Portrait of Em, kagonesti wild elf, and her friend Vlacks – a Vrock disguising himself as a griffon while fighting for the cause of good. Original characters in the Dragonlance Fandom. Commission for Anomalous Thracian. Digital painting.
“After a century-spanning mission against generations of organized evil, Em Shalewalker has returned to her people a champion. Coming home, however, was easier said than done. Haunted by the violence and atrocity of a hundred years of darkness, a hundred years of stalking the enemy of good, a hundred years of pain, Em does not feel at home amongst her people (or any other people). Her return became, itself, a retreat– to the shalestone cliffs of the Khalkists, overlooking the forests of her youth. From the unforgiving stone, she found the next chapters of her journey, with new companions and harrowing hellscapes… in search of some reason for hope.”
Work in progress pics
In this painting, I certainly wanted to depict the two characters, but one of the key points was also to show the dual nature of the griffin, actually a Vrock. That’s why, in my space and lighting studies with pencil, I made sure the griffin’s shadow was cast on the stone wall, revealing the silhouette of a Vrock. This detail isn’t immediately visible; the commissioner didn’t want it to be too obvious. It was intended for him and his D&D campaign players, to whom this painting was dedicated. After a very rough pencil sketch to decide on the positioning of the characters and the background, I dedicated myself to the detailed pencil sketch. Then I scanned it and started reworking it as a digital drawing with Photoshop and drawing with my Cintiq graphics tablet. As often happens, I moved, “mirroring” the image to balance it, which is why many “in progress pics” are the reverse of the original sketch.
Em’s skin color was another element I had very specific requests for, which is why you’ll see it was the first element of the painting I colored: in this way, I redefined the color of the rest around that starting point. Then the painting progressed, first the general values, then the color, then the details. The background is composed of two different environments: the shale rock face where Em sits, and then a sort of superimposed vision, evoking the demonic realm where she fought. Here we see an ominous tower, around which the outline of a fire dragon can just be seen: again, we wanted this detail not to be immediately visible, but only to those who stop to study the painting.
Details
I added Em’s tattoos last, but they’re also an important part of this character: they tell her story and her exploits, sure, but they’re also a sign of recognition. She’s a hunter of evil. Sketches of her tattoos are circulated among her enemies as a warning to stay away—for what it’s worth, of course, she always finds who she’s chasing. I liked this idea so much that I created a little handout for the D&D campaign, a small sketch on top of a parchment photomontage to represent these very “warnings” found in the pockets of enemies.
Art reveal video:
Long art process video
Prints
This is a work of fanart.
Artwork created on: 12/02/2023
Copyright 2023 Elena Greenedera Zambelli, all rights reserved #noai
Page last edit: 17 february 2026
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