.
This is the path to Eden
This is the heaven's stair
Beyond the fleeting veil of glory:
This is the gate of slaughter
_
.
She is Ahsdri'ehl, ruler of the Ahn; a mythological figurehead of greed and corruption. It is told that she stands on a ruined staircase beyond the wastelands, enticing men to cross into the storm beyond. She promises wealth, power, glory—but all who follow her find nothing but their own doom.
.
I did this concept last year with acrylics, but it looked more like a Snow White takeoff and was really static and boring. So I gave it another try. I’m much, much happier with this version. It was such a challenge to paint…I wanted everything to look very chaotic without being senseless, and the figure was to be still, like the eye of a storm… it took a lot of thought to work it. The sky is the most complicated sky I’ve ever painted, and it took me ages to figure out how to get the water to look right.
Critiques are welcome!
.
Photoshop 7.0. Thanks for looking. :]
(And here's the first version, if you want a good laugh: http://navate.com/images/ahsdriehl_old.jpg )