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Berserker79 β€” Dragon Age II: Embrace Your Destiny

#bloodmagic #circleofmagi #dragonage2 #greywardens #dragonageii #bethanyhawke #bethany_hawke
Published: 2014-05-11 17:08:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 12659; Favourites: 126; Downloads: 0
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Description Bethany Hawke from Dragon Age II.

The idea here was to show what potential destinies await Bethany when she stops being just Hawke's sweet little sister (Sunshine):
- an experienced enchantress from the Circle of Magi (New Growth);
- a Grey Warden hardened by countless fights in the Deep Roads (Hardened); or
- a dangerous apostate who draws power from blood magic (First Cut).
Of course, this latter option is not from the game and just part of my AU comic "So Much Blood"[link] .

Thanks to for constructive criticism and feedback!

See also the companion piece featuring Carver Hawke here: [link]

CREDITS:
Posed/rendered in XPS 10.9.6 and edited in Paint.NET.

Models used:
All Dragon Age models extracted by me with the exception of the following:
- Malcom's Honor staff model extracted by Sir Croft [link]

Additional resources used:
Blood mage Bethany outfit textures from the "Dream of Antiva (Vintage Wine)" mod by FokSiGen [link]
Thorsglow from simple candle model by BubbleCloud [link]
Flame mesh from "Hawke's bedroom scenery" extracted by deexie [link]
Background textures from "Texture Pack 25" by Sirius-sdz [link]
Flame brushes by β€œObsidian Dawn”
Light burst brushes by jhasson [link]
Wound brushes by nemo-stock [link]
Blood brushes by KeReN-R [link]
Pool of blood by stock-ings [link]

DISCLAIMER:
Dragon Age II and all its related assets (characters, models, logos, etc...) belong to BioWare and EA.
Related content
Comments: 45

fantocan [2015-09-30 14:36:05 +0000 UTC]

Looks awesome, makes me sad she dies 90% of my games, as I'm a mage addicted.

The Enchantress spitting image of Circle mage (Wynne)
Warden looks like Cassandra

But the cherry on top of the Icecream sure is the Scarlet Beth, so hot and exciting, just like Blood Magic!

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Berserker79 In reply to fantocan [2015-10-12 17:15:26 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! In order to keep Bethany alive in my DA2 playthroughs I gave up playing as a mage. I chose the mage class only once, so in 90% of my games it's actually Carver who dies... poor boy!

I find it interesting that Enchantress Bethany recalled you Wynne! The idea was to give her a mature, self-confident look in that panel, so if you thought of Wynne (who definitely classifies as mature and self-confident to me! ) it looks like I managed to achieve my objective!

The "Cassandra looks" of the Warden Beth is probably due to the fact I used Cassandra's DA2 hairstyle here (I just mirrored the hair model left<->right).

And I hadn't thought about naming blood mage Beth as "Scarlet Beth", but it's really fitting! Very nice idea!

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fantocan In reply to Berserker79 [2015-10-13 16:26:36 +0000 UTC]

Your welcome!

Wynne is cool, but she got same problems as Anders, both Abominations, and both got prejudies against Blood Magic... thats why all chances I get I teach her Blood Magic, but sadly she can't lose the act.

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elmjuniper [2015-06-23 06:10:59 +0000 UTC]

This is so cool!Β 

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Berserker79 In reply to elmjuniper [2015-06-28 14:56:14 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! Glad to hear you like it! Have to admit it's one of my fav works, quite possibly the most fav actually!

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YoungGirlBlues [2014-06-28 19:29:16 +0000 UTC]

I just got back on DA and this lovely sight welcomes me back! Awesome job as always. Grey Warden Beth looks very, very bad ass
Β 

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Berserker79 In reply to YoungGirlBlues [2014-06-30 21:12:12 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! I'm quite happy with how this work turned out! Bethany is my fav DA2 character so I had some extra motivation to make this look good!

BTW, there's also a version for Carver here [link] : I'm told he's also looking pretty good as a Warden!

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Panchima [2014-05-23 16:15:29 +0000 UTC]

Awesome artwork!!! I love the colors and the whole composition and of course the idea behind it!!!
It's so beautiful!!!

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Berserker79 In reply to Panchima [2014-05-25 16:57:26 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much! And for the too!

I wasn't too sure about this work since there were several attempts before settling on the current idea/layout and usually that's a bad sign for my works when I need to go through all these changes... Initially this was just a close up of blood mage Beth, but I wasn't happy with that, then I moved to a set of three pics using a layout similar to the one in your "HUG meme", finally Dorian suggested to add refugee Bethany as a fourth panel and that's when I started feeling satisfied with my work!

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alishepcr85 [2014-05-18 15:00:32 +0000 UTC]

New Growth. Absolutely. Β Always pictured Bethany as a Circle Mage. Awesome job with the other models, see you soon.

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Berserker79 In reply to alishepcr85 [2014-05-19 22:04:44 +0000 UTC]

Circle mage is my canon choice for Bethany when I play, even if the Circle looks a nasty place filled with templars and blood mages... I'd be happy to send her with the Wardens if that didn't mean condemning her to a shortened life span because of the taint, so the Circle looks like the least worst option to me.

Thanks for your comment and for ing!

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ekocentric [2014-05-16 07:34:56 +0000 UTC]

I love the Warden Beth, particularly because of the hairstyle and the Warden Mage robe Β 

Nicely done.

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Berserker79 In reply to ekocentric [2014-05-19 21:54:49 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, I'm also quite fond of the resulting looks of Warden Bethany here!

I thought about giving Warden Bethany a shorter hairstyle, something comfortable for a battle mage fighting most of her time. Also, I reasoned that the Wardens are somewhat akin to a military order, so that hairstyle looked both practical and fitting.

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ekocentric In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-20 16:14:46 +0000 UTC]

I have the same thought, but of course, Nate Howe and Warden Anders are exceptional case hahaha.

This also applies to the design of Cassandra Pentaghast as well. That short hair suits her character and her role very much. Or perhaps I like short hair girls, like my OC; she has short hair too LOL

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Finnyanne [2014-05-13 07:14:36 +0000 UTC]

Stunning

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Berserker79 In reply to Finnyanne [2014-05-13 21:05:21 +0000 UTC]

Thank you Finnyanne, also for requesting this work for your group!

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Finnyanne In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-14 06:28:05 +0000 UTC]

My pleasure dear

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ShaunsArtHouse [2014-05-13 00:55:14 +0000 UTC]

Love it B!! Looks like a professional game poster

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Berserker79 In reply to ShaunsArtHouse [2014-05-13 21:04:32 +0000 UTC]

Lol, really that good? You're always too kind with my works! I'm happy you like the end result, especially because my very first version of this work didn't feel too good! Sounds like I managed to improve it in the end!

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ShaunsArtHouse In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-20 04:31:11 +0000 UTC]

No way man. It's perfect as is. Totally worth printing out and putting on a wall

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PhilipMessina [2014-05-12 21:28:37 +0000 UTC]

I really love this, the colours are genius

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Berserker79 In reply to PhilipMessina [2014-05-13 21:01:26 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! You know, initially I thought about using models of specific environments as the backgrounds instead of the colored textures. Then I received the suggestion to stick to colored textures, because in that way I could focus all attention on the character rather than on the background, and it was a very good suggestion!

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Natsumi494 [2014-05-12 09:56:27 +0000 UTC]

I totally love your work and this idea of showing her different path ! In my canon party, she finished as Grey Warden, but I also like the other possibilites !

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Berserker79 In reply to Natsumi494 [2014-05-13 20:58:12 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, I'm glad you like this one!

In my canon party she always survives to reach Kirkwall (well, except once when I wanted to play as mage), but then I let her go to the Circle. While becoming a Grey Warden is something to be proud of, I hate the idea that she's tainted and condemned to a shorter life fighting the Darkspawn. As a result, I feel that leaving her with the Circle at least provides some chance that she'll be free again in the future.

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SeveredxSoul90 [2014-05-11 22:35:05 +0000 UTC]

Bethany overload at MAXIMUM!!!Β  Β 

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Berserker79 In reply to SeveredxSoul90 [2014-05-13 20:54:04 +0000 UTC]

lol, I'm happy I could provide some Bethany overload! You know, there's never enough Bethany for me...

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SeveredxSoul90 In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-14 00:29:43 +0000 UTC]

I say the more Bethany the better.

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Berserker79 In reply to SeveredxSoul90 [2014-05-14 17:42:18 +0000 UTC]

Agreed!

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RainbowRenders [2014-05-11 20:31:27 +0000 UTC]

I love this concept and the texture backgrounds!
The sunshine background is great, I love this color! Hardened has the best composition, after this one New Growth has.
Interesting you decided to make the sunshine one as big as the three fates! Works, too!
I like the fact you included a "modded" fate! (Blood Mage)
Now I want to see this with Carver, too...
Templar, Broody lil shit (opposite of sunshine ), Warden and... if you make Bethany evil, he must be good... let's see...
Since Blood mage is the total opposite of Beth's default self, maybe something that isn't related to war (since he always wanted to be a great warrior) at all? A Brother? (Like Leliana, the mild form of templar)
Anyway. Have you ported the "second/third" whatever preset Bethany (Warden) just to make this artwork?
Wow, that's impressive! Also, you gave her Leandra'a hair as a blood mage.
The hood is intriguing, too, so you have to imagine the hairstyle!

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Berserker79 In reply to RainbowRenders [2014-05-13 20:52:37 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, also for all your feedback while I was working on this one! Your input on the use of the backgrounds was important to get a clear idea of what I really wanted to achieve!

Sunshine is my favorite, followed closely by Hardened. Funny enough, the whole work was originally supposed to be a single piece featuring the "modded" blood mage fate only: interesting how an unsatisfactory idea can develop into something much better sometimes!

I loved the idea of having "Sunshine" as a horizontal panel atop the other three as you suggested, but after a couple of attempts I couldn't figure out a decent crop and view. That's why I switched to a 4 panels picture where Sunshine has the same size as the others. I'm glad you like the end result!

Now, Carver... As much as I don't like him as much as Beth, the idea of a companion piece with Carver's fates is appealing! I'll have refugee, templar and warden panels of course and, as for the fourth panel, I like your idea of "Brother Carver" better than my idea of a "Guardsman Carver". Thought that guardsman could be interesting because of that party banter where Beth tells Aveline she imagined Carver could have been a guard if he made it to Kirkwall. However, Chantry brother is better, since it is in line with the concept of a fate which is in "contrast" with the character's portrayal in the game!

About the models used here: the hooded circle mage is one of several Beth models I have sitting on my hard-drive (as you know I love Bethany, so I extracted a lot of different outfits for her). The different hairstyles for warden and blood mage are the result of some "hair swapping", with the warden hairstyle being Cassandra's hair flipped on the horizontal axis. The idea was to use different hairstyles as a further symbol of the change brought by her different fates, e.g. I imagined she might keep her hair short when becoming a battle-hardened warden because that's more practical for someone fighting, while as a blood mage she might keep lengthier hair to look more the part of the "femme fatale".

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RainbowRenders In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-15 07:07:01 +0000 UTC]

I can tell the horizontal Sunshine picture was difficult to make. I think I would have haad issues as well.
Glad to hear you wanna do a companion piece with Carver! He's even less appreciated than Garrett and that's sad imo, even if he is a little shit. I can't wait to see this artwork!

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olivegbg [2014-05-11 18:22:52 +0000 UTC]

I like the New Growth and Hardened.

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Berserker79 In reply to olivegbg [2014-05-13 20:30:30 +0000 UTC]

I quite like how "Hardened" came out, that panel was really the "turning point" of the whole work! However, I have to admit "Sunshine" is my favorite!

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olivegbg In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-14 16:25:52 +0000 UTC]

You are a softie deep down inside!

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Berserker79 In reply to olivegbg [2014-05-14 17:41:54 +0000 UTC]

Oh no! Now you know my secret... I'll probably have to hire a certain Antivan Crow assassin to solve the problem now!

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olivegbg In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-14 17:58:44 +0000 UTC]

You may try...

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SuperFightingX [2014-05-11 18:05:59 +0000 UTC]

Love it! Looks awsome! This should be a poster!

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Berserker79 In reply to SuperFightingX [2014-05-13 20:23:45 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! Think I'd like to have this one as a poster!

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SuperFightingX In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-13 23:48:43 +0000 UTC]

lol It'd look good as a poster!

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AdahihiInada [2014-05-11 17:19:07 +0000 UTC]

Alternate universes are certainly interesting, no?

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Berserker79 In reply to AdahihiInada [2014-05-11 17:26:29 +0000 UTC]

Sure enough! And with Dragon Age II there's always room for some more AUs, especially to... "fix" some of the lesser intriguing parts of its storyline .

And thank you so much for ing and for requesting this work for your group! I was still in the process of submitting to groups when your request popped in!

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AdahihiInada In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-11 17:37:56 +0000 UTC]

lol, I hear ya. I often like the AUs the best for the exact same reason!

You're quite welcome my friend. I figured you'd probably submit, but I thought I'd get it in case you didn't get to it

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MerlesLittleSquirrel [2014-05-11 17:15:14 +0000 UTC]

This is fantastic!! I love the First Cut option, she looks really sexy and sassy in it!! Really good job!!

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Berserker79 In reply to MerlesLittleSquirrel [2014-05-11 17:33:41 +0000 UTC]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you like this!

The depiction of Bethany as a blood mage in the "First Cut" panel is from an earlier work of mine which then developed into that comic mentioned in the description above. Well, I gave her a different hairstyle here, but the concept is the same!

Each "destiny" here tends to highlight a different side of Bethany: for example becoming a Grey Warden brought to the surface the harder edges of her character, but blood magic definitely affected her sensuality!

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MerlesLittleSquirrel In reply to Berserker79 [2014-05-11 17:47:04 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome! I do love the different depictions of her character through the changes in her destiny, the blood mage is definitely my favourite, followed closely by the Warden one :3

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