For the first time here, we see that Basta is, in fact, a werebear.  In theory, if you didn’t know who Basta was, you probably wouldn’t know that was him there anyway—just a random bear who is about to really mess stuff up.  And then we have Catelyn, looking like she’s walking away from an explosion like a badass, so, you know… Two awesome characters.

Once we add some color, we can see that the details are a little more clear.  This is a shot taken right in the midst of a naval battle, with flames in the background, illuminating these two heroes in some pretty cool ways.  Catelyn and Basta don’t mess around, folks.

The next step shows the artist getting rid of some of the muddier, flatter details and bringing it more to life.  These pirates aren’t just part of the background after all.  Catelyn is the first of the two characters to have a big glow-up, and you can see in her swagger that she’s got a lot of confidence that she’s bringing to the battle.

Next up, we see Basta start to get some love, with his fur and face getting a bit more detailed.  While his boss and lover is cool and collected, it looks like this werebear is about to cause some carnage.  Heck, maybe he already did!

In this final shot, we can see more details than ever, with every tuft of fur on Basta’s body feeling realistic and lifelike.  And of course, Catelyn pops because of her companion as well.  As I mentioned before, x-Celebril-x really nailed it, and I could not be happier with this piece.  It’s already impressed a lot of people, and turned into a Tellest poster that people really seem to respond to.  We’ll see if we can make more awesome art like this in the future.

The post Character Art – Catelyn and Basta appeared first on Tellest.

Today, we’re looking at the second half of our piratey pair that we began in December.  Basta is a captain’s first mate, but what about the captain herself?  In steps Catelyn Angmar.

Catelyn Angmar is a storied captain who is living in a couple of shadows.  First, she’s got the legacy of her father hanging over her.  He’s a famous sailor who had ownership of a legendary ship called the Cutlass.  Interestingly, the Cutlass is supposedly now a tavern just outside of Viscosa, the ship allegedly having been brought upriver from the south seas.

Catelyn also has to contend, as a pirate captain, with the expectations of other people.  While she’s the captain of the ship, she is often conducting business from her cabin, as respect is not afforded much in her line of work to a woman.  It’s easier to handle things in a clandestine manner until it’s time to spring her trap, and by that time, she’s proven that her gender doesn’t matter much.

Together, she and Basta manage to handle a lot of the ins and outs of whatever kind of pirate or mercantile business they have that they’re going through.  While they are pirates, they’re perfectly fine people, and their allies are better for having known them.  Catelyn has her own quests that she wishes to fulfill, but she’s just as happy making sure her crew is well-paid, as long as they’re sailing in the salty sea air.

We have one more pixelated couple coming your way in this pseudo series, so be on the lookout over the next few weeks!

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Basta has a little bit more mystery to him than this, but we’ll let that come out at a later point when we can really show you what makes him pop.  For now though, know that he is an agile, quick-thinking sailor that is more than willing to back up his captain, who just so happens to be his lover as well.

While Basta’s secret is a little more important to keep—depending on how you look at it—he’s usually the one front and center, always making sure that things are working smoothly on the ship.  The rest of the crew loves him, and they listen to him when he gives them orders.  But if anyone looked at him funny…

Here we have our awesome first mate in all his glory.  I’m excited to introduce people to him in the next book in the Heart of the Forest series.  And since he and Catelyn come as a pair…

Thanks for coming back for the second part of this series!  Catelyn and Basta are two great characters I’m eager to show off!

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