A little inspiration today from either X-Men fan art, Chandra fan art, or someone who felt nostalgic about their old D&D fireball throwing mages. I like this image compositionally and in concept. It feels very engaging, it has a nice palette, and it leaves you wondering about details: why are the birds so close to the fire/smoke – could they not get away any faster (that would be one heck of a speedy fireball); what is the medallion about? why is the girl wearing a half-sized superhero cape? and last but not least: why are her clothes unsinged? One has to wonder if Daenerys Targaryen is sitting on a throne somewhere, green with envy that this girl has any clothes left at all – she might even ask George R. R. Martin for a refund for the beautiful dress she wore into Drogo’s funeral pyre … Despite these unexplained idiosyncrasies, this image remains one of my favorite renderings of a fire mage – all without sexualizing this boss teenage girl.
UPDATE: Kudos to Daniel Dos Santos (the artist). The image was cover art for Bryan of Boscoquieto in the Land of Half-Demons
It’s long after you asked, but the artist is Daniel Dos Santos, and the art is the cover for the first book in the Bryan di Boscoquieto series by Federico Ghirardi, entitled “Bryan di Boscoquieto nella terra dei mezzidemoni”, or “Bryan of Boscoquieto in the Land of Half-Demons”.
Thank you very much for the information – I updated the post to include the new information.