#bird rambles

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THE FAMILY PORTRAIT

The family portrait of Strahd and his daughter from one of Tatyana's reincarnations for @blazingemstone.

First of all,

To my shame, I still have not researched, why some mysterious unidentified vines represent intoxication, while ivy, the vine I've used here, means fidelity (it won't easily let go of something it's attached itself to), eternal life (because the plant is evergreen), and marriage. Anyway, I think it's one hilariously ironic combo of meanings, so I let them co-exist in my head and in this piece.

Love and Bravery

Roses (love) and oak leaves (bravery) make up the combo I use as Zarovich's patented trademark for some years now??? I think??? Pretentious, fancy, symbolic, and neat, looks especially nice near the Zarovich crest. In this particular piece, the roses are yellow because it's the golden embroidery, but gods bless this coincidence: yellow roses symbolize jealousy and decreasing love. Strahd is in a complicated relationship with his daughter, himself, and the world around him, and all these symbols work nicely together here.

Young Anastasia wears roses on her gown to

But rosebuds here are closed. Because, you know, immaturity. The love that has yet to unfold.

Also, hand positions. In this iteration of Barovia, Strahd is deeply possessive and protective of Anastasia because of her resemblance to Tatyana. Anastasia, in turn, interprets this as genuine care for her. She is grateful and also admires him. I tried to reflect that relationship in the way Strahd firmly grasps Anastasia's shoulders while she touches his hand gently in a responsive gesture of soft gratitude.

The portrait of an eternal love

The white lily in Tatyana's hands represents innocence; her face is covered with ivy vines and a blue veil, and we kinda can claim that all this refers to the mists that stole her life, personality, youthful innocence, etc... But actually, honestly, I just wanted this corner to look eery. On the other side, gotta trust own brain when it offers something like this. You never know what deepest meanings one can find in these random ideas later.

Some other details

I went a bit experimental with the fur lineart, using curly lines for Anastassia and pointy lines for Strahd. This was done to emphasize character differences.

Also, the spiderweb texture on Strahd's shirt references another campaign's portrait of him with his daughter. Man, my man is a parent of many children.

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THE ROYAL ONE

Lady Strahd's fancy royal portrait with the ominous shadow, some flower symbolism, and pretentious candelabra for @flyingkitesatnight

First of all,

I feel obligated to share the knowledge that the sketch where the shadow eats Strahd's head existed at some point.

Mirror strikes again

You might remember the older piece with Strahd and Alek, where there also was the mirror without Strahd's reflection.

This time, to emphasize the inhuman nature of the vampire, we added swirling fog where there is no reflection. You know, it's kinda like the mirror is showing the true nature of a vampire, which is mist, and I probably should stop seeking deep meanings in my own artworks, but it's fun, so maybe next time...

Yay, 🌸flowers🌸

A deep red carnation on the chest translates as "Alas! for my poor heart!" Fun fact: striped carnations represent refusal, and yellow carnations are said to mean disdain. Nothing good about carnations out there.

The commissioner requested something to represent Lady Strahd's softer/feminine side in opposition to the monstrosity and war-forged brutality, so in addition to a softly falling hairstyle, we chose Spanish jasmine (in the hand), which represents sensuality.

The almond tree on the wall tapestry represents hope. It's blooming in the light and is withered where the monstrous shadow is cast.

Other small details

Quite obvious references, but I'll mention them because why not.

Clothes reference the module portrait of Strahd. Almond tree tapestry is inspired by van Gogh's paintings. And yes, there is a War against Azalin book, written by this lady's own hands.

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AND THE MOVIE POSTER

For @curseofthebloodcountess's and @troubledtimeinravenloft's and their marvelous party. Oh boi, where do I even start here...

Probably with the link to the GM's post, where they dive into the details about who all these fellas are.

And once again, 🌸FLOWERS🌸

Strahd is surrounded by poisonous hemlock ("You'll be my death") and there are weeping willow branches (mourning) behind her, and that perfectly sums up her relationship with the party aka her past, present, and probably the future. Hemlock is also embroidered on her dress.

Theodora, the Morninglord's nun in the upper right corner is not only a suspiciously independent construct of the Abbot's creation but also a reincarnation of Strahd's dear friend from the times everyone was alive. Spiked Speedwell is there as a symbol of semblance, and zinnia represents thoughts of absent friends.

Alistor, the knight of Argynvostholt, bearing dragons and scales on his armor, is actually Strahd's long-lost son. Cinquefoil flowers represent maternal affection, and harebells represent grief.

There is also a frame of bramble, most of which creeps around Kolyana siblings and the last member of party, Tam. But some branches twist with Alistor's frame as well. Bramble represents envy.

Creeping willow all around the bottom corner symbolizes forsaken love. Tam, the ranger, eventually turned out to be a reincarnation of Sergei. He is surrounded by the aforementioned bramble of envy and creeping willow, and we also added a rosebay - danger - because of how paranoid his mere existence makes Strahd. You know, those flashbacks from days long gone.

Fun fact #1 - in Estonian, rosebay is põdrakanep, which literally translates to "elk's hemp". Fun fact #2 - in the early sketches, I suggested adding meadowsweet behind Ismark. It means uselessness, and it is very SAD for meadowsweet because it is pretty and smells heavenly good. Fun fact #3 - pine branches behind Tam are there because he had spent most of his life in Svalich woods, so in this particular case, pine was meant to represent, well, pine. But apparently, book says it also means "pity", and this is another neat coincidence. Does Sergey pity Strahd? Who knows. Does Tam pity himself because he is tired and simply wants everyone to just leave him be? There is such a chance indeed.

Bats, dragons, and other cute animals

The traditional fancy bat-winged candelabra is missing here. That could be a shame, so I decided to add bat wings to the frame twice and all around Strahd's gown, including the necklace. Still not as good as a pretentious candelabra could be, tho....

Then there is a wolf devouring the sun. Twice. The frame around the sun references the teeth pattern.

And then there is a small doggy paw mark on Ismark's leather armor because he is the golden retriever of the party and the best boy of the whole Barovia.

Dragons and scales all on and around Alistor, because Argynvostholt. Also, he's standing in flames not only because he and dragons are hot, but also because this fella seems to be an arsonist. "He burned down the coffin shop, he ran through fire to face Strahd at the festival" (c) their DM.

Also, the embroidery on Theodora's clothes is inspired by traditional angels and her familiar Benedict Algernon Ernest von Birdington the Fifteenth, a perfectly normal Morning Dove.

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That will be all for this time. Hope you enjoyed reading this ✨

The sourcebooks used are Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway and Floriography by Jessica Roux.