My new digital painting of Sturm Brightblade, from the Dragonlance fandom. A painting started with pencil, and finished with Photoshop and Wacom Cintiq. Commission for A. B.
“For a moment the sun-drenched sky was empty, then the dragon burst up over the edge of the wall, its horrifying scream splitting Sturm’s eardrums, filling his head with pain. […] Sturm’s sun shattered.” (From Dragon of winter night, Ch. 13. M. Weis & T. Hickman.)
Details
I was asked to create a painting dedicated to Sturm’s last moments. Well, “that moment”, the one in which Sturm sacrifices himself to challenge a dragon and his rider alone, to gain precious seconds that will allow his companions to win the battle of the High Clerist Tower.
This moment has already been represented by the great Dragonlance painters and by many fanartists. I chose, in agreement with the client, a particular point of view. This is a close-up of Sturm as he is about to strike at his enemy. It is “that moment” of great courage, where the knight is literally staring his own death in his eyes, yet he challenges and conquers his own fear for the greater good.
The point of view of the painting is that of the blue dragon, Skie, who is about to glide over Sturm so that Kitiara can deal a killing blow.
The books talk about the blinding rays of the sun profiling the dragon and dragonlord, whose shadow is cast over the tower behind Sturm. For the rest, I chose a milder color scheme, which could coordinate with another great painting, Larry Elmore’s representation of Sturm’s death. My artwork seeks to be a “prequel” to that moment, that great painting, forever in the hearts of all Dragonlance fans.
Work in progress
Blue eyes or brown?
I’ve always imagined Sturm with blue eyes, thanks to the fact that when I was a kid I read the book “Soulforge” (M. Weis, 1998) before “Dragons of Autumn Twilight” (M. Weis & T. Hickman, 1984) due to problems finding the books in Italian, which were in reprint at the time. In Soulforge, young Sturm’s eyes are described as “blue as the skies of Solamnia” and this evocative phrase has always stuck with me. But then it was rightly pointed out to me that in Autumn Twilight there are several references to his brown eyes. What to do? Well, let’s keep the book that was written first. Brown eyes it is!
Prints
Prints on RedBubble
Use of this artwork
For any commercial use or repost of this artwork, contact me first. If you’re interested in digital downloads without watermark for personal use, licensing an artwork for a new project, or you’d like a custom print, please contact me.
Use by Fans for publication in themed Fandom groups or Fandom lore videos.
I am okay with “fans” publication, as long as you use the watermarked version of the painting (we entered the era of AI and NFT theft and I already got burned, sorry), and you credit me in the post description with: “Artwork: “(Title)” Artist: “Elena Zambelli @Greenedera”. I kindly ask you to Tag me or send me a notification and insert a link to my website.
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Created on: 09/02/2024
Copyright 2024 Elena Greenedera Zambelli, all rights reserved #noai
Page last edit: 12/02/2024
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