustard yellow, and the drow's being dark blue, purple and white. they're sitting down against a lightly sketched gray background. the firbolg is leaning back with his legs crossed, one arm resting comfortably as if on the back of a chair, the other arm hugging the drow across his chest. the latter is leaning back against the firbolg with closed eyes and a content smile.ALT

commission for @paintedwarpony, their character Brunnera having a cuddle with everyone’s favorite taskhand Verin 💙 thank you for commissioning me!

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zmeess:

a digital painting of two people cuddling. one of them is a tall athletic-looking firbolg with tan speckled skin, a darker brown beard and long blue hair swept back in a braid; he has large ears and a nose resembling those of a cow, as well as a long tail with a tuft of blue hair at the end. the other person is a much shorter lean drow with dusky purple skin and long silver hair in a high ponytail, with small braids woven into it. they're both wearing comfortable pants, shirts and tall leather boots, the firbolg's clothes being in shades of brown and mustard yellow, and the drow's being dark blue, purple and white. they're sitting down against a lightly sketched gray background. the firbolg is leaning back with his legs crossed, one arm resting comfortably as if on the back of a chair, the other arm hugging the drow across his chest. the latter is leaning back against the firbolg with closed eyes and a content smile.ALT

commission for @paintedwarpony, their character Brunnera having a cuddle with everyone’s favorite taskhand Verin 💙 thank you for commissioning me!

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a picture of a sketchbook with a pencil drawing of Jester Lavorre from Critical Role in it, done in shades of blue. she is a soft and athletic-looking tiefling with small curly ram horns, a long tail, short wavy hair and large freckles over her cheekbones, chest, arms and thighs. she is wearing a two-piece swimsuit with bows tied on her shoulders and at her hips. she is swinging in a silk swing, throwing her whole torso back wimsically while holding onto the fabric with her arms. her head is almost upside down, hair flowing with the motion, and there is a happy smile on her face.ALT

got reminded today that i was gonna participate in Draw Everything June organized by @adorkastock, and also that it’s almost the middle of june already 🤭 so let’s kick it off with the day 3 pose! when i saw it last week i immediately thought ‘that’s a Jester Lavorre pose if i’ve ever seen one’, and adapting it to be vaguely pin-up-esque with a cute swimsuit naturally followed.

talking some about traditional media under the read more:

i’ve been thinking of doing this challenge using traditional media only! i don’t draw or paint using physical media much anymore, but i’ve been wanting to because i personally find it an excellent practice for my hand-to-eye coordination and sense of proportions. it also forces me to plan a little bit more carefully than i do with digital media, because pen and paper do not come with the free transform tool installed 😮‍💨 and while planning is not the goal in itself, a closer observation of whatever i’m drawing is. i’m excited to see how it goes and if i’ll be able to draw all twenty pictures 👀

(might get all twenty of them scanned in july!)

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digital sketch of Essek Thelyss from Critical Role, depicting him casting Lightning Bolt. Essek is a drow with shoulder-length wavy hair, pinned partially up with strands flying back from his face with the force of his spell; he is wearing a heavy cloak with a large fur collar. his arms are stretched forward, and his Lightning Bolt looks like a small ball of light cradled between his palms, with jagged lightning streaks emitting from it. his face is focused and intense, with his eyes shadowed.ALT

he is beauty he is grace, casting lightning bolt into a demon’s face (resistant to lightning damage)

once again thank you mr Mercer for the great Essek expressions, can’t wait for the ep to be up on yt so i can redraw more of them

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zmeess:

digital sketch of Essek Thelyss from Critical Role, depicting him casting Lightning Bolt. Essek is a drow with shoulder-length wavy hair, pinned partially up with strands flying back from his face with the force of his spell; he is wearing a heavy cloak with a large fur collar. his arms are stretched forward, and his Lightning Bolt looks like a small ball of light cradled between his palms, with jagged lightning streaks emitting from it. his face is focused and intense, with his eyes shadowed.ALT

he is beauty he is grace, casting lightning bolt into a demon’s face (resistant to lightning damage)

once again thank you mr Mercer for the great Essek expressions, can’t wait for the ep to be up on yt so i can redraw more of them

a detail of a Caleb expression sheet i did last year, referencing in-game roleplay, depicting him casting a spell. his right arm is raised in front of him, all fingers loosely curled except for the middle one. there are licks of flame swirling around him, and he has a quietly angry and intense expression on his face.ALT
a close-up of the Essek sketch from the original post, the angle, pose and expression remarkably similar to the Caleb drawing.ALT

these losers are married btw

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digital fanart of Essek Thelyss from Critical Role. he is a young-looking slender drow with dusky lavender skin, white freckles, and short curly blond hair. he is dressed in wide pleated pants, a long-sleeved turtleneck and a wide-necked shirt with shorter wider sleeves over it, as well as platform sandals and a sunhat, all in the shades of black. over his outfit he is wearing a mint green apron with a pattern of teapots, teacups and plants on it, cinched at his waist with a leather belt. there is a leather bag and a book at his hips, a large red rose and other plants in his apron pocket, and rose-patterned gardening gloves on his hands. he is standing with one hand on his hip, and fanning himself with a small gray fan in the other hand. his posture exudes an air of exasperation, and he has a displeased expression on his face.ALT

saw @lakrisrot’s gardener Essek cosplay and it was so cute that i had to draw it 🤭

the most important question: what is Essek so huffy about?

everything

the telltale bite marks on the leaves 😼

the neighbors’ sunflowers are looking perkier than his

being chased by a bee (which he ended up Banishing)

See Results

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a collection of expression studies of Essek Thelyss from Critical Role, who is depicted as a young-looking drow with shoulder-length wavy hair, dressed in a heavy cloak with a large fur collar. 1. Essek casting Gravity Fissure with an intense face; his arms are in front of him and the spell is manifesting as two immaterial balls of dark light in his hands, connected with a string. 2. Essek fidgeting nervously with his hands in front of his chest, doing a sort of fanning motion. he is saying "Anxiety gets to you." 3. Essek is wearing an annoyed expression, mouth flat and eyes staring into mid distance, as if trying to compose himself; next to him, a speech bubble belonging to Chetney says "I don't need an explanation, it's cool". 4. Essek is looking up with a wide-eyed expression, his hands raised in front of his chest and loosely curled. He stammers, "Hello". 5. Essek is turned to the side, his expression extremely befuddled; his arms are bent at the elbow with the palms open and up in an emphatic gesture, as if awaiting direction. there are three question marks next to his face. 6. Essek with his hands raised, the index fingers pointing up in a 'hold on' gesture. he's looking down in concentration. 7. Essek with an exasperated face on, the corners of the mouth drawn and eyelids lowered. he is saying "The blue boy is a show-off, isn't he", to which an off-screen Ashton replies "Oh yes". Essek responds "I respect that".ALT

i know Essek had about five seconds of screen time in ep98, but i am more powerful than the fact that my favorite purple wizard is just a background npc. so i’ve done more Essek expression studies

tip jar!