The following piece of art was created based on a roleplayed ars magicka scene by my friend, who plays the apprentice in this scene.
Cast of character:
Ileana ex Tytalus - apprentice of Okeannos ex Tytalus. 16 year old at the time, to the left of the screen;
Okeannos ex Tytalus - my character;
Idylla ex Tytalus - officially, Okeannos' parens (Okeannos is a persona who took over the background of her dead apprentice with her consent)
Summer 1235:
While on a visit to Idylla in the Theban tribunal island of Krete, Ileana visits a beach in the evening with a covenfolk. The beach is reknowned for attracting the local sirens, some of whom have a tendency to lure men to their death. The two older magi shadow the apprentice to see how well she'll do. The scene ends with a siren trapped by Teeth of the Earth Mother cast by Okeannos. The siren is then convinced to sing for the benefit of the magi's enjoyment in exchange for being released in the morning.
Man this whole thread makes me wish I could actually draw people. I can draw designs for things I am making fine (like laying out a knife) but am horrible as soon as I try to do a living being. Now I really want a drawing of my Magus. Spending more money I don't have...
I recently joined a second Ars Magica campaign; the story takes place in the aftermath of the Schism War, in an alternate timeline where Rome still reigns supreme.
Nix began life as the daughter of a destitute fisherman and his captive Merrow wife (Merrows are related to Selkies and Swan Maidens, and share a similar mythology). When the faerie inevitably escaped and returned to the sea, Nix’s father gave chase and was never seen again. Nix would have starved if she hadn’t been discovered by her parens, Rubinius of Tytalus, during a coastal raid. He took her to Waddenzee, and she grew up among the raucous, intemperate men of the infamous pirate covenant. Nix was treated like a slave by the resident magi, but the rank-and-file sailors believed her to be their “good luck charm”, and showed her many kindnesses. Two of them in particular — the cook and the carpenter — appointed themselves as her unofficial protectors and father figures.
As the years progressed, Rubinius slipped further into addiction and vice, and his cruelty intensified. Though all of Nix’s (numerous) escape attempts were thwarted, one of them bore unexpected fruit: Nix met her mother, who gifted her a Merrow skinchanger of her own — a white sash — and supplied her with a fae-touched shark’s tooth. She was able to conceal these items from her master, biding her time, until his own carelessness put him at her mercy. As he lay on the floor in a drunken stupor, she cut his throat with the serrated tooth. As is custom in House Tytalus, she was immediately elevated to full mage status, and lauded for her “accomplishment.”
Nix was not interested in sticking around at Waddenzee. She and her two pirate dads left the crew and set out for destinations unknown. Nix is a woman in search of a purpose, with a tendency toward wanderlust. Because of her background, she often serves as a bridge between different factions: faeries and humans, magi and mundanes, lawful citizens and criminals, land and sea. She has excellent conflict resolution skills and is adept at influencing others. She resents authority figures, although she is a faithful devotee of the Roman goddess Salatia, with whom she shares a special bond.
Art really makes a difference. I draw all my characters (not as good as you do though). It helps me to look at them and ask them: What would you do? It maes them more than numbers.
New character in our game with @temprobe, Onychas ex-Tytalus.
Onychas ex-Tytalus was a apprentice under a young tyrannic maga of the Criamon house. Her master forced her to cast spells after spells to have full of twilight. Her last caused to her a severe scar, her skin was totally changed on black. Okeannos ex-Tytalus (played by Temprobe) decided to go on wizard war against the master because this treatment, won and took Onychas as his new apprentice.
She represented the character as a black women, but the skin is actually similar to onyx, with a gemlike appearance. It's harder to draw that however, I think.
Standing in the Twilight Zone, Lost in space and all alone Blindly searching to find me (Woman that I used to be.) I could not find me, I was blind. I widely searched but could not find The me I knew was somewhere near. I was confused but felt no fear. Then in the darkness, in the gloom, A hummingbird lit up the room.
Nix's rival (and potential love interest), Ramon Charay.
He is some kind of faerie-made amalgamation, with two spirits occupying a single body. We're trying to get to the bottom of it.
Lucien, the final PC in my second Ars Magica game. He's a Blatantly Gifted Criamon on the Path of Strife. His tattoos bleed when he over-exerts himself.
I am no artist, but I always try to find portraits and relevant art or pictures to show to my players during my games. So, that means I have to borrow some pictures, and it's sometimes quite time consuming to search for hundred of portraits for all the characters of a tribunal.
I tried something different yesterday, and I'd like to share the results, as I find it very promising. You may have heard from it, it's AI generated art. Here are some examples of pictures I generated with my trial account :
I gave the AI the description of Shadrit Ex Miscellanea from Dankmar (Guardians of the Forests : The Rhine Tribunal p 63)
I also made another version with the same description, but this time asking the AI for medieval illumination style, it came different but also very good
This is the result with the description of Jiphella Ex Miscellanea from the same covenant, with the style of Velasquez (a Spanish painter from the Renaissance)
Also here are the pictures generated by the AI for the PC covenant, and another covenant nearby (real castles that I know pictures exists to feed the AI)
