At one point I was invited to be part of a charity anthology that for better or worse ended up dissolving. Anthologies are unfortunately notorious for falling apart before they begin. It's a dedicated process to coordinate so many different creative teams to meet deadlines etc., coupled with the fact that most anthologies are in the red financially, so publishers tend to shy away from them unless they're really stellar.

At any rate, these characters were part of my original story idea for that anthology. They were much younger, as the anthology was aimed at children, but the ideas were the same. They sort of morphed into their older counterparts in my mind, and this illustration was the result.

This illustration is also a bit of a personal pat on the back, because it was very challenging for me, and sat sadly taped to my drafting table for far too long. The colors also fought me most of the way, and while I still don't think I successfully captured everything I pictured, as a whole I think it's a solid piece. These characters have since found a place in a larger universe of stories, so hopefully you'll be seeing them again soon.

Labels: character design, ink, Photoshop, Tree Spirit