“You call forth spirits to protect you. They flit around you. If you are good or neutral, their spectral form appears angelic or fey. If you are evil, they appear fiendish.”
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Digital Illustration - Snapping Branch the Tabaxi Casts Spirit Guardians
Snapping Branch (Snap) is an original character created for my Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition campaign. They’re a dual class cleric/ ranger, and therefore draw their magical power from the Gods, specifically Emris, the Goddess of Redemption. Emris’ symbol is a doe, and so these spectral beings appear when they cast the protection spell, Spirit Guardians.
value composition
midway colour lays
I wanted to create a sense of warmth without harsh heat from the spell, and oranges which could be believed to have come from woodland nature. The spell does not harm the plants around or burn them up, but instead just glows.
Snap themselves is meditative and composed, I want this to be reflected in the sweeping movements of the casting.
I needed the piece to be coherent with other work I have done of them and their description (outfit design etc) while ensuring that they don’t blend in too much with the forest surroundings, but also do not look out of place.