This is a personal piece made to improve my fantasy portfolio. I also wanted this one to work as a book cover so I worked on an easy to read composition that allowed the placement of text.

As with most of my personal pieces, I created some background for the character. I find this crucial to introduce some storytelling in my illustrations. Here’s the short text I wrote:

“She was seen with fear and accused of practising black magic, but she was a good witch: she seeked love and good for everyone and wasn’t capable of doing any harm. She was surrounded by magpies, who protected and accompanied her day and night — they were her familiars and guardians. No one with bad intentions could get near her without suffering the wrath of these otherwise calm birds.”