A little gift and practice sculpt of my friend’s character, Valynxia Drakemend.

3D Art — February 18, 2020

Now he’s snarly and fluffy. Tried a more realistic style for this one, much closer to the original game texture. Hope you like it! First time I’ve used the new automatic UV unwrapping in Substance Painter: I just dropped my unedited sculpt into the app and it worked flawlessly - very cool. Also used my first Substance Designer material here to make a simple fur brush.

3D Art — February 17, 2020

A snarly face! Practice sculpt of my revenant, Ark Snowblind. I’ve always had difficulty getting his face right with his previous model, but I feel like this is finally getting closer.

3D Art — February 16, 2020

You may think Valentine’s Day is bad, but it’s nothing compared to an elder dragon’s poetry.

3D Art — February 12, 2020

Huh. I didn’t have a plan for this scene other than wanting to experiment with isometric perspective. It began as an outdoor scene in Grothmar Valley, then turned into an indoor scene in Blood Keep - I even made the triple bunk beds, but the room felt too cluttered. Eventually I arrived at this surreal floaty space thing. Don’t ask me what it means, but I kinda like it. Hope you do too.

3D Art — February 11, 2020

As requested in a recent Patreon poll, here’s an ice sculpt of a real feline, a jaguar - with a fancy red ribbon for a bit of contrast. I used multiple references for this one, but it still feels like something about the jaw is slightly off. Hmm.

3D Art — February 10, 2020

… for a fierce charr lady and respected Ash Legion tribune: Happy birthday Hadjarah Brokenfang, aka charrior-of-ash on Tumblr! This cake comes with sharp dagger you can use to cut a slice… or stab anyone who tries to steal it. 😼

3D Art — February 6, 2020

Happy birthday to my paw-some friend Loki! Don’t worry, these cookies come in charr-sized boxes. 💕

3D Art — February 6, 2020

My first fully sculpted charr bust, of my ex-Olmakhan Blood Legion druid Jaom. There’s a lot more detail I could have worked on, but I’d rather finish this and get some more basic sculpting practice first. Just to be clear, the ice texture here is not sculpted - it’s a shader I’ve made for my practice sculpts, so they don’t look quite so boring even if they’re still a little low on detail. (Fake it till you make it, cough cough.)

3D Art — February 3, 2020

“Ugh, why is it always portals? Can’t we just use a door?” Kianga doesn’t trust mesmer portals, and he’s still not convinced that magical birds are any more trustworthy. (I hope Raven won’t judge me too harshly for that quick sculpting attempt there…)

3D Art — February 1, 2020

Motivational warrior is here to save another Monday! Say what you want about the whole Jormag thing, the Shiverpeaks are great for staying in shape: Take a quick jog through the mountains, watch an amazing sunrise, and be back just in time for breakfast. Fun fact: Charr anatomy was not made for push-ups. Not that they lack the strength, but their neck is so long that they’d constantly boop the ground with their nose. That’s why Kianga is doing this casual one-handed push-up here. And because he can, of course.

3D Art — January 27, 2020

baomooshka asked via Tumblr: “What is storms favorite element? What is his favorite mix of elements? Does he have any favorite practices to hone his elemental powers?” Storm: “I’m a weaver, and that means I can’t play favorites with the elements—I have to keep them all in balance to be effective. Requires lots of practice and meditation. At least that’s the theory. But you know what? Efficiency isn’t everything. There’s a reason why both FIRE and FUN start with an F.”

3D Art — January 24, 2020

Kianga just learned the hard way that you don’t start a water fight with an elementalist. They cheat. I just opened Blender and started playing with the fluid simulation features, and it somehow turned into this silly scene. No serious backstory behind it, just two charr having fun. Well, one of them more than the other…

3D Art — January 23, 2020

In the Blood Legion, every day is leg day. Last week a guildmate mentioned something about not skipping leg day, so uh, here’s another motivational warrior for your Monday.

3D Art — January 20, 2020

Is this delicious raspberry chocolate cream cake real or just an illusion? Only one way to find out! A happy birthday to my most wonderful partner and crafty mesmer cat, Keeya! 💜

3D Art — January 15, 2020

“Pull yourself up soldier, no one’s going to do it for you!” Have a motivational warrior to start your week.

3D Art — January 13, 2020

“When Kralkatorrik murdered Soul Warband, he made the mistake of leaving one survivor. General Soulkeeper did not rest until the dragon was dead and her warband was avenged. “Whoever did this made an even greater mistake: The Pact was Almorra’s new warband. We are still alive, and we are coming for you.”

3D Art — January 6, 2020

It’s amazing what you can find in the Mists… better eat that cake before it floats away! A wonderful and happy birthday to my revenant friend Fenrar aka EvilPol! I wish you all the best for the new year! 💚

3D Art — January 2, 2020

Never thought I’d agree with that dragon… Happy birthday to my shiniest crystal friend, Sam! https://twitter.com/MissValynxia/status/1208964361382957057

3D Art — December 23, 2019

Ahh, that sound… one of the most satisfying warrior skills.

3D Art — December 11, 2019

“An axe cuts through a forest not because of its size, but its endurance.” Matshona Dhliwayo

3D Art — November 27, 2019

You’re gonna have to try harder than that, Jormag…

3D Art — November 21, 2019

Even more than the financial help, knowing that someone cares enough about my art to support me on this journey… it’s amazing. Thank you all for your generosity and kindness. 💗

3D Art — November 19, 2019

Kianga: “Storm, we need some fire.” Storm: “How much? Want an inferno, or maybe a cozy wildf—” Kianga: “It has to be green.” Storm: “… what?” Kianga: “It’s for Fenrar. It’s his favorite color.” Storm: “My fire isn’t green. I’d look like a necromancer!” Skarr: “Oi, what’s wrong with necromancers?” Storm: sigh… Just a little thank you for a guildmate because he’s awesome.

3D Art — November 13, 2019

A quick thank you scene in response to my shiny crystal friend Sam, who surprised me with this cute doodle of Kianga today: https://twitter.com/MissValynxia/status/1194169697761136642

3D Art — November 12, 2019

An anonymous person on Tumblr asked: “What are some of your character’s bad habits/negative attributes?” We all have our weird habits. Storm likes to set things on fire. Like himself. Apparently this is fun. For an elementalist.

3D Art — November 11, 2019

“For a long time I was angry with her warband for not having her back when she was killed in that pointless bar fight, but in recent months I’ve come to realize that life is too short to waste our time with old grudges. It’s not helping her, it’s not helping them or me - time to move on. “Remember the past, but look to the future.” And this concludes this year’s Charrtober! I hope you’ve enjoyed this month as much as I did - thank you for all your support and encouragement! <3

3D Art, Writing — October 31, 2019

“The Blood Legion is my mother. The Blood Legion is my father.” The Blood Legion is also his blanket.

3D Art — October 30, 2019

Here’s an unexpected side project I got: Our guild leader Minarr is doing a charity stream for ArenaNet’s Extra Life event and asked me if it was possible to use one of my charr models together with FaceRig. Basically it uses a webcam to translate your head movements to a 3D model, so you can appear on stream as a charr! Setting this up was… interesting. I had to take some shortcuts and couldn’t transfer all of the textures, but we got it done just in time.

3D Art — October 30, 2019

A shout-out to my awesome charr buddies at Charr Against Humanity! <3

3D Art — October 29, 2019

Shouldn’t have tried that bloodstone-infused chocolate cake recipe…

3D Art — October 28, 2019

“Seriously, who makes all these arrows?”

3D Art — October 27, 2019

Memories of ancient battles floating in the void. Who were they fighting? What were they defending? Only the Mists know.

3D Art — October 26, 2019

“You damn coward! If you don’t have the guts to stand up to your centurion, at least stand up to your own warband.”

3D Art, Writing — October 25, 2019

Another quick scene for a nice person on Tumblr (there sure are a lot of them!) https://kianga-snowstorm.tumblr.com/post/188589074483/this-is-a-top-charr-blog-toppers-have-a-thank

3D Art — October 25, 2019

“Our orders were to destroy a Flame Legion camp near the Black Citadel. We were quick and efficient, it was over in a matter of seconds. “Only they weren’t soldiers. They were defectors. Centurion Duskmane had told me this quite plainly—and then gave the order to leave no survivors.

3D Art, Writing — October 24, 2019

“As legionnaire I’m not just commanding soldiers, I’m taking care of the closest thing I have to a family. They trust me, and I must not let them down.” “But in our first year as a warband, I did.”

3D Art, Writing — October 23, 2019

A quick render I made for a nice person on Tumblr: https://kianga-snowstorm.tumblr.com/post/188524935893/gosh-your-charrtober-is-the-best-thing-on-this

3D Art — October 23, 2019

Kianga is not impressed. Except by the chair. He really likes that one.

3D Art — October 22, 2019

Yeah Metal Legion is awesome, but have you ever heard a full Blood Legion company march in formation? THAT is music.

3D Art — October 21, 2019

Kianga has his own way of escaping labyrinths.

3D Art — October 20, 2019

Naughty little fly Why does it cry? Caught in a web, Soon will be… eaten

3D Art — October 19, 2019

Sometimes you just gotta sit and think.

3D Art — October 18, 2019

Kianga practicing his Khan-Ur impression. Gotta be prepared, right? I based this on the Gaze of the Khan-Ur skin from the game, with a bit of artistic license and a lot of shiny.

3D Art — October 17, 2019

Master Carver!

3D Art — October 16, 2019

“Let me oooooout!”

3D Art — October 15, 2019

“I don’t mind ghosts as long as they’re the angry type that wants to kill you. I can handle that. But these floaty wispy things? Ugh.”

3D Art — October 14, 2019

“You made a poster for us? Thanks boss, that’s very… interesting. You think maybe we should uhh, you know, get a second opinion on that?”

3D Art — October 13, 2019

I mean yes, they’re SNOW Warband, but I’m not sure what Ark is trying to prove here…

3D Art — October 12, 2019

“In the Blood Legion, victory is earned - not given.”

3D Art — October 11, 2019

“Yeah it’s tempting, but I’m not touching this stuff. If the whiskey doesn’t kill you, the Imperator definitely will.”

3D Art — October 10, 2019

What is a warband: A military unit? Friends? Family? It’s complicated.

3D Art — October 9, 2019

Despite having attended every single Metal Legion concert, the warband still hasn’t agreed on which song is the best. Ark’s crazy about “Bound by Blood” (best legion!), Skarr loves “Fear the Metal Legion” (great lyrics!), but Kianga prefers the “Ballad of Soulkeeper” (because the only thing better than a great song is a great song where you also get to smash things to pieces).

3D Art — October 8, 2019

Raptors are red Skimmers are blue But what I really want Is a Dune Roller - and you? I’m afraid the car looks more cute than dangerous - I wish I could have had a bit more time to work on this, but that’s just how it is with daily scenes. Hope you like it anyway!

3D Art — October 7, 2019

A Deldrimor Steel Ingot, based on the icon[1] from the game. “Friendly reminder: While “ascended” sounds very lofty, these ingots are forged from fifty iron, steel, and darksteel ingots and do in fact descend very rapidly if you drop them by accident. On your paw, for example. Not that this would happen to me.” hobbles away

3D Art — October 6, 2019

“You’re next.” Okaaay, I have never in my life sculpted a dragon, and the only reference being that short moment from the trailer didn’t make that task easier - it was fun though! I hope Jormag is at least somewhat recognizable.

3D Art — October 5, 2019

“It’s a common misconception that magic users are weak and frail. If your body is not in balance, how can you hope to balance the energy of the elements?” But really, Storm, you don’t need to make such a show of it…

3D Art — October 4, 2019

“You think warriors don’t use magic? When you’ve got a blade stuck in your chest or deadly poison gas in your lungs, all your muscles and determination are not going to save you.” That was a lesson I received from our primus during our first warrior training. As a cub I never wanted to deal with magic—didn’t trust it. I’ve always preferred simple, tangible things, but it turns out that even warriors tap into energy that is… beyond. We’re just more subtle about it. My interpretation of the warrior’s healing skill, “To the Limit!”. Perhaps this turned out a little ghostly, but oh well. I had a lot of fun with the lighting here!

3D Art, Writing — October 3, 2019

… of the Ooze Pit “Alright, it’s not the most prestigious title, but the warband’s having a blast there. Someone’s got to show the gladia how it’s done, right? “Just remember: First the ooze pit, then the booze pit. We messed up that order once and… let’s just say, trying to open negotiations with a blob of ooze was not a viable strategy.”

3D Art — October 2, 2019

“Legionnaire.” Kianga’s hand twitched to his dagger, almost spilling his mug of ale. The atmosphere in Blood Keep had been getting more tense every day, but what’s worse: he knew that voice. He turned around towards a massive hulk of a charr. Blood Legion armor, no helm, gray fur, with a deep scar running across her nose and forehead. Her eyes were clear and fierce. “Foeraze.” She raised her right paw—empty—in a gesture of peace. “I’m not here to start trouble.”

3D Art, Writing — October 1, 2019

Garro is back, just in time for a visit to the Blood Lagoon! Which also happens to be Kianga’s favorite spot in Grothmar Valley. And they’re such posers… Ahh, this took me a while but it was worth it. I made lots of changes and refinements to Garro’s model, texture, and rig - big thank you to Tabra for his support and his excellent feedback during the process. The original version of this scene featured Garro alone, but then Tabra suggested that Kianga should have a cameo, and this happened. Not sure who steals the show here - it’s a fierce competition.

3D Art — September 23, 2019

Legion United BOUND BY BLOOD I was riding around Grothmar Valley and noticed these super cheesy propaganda posters, and I love them.

3D Art — September 22, 2019

Bao asked via Tumblr: “Kianga - Do they have many fond childhood memories?” Kianga: “When we were a little older, our primus took us to the Loreclaw Expanse, old human ruins south of Ascalon Basin. That was back when the area wasn’t crawling with separatists. He warned us about the traps in those ruins but let us explore freely, so we went looking for ghosts, and treasure! “And it was awesome. In less than an hour, Skarr got his tail fur singed by a flame trap, Ark fell of a cliff, Chui got bitten by a skelk, and I managed to step on a spike trap that went right through my paw. Only Storm missed out on all the fun and was very smug about it.

3D Art, Writing — September 7, 2019

WyvrnDWRipsnarl asked me via Twitter: “How does Kianga looks without/before his eyepatch?” I’ve done a few scenes during Charrtober 2018 that showed him before he got an eye patch, but here is a quick scene with his current model. It doesn’t have an actual scar for his left eye - yet. I’m tempted to do that next time I update his model. I imagine it would look similar to General Martok, in the later seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

3D Art — September 7, 2019

Do not get between a charr and his burger. I think I want to do more food scenes - I never thought sculpting burger sauce could be so much fun.

3D Art — August 28, 2019

A challenge he never imagined. A primus he never expected. Uh, please excuse the cheesy tagline. This is based on a prompt “Chui as a movie star”, provided by my friend and patron Sidewinder30k. Chui is a martial arts expert, and while I haven’t seen the 2010 remake of the film (I hear the reviews were… mixed), I do like the original poster design. Besides, everything’s better with charr, right?

3D Art — August 27, 2019

“My friend Thel has been giving me lots of useful business advice, and I thought I’d return the favor by giving him some combat lessons - you know, for advanced business negotiations.” “As a warrior I’ve fought with all kinds of weapons: greatswords, maces, axes, daggers, but I must admit, that dagger/coffee combo was new to me. Good thing that mug is made of solid steel.”

3D Art — August 19, 2019

“Are you sure this is a staff…?” Ark isn’t quite convinced. A staff is more of a support weapon for a revenant, and this thing doesn’t look very supportive to him. (Psst, that’s because it’s not meant for you, Ark.) The model is based on the Reclaimed Staff skin, with a few elements of my own design. The Reclaimed Weapons are another favorite weapon set of mine: Kianga also has a Reclaimed Shield, for the rare occasions when he needs one. (Though usually he’d say that offense is the best defense.)

3D Art — August 15, 2019

“We’ve dealt with Flame Legion, we’ve dealt with Inquest, we’ve dealt with Elder Dragons the size of an island. They didn’t scare me. But ever since we returned from Dragonfall, there have been strange incidents: Reports get lost. Weapons misplaced, and later found where they shouldn’t have been. Strange noises late at night. We’re being followed, and whoever it is wants to be noticed.” A quick little scene to give you a sneak peek at a new weapon I’ve been working on. It’s not completely done yet, but maybe you can guess what it is.

3D Art — August 13, 2019

The warband’s been enjoying their summer holidays, but things are about to get a little heated… This scene went through so many iterations. Originally I planned to have it resemble the Labyrinthine Cliffs, but I wasn’t happy with the color scheme and the mood it set - so in the end I decided to go with a more neutral tropical beach look. Kianga’s awesome Blood Legion beach chair in this scene was generously contributed by my partner Keeya. <3

3D Art — August 9, 2019

“The Blood Legion is my mother. The Blood Legion is my father. We charr are born into battle, we live on the fields of war. And I… I will die fighting.” Rawr! I’ve always loved the rough painterly style of the original Guild Wars 2 cinematics, and this piece was of course inspired by the Blood Legion intro that plays right after character creation. I started with a normal 3D render of Kianga in his battle armor, but then discarded everything but the outline and composited the rest in Affinity Designer. Had a lot of fun with this!

3D Art — August 3, 2019

The warband got new swimwear, just in time for their summer vacation! I may have taken a little inspiration from Zootopia here… It’s difficult to see in the render, but the material is actually red metallic. Yes, yes, good old Blood Legion subtlety.

3D Art — August 1, 2019

What do you do when the weather is too hot and you’re all covered in fur? You take it like a charr… and find a box to nap on. Side story: Had a talk with a friend a while ago, and they told me that I wasn’t making progress with my art, that I should try some new things. They were right in some way, but this little comment made me feel so bad about my work that I could no longer get anything done. It all wasn’t good enough.

3D Art — July 25, 2019

Sometimes it’s just… meh.

3D Art — July 24, 2019

‘Scuse me, just vent art. I’ve had no working internet connection since last Friday, and getting this fixed has been nothing but delays after delays after delays. And every day I’ve got the choice between no internet or paying for mobile data which is apparently powered by angel’s tears or something, considering the price. Just grrr.

3D Art — July 10, 2019

I posted one of these art memes on Tumblr and Haruka Emberfall asked: “Draw your OC as a deity, in godlike clothing”. Of course that had to be Storm! I’m always super reluctant to use cloth simulation in Blender because it seems so unpredictable and I usually spend hours tweaking it - but this isn’t too bad, I guess?

3D Art — July 4, 2019

Kianga: “Thunderhead Keep. The assault on Kralkatorrik wasn’t our greatest moment. Not for the Pact, and not for us as warband supporting it. Mistakes were made—unnecessary mistakes—and things were said… it might not have made a difference in the end, but still. Best not to dwell on it.” Another request by Haruka Emberfall on Tumblr: “Draw your OC the maddest they’ve ever been.” This is a rather simple scene really, not much to do besides posing and lighting, but I quite like how it turned out.

3D Art — July 4, 2019

“I’m supposed to do WHAT with the tea…?” I have no idea what Boba Tea is, but I’ve seen art on Twitter and I just had to do this with (or rather, to) Kianga. (I also really enjoy doing these stylized renders!)

3D Art — July 2, 2019

Don’t even try sneaking up on him, with or without that blindfold. I’ve always loved the design of the Mistward Headwrap - it just needed more metal parts (and the Snow Warband logo), so this is my own take on it. The logo glows in the dark, of course.

3D Art — July 2, 2019

Here’s Loki all dressed up and ready for Pride Month! Is he proud of his fabulous jacket, his fancy sunglasses, or maybe his cute paws? Probably all of them!

3D Art — June 26, 2019

After Kianga and Storm, here’s the updated model of my revenant Ark Snowblind. He lost the blue tint (I was never quite happy with that) and got a much more detailed mane (I was definitely not happy with the old one). And if you ask him nicely, he’ll flex too.

3D Art — June 19, 2019

Ahh, fiery rain falling from the sky. A soft breeze of smoke, the gentle crackling of burning wood all around you… is there a better place to relax? Not for Storm, apparently.

3D Art — June 15, 2019

This cake is made with dark chocolate and the finest Elonian coffee beans and– I know that you’re already looking at that coffee mug instead. I thought I’d get you a new one, something worthy of a charr. It’s huge, made of solid Iron Legion steel, and like anything made by charr you can probably use it as a weapon somehow. Happy birthday, Sidewinder30k! <3

3D Art — June 13, 2019

Some things are too much even for the bravest warrior. A very personal piece…

3D Art — June 7, 2019

… with a new model! He’s pretty and he knows it. I may have gone a little overboard with those stripes, but of all my warband members Storm is probably the most extroverted and eccentric, and I’ve tried to do him justice.

3D Art — June 6, 2019

You can’t fight a war without proper supply chains. So during my last visit to Amnoon, I managed to secure a few contracts with my friend Thel (pictured here). You know, medical supplies, weapons, ammunition, um… sugar… vanilla… cocoa beans… Don’t look at me like that! Chocolate cakes are essential for troop morale. The trick is getting that first cake to my centurion before she sees the invoice. A little thank you for my patron Sidewinder30k, for his continued support and for the awesome art he got for me last month. <3

3D Art — June 3, 2019

Would you care to join this handsome gentlecharr for a game of Sandstorm? (You’ll probably leave with significantly less coin, but you’ll have a great time anyway!) Loki needed a more presentable outfit than his old loincloth, so we came up with this fancy suit for him. As you can see, charr can look amazing even when not covered in spikes. (Although I was tempted for a moment to add some, just because.)

3D Art — May 30, 2019

Just a silly reaction I posted on Twitter. I realized I had never actually used my new tongue rig and eye shader with adjustable pupils in any public art, so…

3D Art — May 29, 2019

After this encounter, scars will be the least of your problems… Patreon reward for Tabra of their fierce charr lady Kazra Scarmaker. This is my first female charr model, and I’m very proud of her! So many new things I’ve done here - including a stylized fluffy tail, smooth shading for the darker parts of the fur, carved horns, and more realistic looking cloth. I hope you like her, and thank you Tabra for your continued support! <3

3D Art — May 28, 2019

My first attempt at recreating the Brand from Guild Wars 2.

3D Art — May 14, 2019

And here is Kianga’s new casual outfit! I love having metal elements on clothing, both for charr cultural reasons and because they take on colors of the environment and make the character feel more… real, if that makes sense? Anyway, I’ve tried to make this version look more reinforced, with extra layers of leather attached with steel buttons. I also got rid of the massive Blood Legion logo on the back, and replaced it with a hopefully more elegant design on the front.

3D Art — May 13, 2019

Okay Kianga, you can stop flexing now. Really. Kianga…? Please excuse him, he’s just very happy about his new look. I’ve been working on Kianga’s new model on and off for the last month, but this week I finally decided to get it done. I’ve tried to stay true to his design, and apply everything I’ve learned since his last makeover in December 2018. He’s got a new texture, new paws, a new mane, and even a shiny new eye patch and loincloth!

3D Art — May 12, 2019

Okay Kianga, you can stop flexing now. Really. Kianga…? Please excuse him, he’s just very happy about his new look. I’ve been working on Kianga’s new model on and off for the last month, but this week I finally decided to get it done. I’ve tried to stay true to his design, and apply everything I’ve learned since his last makeover in December 2018. He’s got a new texture, new paws, a new mane, and even a shiny new eye patch and loincloth!

3D Art — May 12, 2019

Brrr, I think I know why they call them the SHIVER-peaks… I traveled to the farthest edge to meet an old kodan, who taught me her secret chocolate cake recipe: This delicacy is made of dark chocolate, fresh cream, frozen winterberry jam, and blue ice crystals. Since it has to be kept at freezing temperatures I added a little charr ingenuity: a heating system to keep the cake (and its recipient) at just the right temperature.

3D Art — May 8, 2019

Bad timing, Chui… I had so much fun taking those Holosmith screenshots that I wanted to recreate the Photon Forge effect in 3D. And then Chui needed a sparring partner, so I added Kianga and gave him a Full Counter shield. Making spell effect shaders is fun!

3D Art — May 6, 2019

With a sharp hiss, the flame vanished. The room went dark. There was a moment of silence, then the ground began to shake. From outside the chamber, Ark could hear rubble falling. Storm! Ark ran out of the chamber, half stumbling over an old vine that had grown across the doorway. Stones, leaves, and dust were falling all around him. The earth rumbled, like he was stuck in the belly of a great beast. Ignoring it all, he ran towards the place where Storm was lying and tried to shield him as best he could.

3D Art — May 1, 2019