Portrait of the queen...

I did not comment yesterday on Vidyala's announcement, or offerings, of commissioned art pieces because I had the chiaroscuro thought maybe no one would notice when I show up with one. But, yes, I emailed her post haste, and we have started the dialogue on what this should be. The thing is about art, and great artists, I know Vidyala will get these notes, but here is where the magic is--she will still put herself in there. Every brush stroke, every dip of sable in ink, is infused with the artist's personal touch. And that is what we all crave.

This is what I am asking: for those who have come to know and love the character of "Matty," please offer any insights, too:

Commission type: Colour avatar, watercolour image, black and white avatar or sketch (choose one)

Please note: for watercolour images include your mailing address so that I can calculate shipping. I’ll assume you want “normal” shipping and not any rushed type.

Want to go full out and have a color avatar, and a watercolor image. Yes, I will pay for rush, but do not want to rush the art. If one is done before the other (considering the multitudes of requests you are sure to receive), then that is completely fine. 

Character Name:

Mataoka, aka Matty


Race:

Draenei female


Class/Spec:

Shaman, enhancement first and foremost, then restoration. For the piece, I have a hard time deciding which one to go with--but I am leaning toward enhancement. 

Physical Description: Skin, hair, eyes, any other defining features. Particularly helpful if including any details which may differ from “in-game” models or screenshots. Write as much as you like.

Matty is forever young, but there is a tiny, tiny something about her smile which says she is older than her years, but is not an old soul. Her hair is always starlight-white, but the style in game really bugs me. I wish I could sweep away her bangs a bit more, and not have the sides so stick-straight. I imagine her hair to be a bit more flowing and layered framing her eyes.

Weapons/Armour or Clothing: Please be specific (e.g. item names) especially if you would like the character to be wearing clothing/armour that differs from armory profiles.

The first thing I will say is: no tabards, no helms, and no capes. But, damn! Being immortalized by a Vidyala piece takes careful consideration. If it was me, the human, and you said, "Choose one outfit you have to wear the rest of your life," that would be easy: black cotton T-shirt and Levi's 501s, button fly, natch.I've been pretty happy with the red mail look she's got going on now, but will may change axes to the Sons of Hodir weapons, for sentimentality reasons. Those old boys really took a liking to her.

Personality Description: Whatever you care to share about the character’s quirks, history, etc.

Matty is the oldest of three sisters, but does not have the false maturity the others do, meaning, she's more grown-up in her sense of confidence and not taking things too seriously. She is a master secret-keeper and naively loyal. She keeps believing in others in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Also, she has a bit of a salty tongue and bawdy sense of humor. Makes for a great drinking buddy, but oftentimes, she realizes she only has a few life-long relationships. She is also honest to a fault.

Suggested Expression: Facial expression or general mood of the image.

Matty always looks sweet, and smiling.

Suggested Pose: Less relevant for a bust-style image but you can indicate a preference here for straight on, ¾ profile image, or profile image.

Matty meets the world straight-on, but I'll leave that one up to the artist's discretion.

Desired Background: What colour background would you like? If you’d prefer a specific background (Nagrand, any area in Star Wars) please include a reference image for this as well.

Miscellaneous: Anything not covered by the previous topics that you think I should know.

Screenshots and references: Please include a minimum of two screenshots of the character; one close-up of character’s face and a second showing from the torso up or full-body for full-body drawings. Screenshots should be taken with a fairly plain background in good lighting (Sides of buildings work well for this and areas/zones where the lighting is fairly neutral. Think Stormwind/Dalaran, not Icecrown). If your character is using an in-game area as your preferred background, you can include a screenshot taken there.

I'll send the screenshots to Vidyala. Don't want to give too much away!

One last thing: I really hope she finds her ring(s). Having lost both irreplaceable jewelry and digital media, I know how much this hurts. It's an awful thing, mourning an object, because the object is so much more than the sum of its parts.