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Chrishankhah — Thief in the Night
Published: 2011-08-01 06:21:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 14248; Favourites: 379; Downloads: 221
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*Deep breath* I'm afraid to look at this any more. I might find more mistakes, which could prove fatal for me at this point! I'm on the fence about the hue, as it is -- I chose it because it seemed to make sense for a stormy night. Did I take it too far?Anyway ... I couldn't not draw Isabela! She's a pirate (!), a well designed character (with a gypsy look to her, I love that,) and, a level of comic relief bested only by Varric, (and the two of them together in a party... Oh my.)
But honestly, I tried to institute some modesty. I really tried! Somehow, I still miscalculated then angle of Heartbreaker (or is it Backstabber?), so in the end ... Gah. I'm sure I'm the only one complaining about this, so I'll shut up now.
She is, of course, rushing out of an oddly empty Qunari compound at night. I'm not sure if this fits into any canon, but to be honest, I wasn't thinking about a background when I sketched her. Since her story in Kirkwall has so much to do with the Qunari, the compound seemed as good a setting as any!
Why is it, by the way, that it never seemed to rain in Dragon Age 2? I thought the atmosphere was so beautiful in the game, that my favorite weather pattern was sorely missed!
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Comments: 71
This is superb work, my friend. Beautiful work of a beautiful character.
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The rainfall is a great touch, combined with the fact that you drew Isabela's sexy physique perfectly makes this a plus too. This is a very easy fave, great job!
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I love her look, too. This pirate look plus the gypsy style made her an unique character
I like the reining scenario, and how the water splashes as she run
Great Work!
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I can't pass through this just like that. I've played the game time ago, but this character stayed in my memory for a long time. I can see dynamics - she's running; Lust - just look at her face; Sex : we can see what can be seen and it's enough; Danger - she's holding daggers ! I love the color transitions and splash effects you did under her boot. Awesome !
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She's an interesting character, for sure. 
You know... I had her on mind when I suggested you do a video game character week. Now that I know you're familiar with her, I'll definitely be mentioning her if that theme gets chosen soon!
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Looks very good!
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*fave'd* ... One advantage of not being familiar with very many games is that, when seeing art based on them, one has few to no preconceptions. So it's easier to appreciate what's being done with the artwork on its own terms, as to what it conveys.
You've made the story intriguing to me, whatever it is, just from what I can see here. She has a great deal on her mind, clearly, whether it happens to be revenge, escape from peril, or just determination on her chosen course. It comes through in how she confidently holds her knives, her facial focus, her proceeding with confidence into the damp, even in not letting the rain faze her. (We rarely see enough rain in all sorts of art.)
Her skin tones vary in a truly effective range, not going beyond what could be illuminated by a lightning storm, but remaining interesting. Her white tunic contrasts well with her plainly dark motivations, without being too overdone for the setting. I can readily believe she's a pirate, with this much of a conscious, self-possessed sense of style.
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I appreciate your thoughtful comments!
That's a really interesting point about fanart. I've honestly never thought about it that way. It is inevitable that fanart on dA is just more popular for what it is rather than how skillfully it is done, and so even while being a fan of some things, I always feel a little sad when I think perhaps a piece is only being appreciated because it's someone's favorite character. That's why it means a lot that you don't actually know Isabela, and yet you still enjoy this!
I'm also flattered by the way you've actually described bits of her personality though you've not played the game she is from. Were you to try it, you'd see that your assessments actually match her quite well. To me, that means I've successfully summarized her person in the image, and that seems to me to be a harder thing to accomplish than technical anatomy and dynamic skills.
Tones can be tricky. Isabela in particular has a really vibrant outfit in the game. One of my biggest annoyances with my own art early on was the way it always seemed so bright that it was almost tacky -- various parts of a character seemed like random objects clumped together rather than a unified body. The more I studied work I liked, the more I realized that everything had tints, color schemes, "atmosphere". That proves to be pretty easy to achieve with digital art, since if I get it wrong on the first rendering, I can tweak the image as a whole later on. I'm still hoping to learn to do some of the same things with acrylics!
As for the rain... I love rain. One of my biggest inspirations for making art, sometimes, is just to recreate atmospheres that I adore and let my characters (or someone's character, in this case,) experience them like I do!
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Thank you! She was a lot of fun, if not a lot of work. hehe
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Thank you! I hope that is really the case and I'm just not hitting a streak of freak-inspiration with my art, lol.
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Fantastic job! I'd write more but i'm stressing over how to instal and not wreck my new external harddrive.
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I wish you'd wait for Danny to wake up ...
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Wow! She looks beautifull! ) You did an amazing job on her!
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It woulda been cool to have Isabella carrying the tome of Couslun *or whatever it was in the game* in her arm. And the rain woulda mixed in with some tears, so you couldn't tell if she was crying for betraying Hawke and running off with the book... or if they really were streaks from the rain.
Sorry, got a little overboard there. Anyways! This is really, really awesome! Isabela looks stunning while running in the rain.
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I thought about that, seriously looked into it... But the thing was so big I had NO idea how to show her carrying it, and so I just went with this.
Your idea is actually, seriously epic, though. I think epic beyond my ability to portray (I initially sketched her with a smirk or a smile, don't think it transitioned well into the painting, lol) .. SOMEONE would have to draw that, for sure!
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Well you could always... shrink it, just a bit to make it fit under her arm 
And I dunno, you do epic pretty well. All I'm good at is drawing stick and bean stock people
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I'm not sure people would understand. Some days, it feels like people want to critique every little raindrop to be picture perfect, lol.
It could be... in her backpack! You know, the one Hawke carries 358246023967 items in and never looks different? Haha.
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Rofl, you know, I think I'd like to see that. A picture of Hawke, bent over, sweating profusely, straining... all while carrying a HUGE backpack with all of the equipment they say he/she is somehow able to carry. While the real physical result is much much more... entertaining to see.
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I know, right!
It's an age old video game joke, though. Anything with an inventory or acquired items. I see it parodied most in Zelda art, and I'm pretty sure there's a trope dedicated to it! XD
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This is really cool ... you've improved a -hell- of a lot since I last saw. Rock on~
Also, I love Isabella.
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You're a DA2 fan? LOVE! 
When I look back at my oldest art, I see hints of ability -- I think the big problem is that I never knew how to piece everything together, or I just didn't have the patience to follow through with it. (Like, I'd get one thing right... but then another awfully wrong.) Usually, I just have to be able to "feel" it...which sounds cheesy and kind of weird. But there are so many pictures I just "feel" and so many I don't. lol..
Enough of that. Thank you so much! I think we're both improving a lot!
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'course I am a DAII fan ... even if the dungeons could of used more work...
Nah, I know what you mean. Sometimes even though you know what's wrong with it, the next hardest part is how to correct it. I always have that trouble, along with other things *cough*Anatomy*cough* but sometimes you can't bring yourself to change it ... because it might ruin the part you've down -right-!
I think you're ahead of me in the game, though. Not that i mind--Just means I get something pretty to look at when I'm not trying
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What? When you walk through any city or town, you don't notice how each building is a duplicate of the next with the furniture rearranged a bit? XD
Yeah, I noticed the weird thing about the dungeons. (Get the Legacy DLC! It doesn't reuse the stuff from the old one 
And I know what you mean, completely! I can't even RETRACE my own drawing without hating the retrace. (Something about the original sketch is always more appealing to me...)
I don't really commit myself to a lot of things, but the things I commit myself to, and have a passion for, I think it would kill me if I wasn't improving as fast as I wanted to be. I can even be a bit sensitive/defensive about my art... But that's between you and me. XD (If I showed it, I'd be troll bait in no time
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Thanks and you too <:
(Next time I decide to play, I'll take a look at it. I love nothing more than modding the hell out of my games. Oblivion was like a test subject in that regard.)
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See, I played DA2 on Xbox so I couldn't mod, haha. So sad, too... I'd have loved to do some modding on that one!
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That's why I'm mostly a PC gamer. Mod ALL the games!
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I wish I could mod stuff on the PC, then play it on the console. That would be the life!
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Thank you! I think I'll keep the purple. It works for the atmosphere, even if it comes on strong at first.
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It's the colour that I would too associate with a storm ^^ I'm glad that you keep it.
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Were it daytime, I would have gone with green and golds, I think (another lovely tone, storms just seem to bring them all!)... But what would a thief be doing sporting about in the day? XD
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Exactly ^^ Although, I have to admit, that Izzy is cheeky enough to at least try it and steal something in bright daylight from the Qunari ;D
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THAT is true, haha.
My best idea of this, is that she is a) spying on the Qun to find out what they know about her, or b) looting the compound after they've been driven out, or shortly before the remnant has had a chance to pack up and leave.
But I really didn't draw it thinking of WHAT she was up to. Maybe it's best that way! XD
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Your ideas are good guesses! But you are absolutly right, the less you know the better, if it comes to Izzys plans ;D
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Now that is just fantastic Izy fan-art, kitten 
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Aw, thanks!
You are somehow not the first person to make a "Merrill" reference toward me! It's because I ramble, isn't it?
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You're welcome ^^
Actually, I think I used "Merrill" reference just for sake of using it (and I have a tendency to quote characters from fan-arts that I comment
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It's true! I ramble and speak out of enough naivety to make Merrill seem like a scholar by comparison!
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Beautiful! I love the purples and blues--really adds to the look of a stormy night.
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That's what I was going for! I'm glad it came across well. Thank you!
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