And introducing…

Eliana Cooper, courtesy of the talented CustardPie!

I love this image of Elie, staring out dreamily into the rain. This brief respite, when she can set aside her responsibilities, shut out the despised Deep, and sit quietly with Pip, reading and snacking, comes a little later in our story. So consider this a delightful preview! This blissful interval of peace is such a rare treat that EH herself documented it in detail for us. Look out for Eliana Cooper Lives for a Day, coming soon to all blogs near you (ok, just this blog)!!! By soon I mean that I’ll slot in her write-up when we reach that point the narrative.

Thank you so much CustardPie for illustrating this special moment so beautifully. We all know how easy it is to become totally enamored (obsessed?) with the characters we pour our hearts and imaginations into. And it is a wonderful gift to have an artist skillfully bring those characters to life. It is especially exciting to watch their process. I loved seeing Elie at every stage of this work. Thank you again!

Very earliest sketch. With deep regret, I had to ask for an outfit adjustment. Because, you know, practical Elie with her caravan guarding work and ranging and whatnot.

Safely protected from pesky scratchy branches and cold mornings in misty forests…

Plus Pip and pie!

I first saw CustardPie’s art on Discord. Specifically this piece:

To no-one’s surprise, I’m sure, I really liked it. Really really liked it, heehee. The vivid colors and the beautiful play of light as it glowingly suffuses the figures in the image made me stop in my tracks. I love how it captures such an intense moment: there is such clear tension between the characters. I like the anime style with the slightly exaggerated litheness to the forms. But, you know, still with curves. 

Here is some more of CustardPie’s art. He was patient and generous enough to share it, and to answer some questions. I include our conversation, slightly edited for length and clarity. Just kidding! This is not CNN. It’s a blog. My blog. And I think I have established that PurpleProseLady has trouble with editing 😀

How long have you been creating your lovely work? What got you started?

I’ve always loved making characters growing up, and copied a lot from my favorite anime and shows, but I started doing artwork for real was really at college, making posters and banners for events and local music venues, mostly very underground stuff and not with a lot of visibility, but with a lot of heart! That build my confidence up for me to actually work on cover art for my own musical bands and projects.

What kind of subjects do you most enjoy?

I always love it when there is a raw and strong expression to whatever I’m doing. To me it’s feeling over flourish, something that really makes art pop with a cool, wild effect, that makes you feel excited or thrilled somehow

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what are some of your favorites?

All the time!!! I don’t think I can ever really do good work without music, it really helps me get in the zone!!! Though what I listen to varies a lot! Sometimes I feel Midwest emo, sometimes folky, but mainly what really gets me going is 80’s and 90’s hip hop (especially A Tribe Called Quest), jazz and blues, with some early 60’s and 70’s rock sprinkles here and there. Something about free flowing music really gets me to my core, I think it’s really inspiring.

Are you into any TTRPG? If so, which systems do you enjoy? And what is your favorite OC?

I love good old Dungeons and Dragons! Those fantastic worlds were always a safe haven for me growing up and are to this day. I occasionally dabble in Cyberpunk as well, but no other system has really got me as both D&D 3.5 and 5E have. I do love the world of Oriental Adventures a lot, but never had many chances to play it unfortunately. Still, my favorite will always be Forgotten Realms only by the sheer volume of possibilities it provides!! Drizzt, without a doubt, will always be my favorite character in that world. I think that people miss the value of a  character that overcomes a nasty environment and finds the resolution to do good on his own despite all odds, as a simple trope, but for me personally its very powerful and inspiring.

How would you like folks to reach you to you if they would like to find out more about your work, order a com etc?

People can find me on discord easily as .custardpie, my IG @art_of_custardpie  or my email felix.paulista@gmail.com