jenny tan

I haven’t been posting much of my professional work on Tumblr, so I wanted to start with one of my favourite pieces from last year. I had the fortunate opportunity to work on a wonderful project called #Daggerheart by Darrington Press, and I can’t wait for its release! This is the piece I did for Beastbound Ranger. AD: Leesha Hannigan

Lucanis x Rook - Admiring the view

Celebrating another trope, and in case it’s not clear in the preview - yes, he’s looking at her <3. This one's inspired by a Henry Raleigh piece. Other ballroom explorations: Part 1 / 2 / 3 /Bridgerton /4 (missing)/ 5

Lucanis x Rook - "A Chance encounter"

It's not a Ballroom scene without a staircase moment. Give me a good staircase yearning moment anyday...so much so I might have 2 more planned. other DATV Masquerade ball narrative sketch explorations: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 /Part - Bridgerton /Part 4 dance (???)

An older Illustration done for Daggerheart! I can't wait for it's release in May 20, the amount of talent from the team is just incredible and I can't praise them enough. Also including the one time they name dropped me <3 bahaha (it made my year ._.)

Lucanis x Rook - Bridgerton Inspired.

Any Bridgerton fans? I saw their new release stills the other day and couldn’t help but incorporate them into my color sketch explorations.

Also, I’ve been playing with the names "A Crow’s Ball" or "A Treviso Ball" for this series. Which do you prefer? I’m open to suggestions!

Some more Veilguard masquerade ball explorations: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Beauregard.

Another older piece I don't think I uploaded here. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic after that finale! I remember not being too happy with this piece (even now), but I decided to upload it on socials anyway. Imagine my surprise when this, along with another piece, caught the Art Director’s attention enough for them to give me a chance on Daggerheart. As a long-time Critter, it felt like an absolute dream come true. Had I listened to my self-doubt, I’m not sure I would have gotten the same opportunity. Really makes you think about the opportunity cost of perfectionism.

To new adventures ahead~

Lucanis offers Rook his hand.

Part 3 of some DATV ballroom colour sketch explorations.

I said Part 3 would be about dancing, but I lied. Instead, it's dedicated to another ballroom dancing trope I love—the "almost touch". I didn't want to rush into the moment. What's the saying? Only fools do that?

Part 2 here Part 1 here

Rook catches Lucanis's attention from across the room.

Part 2 (or should it be part 1?) of some DATV ballroom colour sketch explorations. I'm a sucker for moments like these. I also loosely incorporated some of the costume designs from the concept art. Planning to explore dancing scenes for part 3. Part 1 here Part 3 here

Calloway . An older piece that I don't think I uploaded here.

Lucanis asking Rook for a dance.

Part 1 of some DATV ballroom colour sketch explorations, something that I would have loved to have seen in Veilguard. Part 2 here

Lucanis and rook watching a sunset in Treviso. I wanted to capture something softer, reflecting the quieter romance while still acknowledging the bit of mutual pining present in a Rookanis relationship.

Lucanis.

Someone asked me how I went about making the bg in my last piece, I thought I'd upload it here in case it would be useful for anyone else. To start, I focused on getting the silhouettes and capturing the location’s design elements. In this case, it’s Treviso from Dragon Age: Veilguard. Once I had the basic shapes, I essentially repeated many of the silhouettes and design elements. Sometimes I would transform, squash, or stretch them to make them look a bit more varied without seeming too cut-and-paste.

Since the city is far in the background, I kept it to just 2–3 values with minimal detailing—just enough to hint at form. Since it was a personal fanart piece, I felt that was sufficient enough, but would probably go into more forms if it was a client piece. One helpful tip is to use Blender for building reference models if you have the program. If not, in-game screenshots work really well too! I actually included some screenshots I took as reference here. lol

I was also asked how to get more into backgrounds, I’d recommend taking things one step at a time. You don’t need to dive straight into a full-blown background piece on your first go. Start small: maybe add a tree, a bit of a wall, horizon line or even ask yourself questions like, Would this character be walking in the woods? Would it be sunset? Or nighttime? Then branch out from there.

On the more passive side, follow some amazing background artists who inspire you to love backgrounds as much as figures. Nathan Fowkes is one of my favorites. The more joy you find in it, the more likely it’ll become a habit.

If you want to actively pursue backgrounds, then the usual foundational/thumbnail studies (perspective, layout, composition, etc.) are super helpful. Background and composition studies can also go a long way—but I’ve already rambled enough.

Warning Spoilers: If Emmrich becomes a Lich, this is Spite's response to what happens to Manfred. And given the response, imagine how he’d react to losing Rook in the Fade...would Lucanis be as level headed? Not that I think about it ...on repeat or anything…

This is the img version of this video post, but I think it's worth a listen to the voice acting!

Warning Spoilers: If Emmrich becomes a Lich, this is Spite's response to what happens to Manfred. And given the response, imagine how he’d react to losing Rook in the Fade...would Lucanis be as level headed? Not that I think about it ...on repeat or anything…

Lucanis.

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