Jenny Dolfen

"Come here, Stubby" - finished

First attempt at a full scene with coloured pencil (and some watercolour wash for the background). This is about the extent of detail and small-ness I can do, but hey, it's a lot better than I thought I could do in traditional media! Now my eyes need a holiday, ha. 

Welcome to all the new crowd! So glad to see you ...

"Come here, Stubby, you're all messed up."

In the stream (didn't make it into the animated series, unfortunately), Vax often braids his sister's hair. Usually, when she's pissed off. Usually, at him. =D 

Vex and Vax from Critical Role. Sorry for not including a link to the stream; couldn't find a timestamp this time! 

Procreate sketch, to be colo...

"Do not go far from me"

Little end-of-April sibling heartbreak. If you've ever lost someone close, here's heartfelt hugs. If you haven’t, tell them you love them every once in a while, just in case there’s no chance for parting words in the last episode. Or spread some chicken sorbet on their beds on occasion. That definitely works too.

I...

"Do not go far from me"

Gods, I'm loving these two. Images, characters, and voice actors. 

Twins sketches (Critical Role)

Almost four years to the day since I last saw my brother alive. Doing Vex&Vax heartbreak sketches. Yes, it's brilliant therapy. <3 

Sketched from screenshots of actors Liam O'Brien and Laura Bailey. 

Jax in Polychromos (finished)

I love this guy so much. Last session (which finally happened after being postponed for two months) he found out who his mother is, so there will probably be more art to come. He's relieved to find both his parents were actually decent people (not a given when you have demonic blood) and that his mother is still alive and on ...

Jax - coloured pencil in progress

I felt like redoing the Jax portrait I did in Procreate just before discovering Polychromos. 

I find it utterly weird how detailed I can go with coloured pencils without half-trying, and how loose I keep ending up with digital (usually after working everything to death and then getting rid of it all!) Different med...

Finnan, aquatic half-elf monk

... I explain it all in his backstory, honest. =D

The character I currently play in a little D&D campaign with my daughter, run by my husband. Finnan holds the title of fastest death EVER. He died two hours into his first session and the DM allowed a little miracle. 

I've also decided, after thirty year...

"I don't want to be alone tonight"

Critical Role, Episode 42: "Dangerous Dealings" 

LIAM (Vax): As the sun goes down? It's been down and everyone's going to their rooms? I go to Keyleth's door and knock on it.

MARISHA (Keyleth): I open the door. - Hi.

LIAM: Hi...  I don't want to be alone tonight. Do you?

MARISHA: I haven't be...

Properly scanned Vax and tutorial

I'm so frigging happy with this. And with how well it scanned! It was just a breeze to scan and post-work, much easier than watercolour, even with all the practice I have. The background is the "Shire blue" watercolour I told you about earlier! 

Here's the rest of the tutorial. I feel so 2005 for doing a tutorial l...

I'm having a "Where have you been all my life?!" moment here.

Coloured pencils, you guys, coloured pencils. 

I'll be back tomorrow with a proper scan and answering your questions on the last post, BUT. COLOURED PENCILS, YOU GUYS.

Critical Role has doomed elf bois, too... and a coloured pencil tutorial

It was time for a portrait of Vax I was actually happy with! I immediately went to the "doomed elf boi" look I seem to use for Finrod a lot. It suits him, particularly in later episodes. And well, I know he's a half-elf, but D&D half-elves seem to have even larger and more pointy ears than any Tolkien elf ever would, so t...

Coloured pencil Maedhros finished

Yes, I'd forgotten how easy it is in coloured pencil to do subtle stuff! Like lines around the eyes and such. When doing larger portraits in watercolour, I always put them in there but then faded them out again afterwards, heh - I never quite managed that level of subtle.

First time working on white paper inst...

It was clear he was up next, right?

After leaving guinea pig status to Yavanna (watercolour pencils) and Caduceus (quasi-Prismacolor), Maedhros is, of course, up next. Interestingly, coloured pencil was the first medium I ever did a coloured Maedhros in! It was right after I'd read the Shaping of Middle-earth for the first time (though I should have be...

More coloured pencils, more Critical Role (sorry ;))

Easing further into coloured pencils! I bought a nice set of Prismacolor-like ones (from Castle Art) that are really fine, and I've discovered that I own a coloured pencil blender, so that's where the smoooooth texture comes from. ;) 

The character, for those who don't know Critical Role, is of course Caduceus Clay...

Yavanna / Spring in coloured pencils

I gosh, it's been twenty-five years since I last seriously used coloured pencils! How do you even mix colour?? I think I managed fine.

Spring, coloured pencils on toned paper, A3 size. (It doesn't fit on my desk!) 

The original of this will go up tonight in my Etsy shop at 9.00 pm CET. (Copy the time into you...

Yavanna drawing

Drew this in Procreate today, should be big enough to print it on laaaarge paper and colour it traditionally! <3 I was gifted a few watercolour tubes last week, which are so pretty... it's another new granulating colour line from Schmincke, incredibly named "Shire Green", "Shire Blue" and "Shire Yellow". I waaaaaant... May...

Farryn Boontwiddle, Gnomish Fighter

A very quick piece of my new D&D character, Gnome Fighter Farryn Boontwiddle. I play him in the campaign I'm running as the DM. It's been customary in our rounds since forever that the DM has a character tagging along, often because we've only played with two or three people and/or we were taking turns as DM. I created Fa...

Inprnt sale and Tolkien Reading Day

Since a lot of people have been asking me recently, I've put up a promo code for Inprnt! I'm sorry I can't do permanent codes for Patrons, but here's one that's valid until the 29th of March! 

DGHCRFJ

AND I COMPLETELY FORGOT to tell you (that's how scatterbrained I am right now). I'll be on a panel with other...

That HUGE bit of news

... I did say it was HUGE, right?!!! 

Yes, that is the one. The official Tolkien Calendar 2023.

I. Am. So. Chuffed. Pretty much a life's dream come true. 

Dreaming of magical artefacts

When the Sorcerer pisses off the Bard, hilarity ensues. Gnome Bard Scanlan has turned Sorcerer Tiberius into a rat, and Vax'ildan, as usual, is unable to pass by a furry animal without scritching it. 

SAM (Scanlan): I turn him into a rat. (...) 

ORION (Tiberius): Oh. I still go to bed.

(laughter) 2022-03-15 17:32:52 +0000 UTC View Post

Mollymauk in colour (lots of it)

It’s been a while since I used so many different colours in one piece! I honestly didn’t plan for him to look like Jax, it just sort of happened. 😅

Mollymauk (Critical Role) - lineart

Edited version: Now plus lineart (I love it SO MUCH!), and a closeup of the lines. I have a new "inking" tool in Procreate that I really love. I don't like inking with smooth tools, this one lends a nice spontaneity (is that a word?) to the lineart. 

The last one is the hi-res file for download and colouring! =)&nb...

Pastel attempt, because **** it ;)

My eyesight took another blow last week, and I'm close to getting a diagnosis which is not encouraging, so I went in a different direction - I ordered a bunch of pastels, oil pastels, and coloured pencils, and went BIG. 

This is my first I-have-no-idea-what-the-****-I'm-doing attempt at pastel/oil pastel/c...

Jax again

My Tiefling character (now level 5 Rogue/level 2 Ranger/level 1 Sorcerer. The Sorcerer serves absolutely no purpose other than being able to cast really pitiful illusions). I just love this guy. Playing again on Sunday. Might meet his mother. Who's in all likelihood a Succubus. That's some family time he's not lookin...

"Forever and always"

The Raven Queen comes to claim Vax'ildan. 

Here's the transcript from the RPG session* in which this happens:

LIAM (who plays Vax): I look to the Raven Queen and as I walk closer, since I leveled up, I use the druid cantrip Druidcraft and grow snowdrops out from
where I stand, out to all of m...

Vax and the Raven Queen - lineart

I think my muse was waiting for Critical Role to happen. =) 

Now I need to rest my eyes a bit! ... and there's a lot of school work this week too, unfortunately. 

"Forever and always."

Yes, I know - a month of radio silence and then art on two days! Let's all not get too used to it. =D

The incredible finale of the first campaign of Critical Role. The Raven Queen comes to take Vax. I bawled my eyes out during that episode (in other words, bawled my eyes out watching eight people around a table bawling ...