Vane, The Silent Blade
He moves in the quiet space between heartbeats.
A master contractor of the city’s underbelly, Vane stalks the moonlit alleyways and rooftops of the lower ward. A pact sealed in shadow is never broken and his blade has never required a second strike.
The Inspiration
Vane is inspired by my longheld love of the original TSR-era D&D artwork – a level of skill and mastery that I will never possess.
I remember my excitement at seeing depictions of races and classes in the original D&D manuals and how I couldn’t wait to build up a character and start role-playing. Vane represents an individual rogue from the Thieves Guild, albeit from the more violent end of the roster, he clearly kills for pay and isn’t primarily a cut-purse or burglar.
The Craft
This piece features dark shadows and strong light. This means that the outer line work has to be incredibly dark and the shading of exposed areas very light. To ensure precision, I used only a fine wire nib, ensuring the crispest of lines. The light areas of shading on the sword, pouches and armour hint at detail, whilst the stark shading on hidden areas clearly show the brightness of the light source.
I selected a heavily grained piece of A4 birch plywood on which to burn Vane: I wanted extra character as there is no background.