Eilistraee art

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Irennan
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Irennan »

[quote="Shae":6h5phapc]Wow. A really interesting angle of perspective, too.[/quote:6h5phapc]

This is--IMO--the best drawing of Eilistraee out there. It clicks very well with her character, waaaay better than the only official portrayal that we have of her (which doesn't quite fit her IMO).
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Shae »

I'm not sure that I personally would say the official art doesn't fit her. I don't think it's a straightforward comparison. I can agree that perspective and rare emphasis on the face/expression in this case does make this picture a compelling interpretation though.
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Irennan »

[quote="Shae":1c7mcb8n]I'm not sure that I personally would say the official art doesn't fit her. I don't think it's a straightforward comparison. I can agree that perspective and rare emphasis on the face/expression in this case does make this picture a compelling interpretation though.[/quote:1c7mcb8n]

I personally don't like the official art. It looks nothing like Eilistraee, IMHO. She looks quite haughty and distant in her 3e representation; even her symbol, or the 2e art--a stylized portrait of her--fits her better than her portrayal in F&P. She has elegance, but Eilistraee is far more than just elegance. She's sheer joy of existence, the beauty that can be found in life and that she's supposed to represent and bring to the drow. In the 3e art of her, I can see nothing of it. It seems cold, while she's warm and loving.

She also looks very frail in that drawing, and I personally don't like that, nor it does fit Eilistraee. She's gone through so much, she's been fighting an uphill battle, surrounded by evil, against overwhelming foes; she has suffered and fell a lot. Yet, not only she has always got back on her feet, but she also never stopped smiling to life and dreaming, her beauty still blooms untarnished despite everything. She's anything but frail.

Eilistraee has a very specific concept to deliver, you can't just draw a graceful drow dancer and slap her name on it. The expression, pose, etc... are very important for that.
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by galadhion »

There's also an undercurrent of melancholy to Eilistraee too. She was used and betrayed by her mother and cast out of the Seldarine by her father (even if it was her own choice). Her followers are hunted by Lolth and commonly feared on the surface. She's been hurt so much over the ages. It's like she stepped out of celtic myth and shares the melancholy of that folklore. That's why I always envision her dances as more a ballet and less a Zumba fitness class.
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Re: Eilistraee art

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[quote="galadhion":23qyve1i]There's also an undercurrent of melancholy to Eilistraee too. She was used and betrayed by her mother and cast out of the Seldarine by her father (even if it was her own choice). Her followers are hunted by Lolth and commonly feared on the surface. She's been hurt so much over the ages. It's like she stepped out of celtic myth and shares the melancholy of that folklore. That's why I always envision her dances as more a ballet and less a Zumba fitness class.[/quote:23qyve1i]

Yes, indeed !(and that's why I think that this drawing, even if just a simple sketch, clicks so much with her. You see joy, warmth, her free spirit, grace, beauty, but there's also a little bit of sadness in her expression).

However her awesomeness is that she never let that melancholy bring her down or have the better of her; that suffering made her stronger and more beautiful (in a wider sense). Eilistraee chose to abandon her life of luxury and comfort in Arvandor to love and to stand with her people, and she *paid* for that choice, she effin' bled for it. Even the very people whom she loves--the drow--wound her. She's surrounded by evil and many times all her efforts have been brutally crushed.

Ofc she is melancholic, and her soul carries deep wounds, but her scars are like lights. As I said, not only she has always got up on her feet, not only she has never given up on her ideas or on her people (when no one else would), but she has never become jaded, she has never stopped dreaming. Despite that suffering, she can always find the beauty and the light in everything, even in what was broken or where others only see despair or monsters (like in the drow), and gives all herself to make that beauty flourish in all she touches.

Her [i:23qyve1i]own[/i:23qyve1i] beauty is a symbol of all that is wonderful in life, of that free, sheer joy of existence that her people were denied but that they long for--and no matter how much the evil in the world tries to crush her, she still shines as bright as ever. She's like the moon and the stars in the nightsky: even though besieged by darkness, she still finds the strength to cast her light, to show and nurture the hidden beauty in everything, to set the colors of life alight so that everyone can see them and be filled with hope, turning the blackest of the nights into a magical moment. Even in her suffering, she always has the strength to love, a smile to gift, her light to bring to those who are trapped in the cold of their night, to make them dream once more.

So, IMO, her ideal expression is that of a goddess who has suffered a lot--a sweet, loving, and melancholic smile--but with that ever-shining spark of contagious joy, of pure enthusiasm, of passion that she embodies being present in her eyes, in her pose, etc... After all, if in her melancholy she's so strong on lifting people's heart and creating beauty, then it means that her pain only made her appreciate more the happiness that can come from the small things that many ignore, see a reason to hope and smile when others would surrender--or despair, or hate--and strive to spread this hope, make the world a more beautiful place for everyone. It's only fitting that, as the beauty of the drow was lost in the darkness, Eilistraee is the only one who can still find it and breathe life into it.
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Irennan »

A painting of Eilistraee that I commissioned a while ago. The lyre was supposed to be a harp (harp and flute are the Dark Maiden's favorite instruments), but it looks beautiful nonetheless, so I won't complain.

The res is high, so it won't let me post it here, but you can find the fullres pic here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4PE5n ... lVYnc/view

This is the resized version.
[img:2ylobgck]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/EdEOf ... 42-h967-rw[/img:2ylobgck]
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Re: Eilistraee art

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[quote="Irennan":2ow7w2or]A painting of Eilistraee that I commissioned a while ago. The lyre was supposed to be a harp (harp and flute are the Dark Maiden's favorite instruments), but it looks beautiful nonetheless, so I won't complain.

The res is high, so it won't let me post it here, but you can find the fullres pic here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4PE5n ... lVYnc/view

This is the resized version.
[img:2ow7w2or]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/EdEOf ... 42-h967-rw[/img:2ow7w2or][/quote:2ow7w2or]

Idk why, the image keeps disappearing.

High res: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4PE5n ... sp=sharing

resized: [img:2ow7w2or]http://i64.tinypic.com/2ppd17t.jpg[/img:2ow7w2or]
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Shir'le E. Illios »

That's absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing. :)

And honestly, a lyre is harp enough for me. ;)


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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Irennan »

It's my joy to share this painting of her.

Harp and lyre share similarities, but (in my eyes, at least) a lyre like the one in the painting gives a "Greek Muse" feeling to Eilistraee, while a wooden harp would have given a fey creature/Celtic feeling to her, which is close to her roots (since Ed drew from the British/Celtic myths when he created her).

Both are beautiful, tho, and--as a goddess of beauty, song, and dance; as patroness of arts--Eilistraee would be an amazing muse.
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Irennan »

The artist just sent me an updated version of this drawing with a few fixed details. She noticed that some stuff (like her left forearm) was off and fixed it.

High res: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B47oo6 ... sp=sharing

[img:1iv8qyfk]http://oi66.tinypic.com/2zyyiw3.jpg[/img:1iv8qyfk]
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Irennan »

Another drawing of Eilistraee that I enjoy. It's the first time I see her portrayed with a bow, and I like it. It would be cool if she gave up her vow and picked up archery again (alongside her sword dance, of course).

https://vandelia.deviantart.com/art/The ... -714568815
[img:3q8dnzce]https://orig00.deviantart.net/c0e2/f/20 ... btfotr.jpg[/img:3q8dnzce]
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Shir'le E. Illios »

Very beautiful. Thank you for sharing. :)

And oh that strategically placed hair. ;)


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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Irennan »

Ikr?

Even tho, in theory, that's not for modesty, but for style. Eilistraee's dancing hair should form a dress that cloaks her in a graceful and beautiful radiance. That's how she likes it :p
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Shae »

[quote="Irennan":12mwbwgo]A painting of Eilistraee that I commissioned a while ago. The lyre was supposed to be a harp (harp and flute are the Dark Maiden's favorite instruments), but it looks beautiful nonetheless, so I won't complain.[/quote:12mwbwgo]

Beautiful commission. Silver eyes. <3 Thank you for sharing. It's a really a lovely reference to Elaine Cunningham's initial description of her in "Evermeet," which is still one of my favorites. And the expression is genuinely affecting. Kudos to both you and the artist.

[quote="Irennan":12mwbwgo]I personally don't like the official art. It looks nothing like Eilistraee, IMHO. She looks quite haughty and distant in her 3e representation; even her symbol, or the 2e art--a stylized portrait of her--fits her better than her portrayal in F&P. She has elegance, but Eilistraee is far more than just elegance. She's sheer joy of existence, the beauty that can be found in life and that she's supposed to represent and bring to the drow. In the 3e art of her, I can see nothing of it. It seems cold, while she's warm and loving.

She also looks very frail in that drawing, and I personally don't like that, nor it does fit Eilistraee. She's gone through so much, she's been fighting an uphill battle, surrounded by evil, against overwhelming foes; she has suffered and fell a lot. Yet, not only she has always got back on her feet, but she also never stopped smiling to life and dreaming, her beauty still blooms untarnished despite everything. She's anything but frail.

Eilistraee has a very specific concept to deliver, you can't just draw a graceful drow dancer and slap her name on it. The expression, pose, etc... are very important for that.[/quote:12mwbwgo]

I do like your commission more, but I also think a lot of art is open to interpretation, so also tend to run wary of judging the official art overmuch; a lot may depend as much on views regarding context and background as on skill and sentiment. The 3E art seems to me to be a relatively straightforward attempt to portray the mention of Eilistraee's avatar often appearing from a distance, singing, in "Demihuman Deities." Maybe it's not exactly compelling or as intimate a portrayal of that as one might believe it should be, but I don't know that we can really expect most official art to necessarily be drawn from the perspective of a character fan.

[quote="Irennan":12mwbwgo] https://vandelia.deviantart.com/art/The ... -714568815 [/quote:12mwbwgo]

I really like the shading on this one.

It seemed like from what Greenwood said that her primary use of the sword is for dancing with, with defense/protection being a secondary consideration, so I wonder if she would also dance with the bow if she took it up again.
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Re: Eilistraee art

Post by Irennan »

[quote="Shae":230g95sw][quote="Irennan":230g95sw]A painting of Eilistraee that I commissioned a while ago. The lyre was supposed to be a harp (harp and flute are the Dark Maiden's favorite instruments), but it looks beautiful nonetheless, so I won't complain.[/quote:230g95sw]

Beautiful commission. Silver eyes. <3 Thank you for sharing. It's a really a lovely reference to Elaine Cunningham's initial description of her in "Evermeet," which is still one of my favorites. And the expression is genuinely affecting. Kudos to both you and the artist. [/quote:230g95sw]

Thank you. Yes, Elaine's description is pretty much how I always picture Eilistraee. One of the things that made me happy about this drawing (well, aside from the drawing itself, ofc) is that the artist really took a liking to Eilistraee, and she put a lot of care into this painting. Honestly, it was quite hard to describe how Eilistraee is and the feeling of her character/personality in a way that could be inspiring but concise (and finding references to match that), but at least it paid off.

[quote:230g95sw]

I do like your commission more, but I also think a lot of art is open to interpretation, so also tend to run wary of judging the official art overmuch; a lot may depend as much on views regarding context and background as on skill and sentiment. The 3E art seems to me to be a relatively straightforward attempt to portray the mention of Eilistraee's avatar often appearing from a distance, singing, in "Demihuman Deities." Maybe it's not exactly compelling or as intimate a portrayal of that as one might believe it should be, but I don't know that we can really expect most official art to necessarily be drawn from the perspective of a character fan. [/quote:230g95sw]

As I said, 2 things bother me about that piece. The first is how frail she looks, when she's exactly the opposite of it. She had (and has) to take so much crap and pain, yet not only she never gave up on her quest, but she never stopped finding and healing the beauty in the broken, nor she ever stopped seeing a light where no one else could, and making it shine for all those who cannot find it. Besides, it takes a lot of strength to still be able to love and find the beauty in a people like the drow, especially when the drow themselves hurt her, but Eilistraee can, and can make them blossom once again. I know that physical appearance has nothing to do with personality, but when you draw a creature that basically is the embodiment of what she represents, that should be taken in account.

The other thing that bothers me, is that she looks detached. She looks cold, haughty, distant. Even when she appears from afar, she's far from being like that. In fact, the emotions that she feels and evokes are so powerful that they can move people to tears.

[quote:230g95sw][quote="Irennan":230g95sw] https://vandelia.deviantart.com/art/The ... -714568815 [/quote:230g95sw]

I really like the shading on this one.

It seemed like from what Greenwood said that her primary use of the sword is for dancing with, with defense/protection being a secondary consideration, so I wonder if she would also dance with the bow if she took it up again.[/quote:230g95sw]

A sword lends itself to dance much better than a bow does. However, it's Eilistraee we're talking about here: she would likely dance with anything and make it look beautiful.
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