Title
Creation Date
2018
Preview
Medium
digital painting
Description
Dimensions: 20 x 12 inches
Rights
© Rayshell Diana Glenn, 2018.
Keywords
illustration, digital art, Photoshop, vignettes, concept art, paintings
2018
digital painting
Dimensions: 20 x 12 inches
© Rayshell Diana Glenn, 2018.
illustration, digital art, Photoshop, vignettes, concept art, paintings
Artist Statement
Mage, Orc, Dwarf
What is normal? I don’t think there is an actual answer to that question. Yet, we categorize things like careers, people, age, gender, sexuality, cultures, etc. into these “normal stereotypes.” In this body of work, I demonstrate three different stereotypical fantasy characters breaking out of their “normal” class and race.
I am a huge fan of fantasy art especially movies and video games. In these worlds Orcs, Mages (sometimes known as wizards), and Dwarves are some of the most common races and classes you see with strong stereotypes. I tried to flip these ideas around by working directly against the qualities these characters typically have.
Orcs are violent and murderous creatures. They lack compassion and they are typically the henchmen of the bad guy. A mage can be good or bad in fantasy worlds. Their ages and gender vary but it’s uncommon to see a good natured female mage that is elderly. Most elderly ladies in fantasy worlds are evil or they are sweet but frail and have no major role. Dwarves are more commonly a good and loyal character. Yet, they are shown to be dumb, stubborn, rough, and resistant to change. They stay underground while sticking to their roots of mining and yielding battle axes.
Stereotypes don’t only exist in video games or on TV. They are all around us all the time. When really, none of us fit into box’s that small. Nor do any of those aspects have to define who we are, how we think, or what we do.