Skeptical_troll's abominations

[ForestDragon]

hmmm... a tiny bit of the 'cloaked figure' effect still persists, i think you should make a smoother transtition from the illuminated part to the cave entrance outline

[The_Gnat]

This is really good story art! I look forward to seeing it in use what campaign will it be in?

P.S. not really of any significance but I think the rune rock would look cooler with a bit sharper back side (rather than the curve it has now) doesn't really matter though great work!

[skeptical_troll]

what campaign will it be in?

in 'Return of the Abyss', which I'm currently working on (1st part of three is published, second coming soon). For the moment I'll use this as the campaign image as Khalifate units don't have portraits, however I did it thinking of a specific scenario.

I think the rune rock would look cooler with a bit sharper back side

I can try it out. Those runes could be some kind of milestone or directions, but I'm still unsure whether it's more appropriate for them to be painted on top of a natural rock or a human (dwarvish)-cut one.

[The_Gnat]

Cool, this return of the abyss campaign sounds good, I'll give a try when I have some more free time, and after I finish hunters of the east also great drawing I look forward to seeing more of your pictures

[Addan-Shem]

My first ever attempt on story art. Show no mercy!

I really like the composition of this piece. Did a quick paintover to show places I think could be improved on.

To summarize:

• As there is minimal lighting (no ambient light present), the contrast would be high - very dark shadows and very bright lights. Although I might have actually somewhat overdone it. The area under the platform should be completely dark if there's no other light source.
• The sconces placed like this would be unable to illuminate inside the cave opening, so perhaps it might look better with more defined, sharper edges. The sconces themselves would cast shadows, perhaps even longer ones than I pictured. Also tried to show how to make the illuminated floor more textured and convey its direction without much effort.
• Don't know if you intended the runes to be glowing, but, as there's no other light there and they are supposed to be milestones, glowing ones might be appropriate.
• I guess the pond is supposed to be perfectly still, but without any waves I didn't instantly register it as water. Tried to offer an alternative signal.
• You could also place some very dimly lit stalactites in the empty top-left corner if the cavern's size allows it.

Any number of these suggestions might be controversial as I'm somewhat a beginner myself. I hope at least some will help.

EDIT: Oh, and AFAIK in the game the lower part of the screen is covered with the text box, which might also cover the runestone and the pond. Didn't test it, but adding some space below might be a good idea.