bloodcliff keep
A client reached out to me with a special request: to make a painting of a critical moment in their custom D&D campaign. This battle was the culmination of dozens of hours of character building and narrative.
Five important characters had to be depicted (one a bird) and many had specific garb, weapons, and physical attributes to be depicted. I was excited to tackle a scene with so much complexity!
the process
step 1: ideation and data gathering
I wanted to get as many details from the client as possible, to see what sparked my imagination and what could add drama to the scene. The client provided me with many details that were essential to depict, involving the characters, setting, equipment, and tone. Luckily, I’d already been commissioned for character sheets for two of the characters in the painting, so I had a good sense of what they should look like.
The setting:
The scene takes place on a high desert mesa
On this mesa is a crumbling castle with blast marks of dragonfire from an ancient siege. The desert floor around the mesa has crystalline outcroppings where the dragonfire transformed the sand into massive glass shards
The characters:
The focal characters are the client’s snake-kith hero and his NPC nemesis
Also in the scene is an army led by the enemy knight, engaging our heroes in battle
Below the main battle, the other characters in the party are escaping by climbing down the face of the mesa. One is preparing a healing spell in the event our hero is wounded
Four ravens are escaping the castle, having been freed by our heroes. One raven has a white tail feather.
The equipment:
The hero wears light armor in red, yellow, and white that he acquired traveling in this desert land. His sword is an elven rapier and his shield is large and gold, with a knight sculpted onto the front. This shield is enchanted with the ability to fix the wielder to the ground so that they cannot be moved even by extreme force
Our nemesis wears heavy royal guard armor, in white, blue, and gold, with evidence of battle-damage. The golden laurels of the royal crest are visible in various locations on the armor. He wields a two-handed battleaxe in one hand due to his great strength. He is missing his left arm at the elbow from a previous encounter with our hero.
The story:
This moment is the climax of a very long campaign, so should look suitably epic.
In this battle, our hero fatally stabs and bites his nemesis, giving in to his more feral side, which is a tragic turn for the character.
After killing his nemesis, our hero is also struck by an enemy arrow. He plummets, unconscious, off the cliffside.
He is saved by his friends hanging below, who catch him at the last minute.
In planning this painting, I knew I had to do justice to all the character and environment details that my client had meticulously crafted with their D&D group. I also wanted to convey the high stakes and intense tone, while adding some levity and hope with the birds flying high. Time to make some thumbnails.
Character sheet illustration of main character
Character sheet illustration of another character in the scene
step 2: thumbnails
I started by creating 3 quick thumbnail sketches in Procreate to show the client. I chose a few character orientations and camera angles. In all of them, I wanted a strong diagonal composition to throw the viewer off balance and introduce a sense of peril. We ended up choosing the middle one.
Step 3: Refined Sketch
Once the client had chosen their preferred thumbnail, I refined it into a line drawing and black and white value study.
Step 4: Color Studies
The value pass having been ok’ed by the client, I made up three distinct color compositions. Each evoking a different mood and tone. We ended up going with the middle again.
Step 5: Final Painting
I started by printing the line drawing out on paper, which I then transferred to illustration board via graphite transfer paper. Then I clarified the lines with a light pencil before locking them in with a fine black pen.
I painted the whole thing in greyscale before applying a warm-neutral wash to unify the values a bit. Finally, I went in with color and rendered everything out.
