"On Fiery Wings" by WolfieDrawie; Art for A Kindled Change · 8:26pm Apr 2nd, 2023
Another illustration for A Kindled Change! To be featured in Chapter 3: Alone. This time by WolfieDrawie on Deviant Art. You can also find a link to her Instagram where she posts most of her work. If you feel so inclined, be sure to give her a follow!
Now onto the piece: I tasked Wolfie with a bit of a vague one for this commission since the only real direction I gave her was a basic scene and the emotions it needed to convey. It's meant to illustrate the early moment in Chrys' journey when her life seems to turn around for the better. After a long lifetime spent since her first waking moments in absolute pitch-darkness, she is finally freed onto the outside world by the hands of Fate. For a child whose memories could only paint a foggy picture of the things outside, the moment when she first sees the sun after the cloudy skies part... well, you can imagine it's quite the magical moment. Mixed in with the flight of the fiery birds she saw at that time, it made for a scene full of magic and wonder in my mind's eye.
So who better to encapsulate that magic and illustrate that idea than Wolfie? Her art is truly whimsical and beautiful. So much so, I run out of things to compliment it with, mindful that if I try, I'll sound like a broken record. How many times can compliments be repeated before they lose value?
That's why, I'll start by saying all the things I loved about it. To start with, I adore Wolfie's rendition of Chrys. Wolfie's artstyle and aesthetic is something I simply love, and so what I mainly wanted was her rendition of Chrys. She's truly lovely, and cuter than a button. It makes me happy to see her happy. After so many commissions that picture her in dire straits due to the story, I really needed this. From the complex sheen to her hair due to the lighting and shadows, to her small crooked horn, and down to her expression. Love it all. Also, it's such a small detail, but I really like those loose strands of hair seen at the top.
While everything else in the picture was secondary to Chrys herself, it was just as important to the composition of her design since I tasked Wolfie to draw both "a sense of wonder and awe", and a background to fit that idea. And I can confidently say... She knocked it out of the park! Undeniably. I mean, just look at that! I'll forever remain envious of such beautiful layering work. The dark clouds overhead. The different hued pine trees. The sunsetting-horizon. It's all so charming and stylish. Like I understand that's a simple technique to add depth to a picture, but there's a true mastery to that kind of background work.
Also, what more is there to say about the fiery birds themselves? If ever anything screamed whimsy, beauty, and magic to bring you to a sense of awe, it would be them. I also gave Wolfie the interesting task to have them fly toward the horizon, to make them seem as though they are part of that orange sky and setting sun since they're meant to be phoenixes. Sure enough, she pulled it off with majesty. Her skillful use of lighting is on full display with them, and so the careful shading on their wings and tail feathers are stunningly gorgeous to look at.
All in all, her art speaks for itself. Wonderful, to no end.
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