When I met Amelia, I was working through my Krystalline Kweens tarot series. A die-hard Dungeons & Dragons fan, she immediately fell in love with the elegant femininity I brought to each of my portraits and wanted to see herself or one of her D&D characters portrayed in such a light.
After much consideration, she ended up deciding that she wanted me to portray her character Anaïs Birdsong, a half-elf bard and servant of the Lady of Light. She had reluctance about being ready for me to do a portrait of her, but the more she described her character the more I realized that in her mind the character shared similarities with her physical appearance.
When I asked about the character’s style, she cited female indie-folk musician Lenka and specifically her song Trouble is a Friend. I used the singer’s style and the mood of the song to influence the clothing and attitude for the character, incorporating Amelia’s favorite color: a vibrant blue. She used this character in an adventuring party, traveling from town-to-town, playing in taverns and dreaming of greater fame, so I kept the clothing choices both practical and stylish.
In the stained glass window of the church, I incorporated the transgender flag colors. On her guitar, I added a peacock feather decoration reflecting her favorite color, while the peacock symbolizes a spiritual awakening and, in many cultures, is connected to the transformational phoenix. The rolling hills in the background harken back to the scenic vistas of her birth state, Arkansas.
The final version of this 5″x7″ D&D character portrait was drawn using a mix of Copic markers, Micron fineliners, and Gelly Roll pens on Strathmore smooth bristol paper.
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