Elven Mage

She is very complementary!

Over the last several months I completed several private commissions. Most came to be after having conversations with Gen Con attendees who had taken an interest in my work. I've done a lot of  drawings for people during and after conventions, but this was the first painting I did for a private collection. Rather than conforming to an already existing style guide, commissions are an opportunity to call upon my own internal style guide–something the client is seeking when they ask me to create artwork for them.

Sometimes I like to examine the drawing and the painting of an image side by side. They're fundamentally the same image, but end up looking quite different once value and color are added. There are things about this character I like better at the drawing stage and things I like better at the painting stage. (Sometimes I like an entire image better as a drawing rather than a painting and vice versa.)

Here, I like the expression in her eyes better in the drawing. There's some subtle emotion that I feel I lost once I went to paint. But the painting has volume and warmth that the linework lacks.

What do you think? Are there aspects of one you like more than the other? You're welcome to discuss in the comments!