The volcanic land of Jund is a harsh, volatile, extremely non-camper-friendly place. Birdwatchers and nature photographers are colloquially referred to as “snacks.” Bloodbraid Elf is not native, and I wanted to show that she’s an (extremely hearty) immigrant to the always-on-fire mountains. As you can see from the dragon bite scar in one of the early sketches, some of the early ideas were to show a bit of the… ah… transitional obstacles of relocating to Jund. Instead I opted for a color scheme that would suggest she’s not from around here.  Often, the background plays a supportive role in character art, gently bowing out of having a lot of contrast or saturation.  But Jund does not play nice like that. A black and white photo of Jund will still singe your eyebrows. Instead, I let Jund present itself in all its blazing red-as-the-devils-hangover fury, and Bloodbraid Elf took a softer, more subtle approach. I wanted to show that contrast of fierce, unforgiving environment, with a delicate and refined denizen. Throw in trophies of would-be-elf-eaters and some makeshift weaponry, and you have a narrative for an elf who’d conquered a nigh-insurvivable landscape.