Updated version:

Old version:

(click for bigger DA version)

"I know just what you need" said the large troll merchant and nodded towards the other wall. The Jester turned and looked. "That looks like a shield" she observed. "With gold on it."

"It is indeed a gilded shield. It fits you perfectly."

"I never really saw myself as someone that needs a golden shield" the Jester admitted. "I'm not a knight after all."

"It's a must-have collectible" the troll said. "Special price too so you are in luck."

"I don't think I could even lift it!"

"Exactly! The troll exclaimed, "You are a jester, are you not? Would it not be the true mark of a fool to buy a gilded shield she can hardly lift?"

The Jester stared at him in awe. "Well, when you put it that way ... "

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Initial sketch on my Android tablet; finalization in Krita. Characters may be familiar if you've seen my art in the past. Comments welcome as always.

Update: Went back and cleaned up the lines a bit in preparation for a re-print.
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Griatch

Very nice art, and I love the humor.

Like the minimalist approach, Griatch. My bet is you have a more detailed painting in the works for this as well, too.

Griatch, I love your art and this one creation is awesome. Thanks for sharing it.

The card was delivered and was appreciated.


Thanks, glad you like it.


These are fun characters, both to visualize and tell stories about.


Nah, I kinda like this 'looser' style so I'll probably not make more changes at this point.


Glad you think so, thanks for the nice comment!
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Griatch

Update: Despite myself I went back and cleaned up the lines of this a bit, in preparation of a reprint.
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Griatch

I couldn't see the difference until I read your story and to the end of whta you did - had to go back and see
It looks softer now.

I really dig your work Griatch, you are an inspiration, thankyou for sharing. I much prefer the cleaned up version, for my taste even more red could come out.

Yeah, this image was done in a special style, with clear outlines. But for printing next to another image it came across as looking a bit too primitive, so took another pass at it.


Thanks! Interesting! Could you elaborate on what you mean by 'more red' - do you mean the red colors should be brighter?
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Griatch

For my personal taste, I would prefer to see more light/shadow contrast and a bit more colour.
Something like:


But this is an artificial modification, nothing artistic, I just used Gimp functions.

As yourself (and other people commenting) said, the updated version (without too strong borders) looks definitely better.

The overall composition is excellent.

Thanks for the comments! Your version is fun, feels like a hot day! One can argue if a bigger saturation helps bringing the faery-tale nature across better, maybe.
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Griatch

The initial sketch reminds me of a chinese ink painting.
I like the semi pastel colors! D
The little excerpt was cute XD