Now this is interesting.



First, let me say I absolutely love the armour designs. The Western dragonborn looks very much like he is literally a survivor from a different era, in a combination of gear that someone who played classic Ultima Online or vanilla Everquest would smile at in recognition, and a breastplate in the style Kain the vampire himself would very much approve of. No wonder he rightly looks so confident, quietly smoking his churchwarden: Perhaps he has quite literally endured the coming and going of the ages.

For his Eastern companion - or perhaps, they share not the metaphorical waybread but millet cut by the same kama - much can be said about the details. A very nice touch how the armour is not only countershaded, but how the faulds are jagged to resemble serpentine abdominal scales. The daisho absolutely steal the show: Must say the attention to detail here is not only commendable but of a sort rarely seen, with the more elaborate designs on the front of the tsuba and the curve of the blade running into the hilt. It seems a bit unclear how the handachi attaches to the sash, but it almost feels like nitpicking to mention - it does not detract from the picture as a whole, and someone without interest in Japanese weapons would not notice.



However, what catches my eye the most is the smoke.

As I write this I have spent much of the holidays painting a pipe-smoking character, and the tendril of smoke has been giving me trouble - references have helped little. But seeing yours I realise a detail overlooked: My own vortices had been curled the wrong way in relation to the nostrils. One little detail can solve everything.



Well done... and indeed, thank you. Ennobling and inspiring fellow artists is in the finest spirit of what the Daily Deviation feature has to offer, and - if only in one single smoky detail - know your work has enriched somebody.