The most exciting bit about commissioning an artist to draw a character I know well, is how the artist can add new dimensions to the character that I don’t know already – even if I created the character myself!

I expected this might happen when I asked  ArcticLion to draw my demon caretaker, and I wasn’t disappointed. I’ve tried drawing this character myself, of course, but never could capture the image I saw in my head... So I decided to give Arctic the most basic details, to see what he would make of it.

And here’s the result. :) Since I was testing the waters with regard to character design, I asked for a basic flat colour/plain background drawing, instead of the highly-detailed style of my previous commission from Arctic.

He pretty much captured ALL the details I wanted, making the character look almost perfectly human, yet obviously not so. This is someone from a fantasy/SF tale I wanted the reader to relate to, while not forgetting his non-human attributes, and I think Arctic got the balance just right. I left the expression and pose entirely up to the artist, and the result makes me ask: what is the character thinking? What is he looking at, and why does it concern him?

Always a good thing if a portrait makes me feel that way!