Varian Look & Development, 2019

Varian is a elven character that I created with the intent of using in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. In an attempt to better understand his personality and quirks, I completed the following expression exercise, which was developed by an artist named Nancy Lorenz, and further expanded by Vannister-Nicodemus. (http://fav.me/d31nwj0)

The full-body image is his final design.

When I first began creating my D&D character, I was really enamored with the idea of creating one that fell in line with medieval fashion and existing tropes within the fantasy world.

I also wanted to play an elf! I’ve loved elves ever since I was a kid, so it felt like the time to embrace that. The first elves I thought of were, of course, the elves of Tolkien’s Middle Earth. I studied a lot of illustrations of elves in D&D source material for reference too.

I did a lot of sketches of Varian early on, especially after writing up his backstory. He’s a would-be royal on the run, and I wanted some of the cushy castle-life to hang over him. He has his hand-crafted staff, and he sports really long hair despite the fact that it would be a liability in battle. He’s really proud of his hair, in fact, because of traditions in his kingdom that favor never cutting the hair. I would eventually play with the idea of what it would take for Varian to cut his hair, and how that would affect his narrative arc in-game.

Another early idea that stuck through the sketching process was the idea that Varian always wears a bit of red twine or ribbon in his hair, even when it’s shorn. The idea behind this is sort of associated with the idea of tying a string around the finger: it’s a reminder for the wearer. So I wanted the idea of Varian needing to remember who he is to be tied into his design. The color red is tied to beliefs associated with the red string of fate.

Finally, I completed a facial expression exercise and rendered some final pieces for my group to reference during our campaign!

Role: Illustrator | Tools: Pencil & Paper, Medibang Paint Pro