The Mage's Staff
The man portrayed in my art is an aged dark elf witch doctor with a decorated staff containing his little purple orb of power and a hanging cup of oil for burning the ears of his goblin/troll/orc prey which he uses to ward off evil spirits. He is dressed and accessorized in a typical dark elf culture scarf and earrings, along with little beard ties with bright beads. The skull on the staff matches his identity very accurately, being creepy and fearful. I used the crimson red background to show contrast with the color of the elf's pale skin. I also used the yellow behind the orb to make the glow stand out.
This project began with a different identity than what it finished with. When I started, it was all a big mess, and not having a personality in place for this character made it difficult to push him in a direction of any sort. As I went along, ideas slowly came to me, typical fantasy-based ideas that would come out of my head. As soon as I gave him the elf ears and red eyes, I knew exactly where to go. I went along with this project just by painting what I loved: elves, gore, shiny and bright colors, smoke, and epicness.
This project began with a different identity than what it finished with. When I started, it was all a big mess, and not having a personality in place for this character made it difficult to push him in a direction of any sort. As I went along, ideas slowly came to me, typical fantasy-based ideas that would come out of my head. As soon as I gave him the elf ears and red eyes, I knew exactly where to go. I went along with this project just by painting what I loved: elves, gore, shiny and bright colors, smoke, and epicness.