Tabletop Art: Dance

A finished 2D Illustration of Nadir and Kiyoko dancing, developed as a “cinematic” piece with use for tabletop games in mind.

I painted this scene to capture a moment In one of our dnd sessions, where after a battle, the destruction of a town, and the loss of a friend, the remaining survivors came together to sing, dance, rest, and mourn; and to raise each other’s spirits and remind them of hope after facing great adversity. In this scene I wanted to show the ending of a long day, where the sun has set but it's not yet completely dark, with my character Nadir (left) dancing with one of our npcs Kiyoko (Right), with the nearby bonfire sending up embers.

With both characters being monks/martial artists, their dance was inspired by Capoeira and some elements from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I chose to illustrate the beginning of their dance, where they have touched their forearms together and began to circle, to focus more on conveying the look they are sharing as the most memorable part of the sessions was the emotion behind it.