"The Changeling Princess" - By DamayantiArts. · 1:43pm Jun 16th, 2023
"From Svássver, to Tera Amare, down to you, little Chrys. Where your eyes follow, so does a love for the world. That's how my late wife always saw it. That's how Tera would've seen it too, as I'm sure you remember. And that's how I see it in you too." The great elk ruffled her mane until it was a mess, laughed at his handiwork, and said... "Your story is truly special and will live on in not only the history of this world, but in ours too. See you soon, small miss."
This commission was done by DamayantiArts, for no chapter in particular, although it'll likely debut in the final chapter of Chrys' adventures once I get around to writing those Extras I said I was going to do.
You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do something like this. A stained-glass mural for Chrys to immortalize her history. It's a little early to have made this, but I finally found an artist who could've done the job perfectly. And perfectly she did, and then some! This has been the most involved I've ever been in a commission, and I had an absolute blast brainstorming with Dama for it. Ever heard the expression "a beautiful mind"? It was awesome being able to work alongside someone so artistically minded who could immediately take upon ideas and improve them.
I hope it looks familiar to you guys, because it definitely should be. We incorporated the three cover arts from Chrys' trilogy and the very first rendition of Chrys which inspired the story in the center. There's also the Ursa Major constellation and the gifts Chrys made around the picture. And at the bottom an important little pool of water to reflect on. The whole thing is being held aloft by the threads of fate, atop the antlers of The Sage of Fate.
Now to speak on more technical things about it... Boy, where to start? There's a true talent that goes into being able to translate a picture into a mural design that not only looks clean and accurate to the original, but also very unique and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Just... something about the geometrical shapes of Dama's design for this piece are beautiful to behold.
And then there's the lighting. The antlers are beautiful, and I love the motes of light, but what really got me was the warm glows that can be seen around the top, bottom right, and center images to make Chrys' design stand-out against the dark backgrounds. It's such a small thing, but then, even the smallest thing can have some of the biggest impacts.
Also, the smoke bleeding out of the top most circle in the background to swirl down into the bottom... Just perfect, honestly. One of the best things that come out of doing commissions like these is accidental but beautiful homages to the story. In this case, it feels like an awesome set up for the sequel, since it's a smokey figure that haunts the first story and who returns with a vengeance for the sequel. So it flowing down could not have been more perfect.
A testament to Dama's genius when it comes to making visual symbolism is in the form of Chrys' magic in the top circle. I didn't know until she pointed it out, but the design of that little spark of light on her horn is a very familiar shape. Honestly, it's not everyday I get one-uped in the symbolism department. I was floored, and I loved it that much more as a result.
This whole experience made very happy working on it. Which I sorely needed since life doesn't seem to be slowing down or becoming any more gentle than it was yesterday. To Dama, if she reads this, I thank you from the depths of my heart.
It's Beautiful
This has gotta be my favourite.