Christina Kraus
@ElbenherzArt
Followers
37K
Following
32K
Media
752
Statuses
14K
Artist who works on MtG, Hearthstone and other IPs ✨| Barebow Archer 🏹 | Dread Wolf take you 🐺| 🏳️🌈 + BLM | Email: [email protected]
Joined November 2009
Hi #PortfolioDay 💫. I'm Christina, a freelance fantasy artist from Germany who loves to paint light and magical things. I'm currently an artist for Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone and Fablecraft. ☺️. 🌍.✉️christina@christinakraus-art.com
15
100
486
Some more barn studies from a while ago. :) Digitally this time! .I really die to get to the piece they are for. As things are currently, my recovery will take at least 3-4 more weeks.
71
2K
13K
I charge 70USD per hour and don't live in a city. Additional to my living costs I have to pay taxes, health insurance and save up for retirement from that money. It's ok to charge a living rate as a professional. You HAVE to. As a hobbyist please charge at least a minimum wage.
58
3K
13K
Portrait practice. ❤️.Can't help but leaning into Dragon Age aesthetics.
68
1K
11K
Drawing/painting Fanart opened so many opportunities for me. Never let people shame you for your passions or let them tell you, you are wasting time or it has no value. So many successful artists are were they are now, because they draw/drew Fanarts and have genuine passion.(1/3).
28
2K
10K
Birds are my favourite animals to paint. 🔥🦜
32
691
6K
🐴Bill The Pony 🐴. For Magic: The Gathering - Tales of Middleearth.AD: Colin Boyer . FINALLY! After two long years I can show Bill, the first MtG card I have ever painted. 🥰 It's special to me because of that, but also because it's related to Lotr! ♥️.Sketches below!👇
142
840
6K
I'm 31. Haven't started to draw seriously and with the intention to improve until I was 25. It's never too late to start and age does absolutely not matter in correlation to your skill.
Btw, please don't beat yourself up about your age in correlation to how good your drawing skills are. I know I look young but despite contrary belief I'm actually not 16 anymore. 😂 Learning to draw and paint takes a huge amount of time - took me 10 years to get where I am now.
54
1K
6K
"With offerings presented and the ritual complete, all birds in the forest fell silent. Save one.". New personal painting. ❤️✨
80
1K
5K
My scholar bird is done. ☺️ A Fanart meant for #Humblewood and as a thank you to @LeeshaHannigan and @TheDeckofMany for bringing me onto this project and being such cool people to work with. I absolutely adore this world and love helping to build and illustrate it. ❤️
95
1K
5K
There is no such thing as a 'real' artist. As soon as you pick up a pen and draw, you are an artist. It doesn't matter if it's a hobby, a part-time living, a full-time living or what ever your goals are. None is superior to the other and you are no less of an artist. ❤️.
34
924
4K
Wanted to test a brush I downloaded and ended up with a whole page of Doctor Strange. 💫
41
390
4K
✨MY FIRST MTG CARD IS HERE✨. "Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm" for Magic: The Gathering - Jumpstart 2022.AD: Kieran Yanner. Sharing more info and the sketches below! 👇👇👇
132
525
4K
I need weeks or months to finish art between my NDA work. There are many artists like me who have time intensive styles and pushing us or anyone into creating daily 'content' is nothing short of a capitalistic nightmare. I refuse to hurt my body for the sake of some algorithm.
Changes are coming to video on Instagram 📺. At Instagram we’re always trying to build new features that help you get the most out of your experience. Right now we’re focused on four key areas: Creators, Video, Shopping and Messaging.
34
716
4K
It's my ballon day today and I'm turning 35 today! 💀.I'm feeling hella old on this platform recently. Where are my fellow 30s? . I'd be happy to get some retweets for my art. 🥰 I'm still mostly in NDA hell, but I'll have a bunch of exciting new art later in the year to show.❤️
184
706
4K
Sketched a couple barn owls. ❤️. I'm still suffering from Tendonitis so I have to take it very slow. I hope to get to proper pieces soon but we'll see. Focusing on recovery for now!
41
455
3K
In light of today's DA news, I also have a new painting to share. 🥰. "In another World"
75
468
3K
This drives me up the wall. As if artists were gatekeepers that keep anyone from picking up a pencil and starting to draw. You don't need anything to be an artist except a pencil, paper and passion. Passion is what these people lack. That's why they generate and don't create.
61
444
3K
6 years ago a well known artist on the old concept art. org forum told me I'd never get anywhere with my art because I don't draw enough sexy woman. To this day there isn't one sexy women in my portfolio and guess what, I get hired.
32
129
2K
Hi #PortfolioDay 💫.I'm Christina, a freelance fantasy artist from Germany who loves to paint light and magical things. I'm currently an artist for Magic: The Gathering, TTRPGs and book covers. ♥️. 🌍.💌christina@christinakraus-art.com
21
349
2K
@poppybellies "I allow them to use images or pages from our book in their art portfolio.". An author doesn't allow that. That's our right as copyright holder of the image. As long as the copyright isn't bought from us and we don't sign if off in a contract, we can do what ever we want with it.
7
86
2K
A few birb studies in preparation for some character art I'm going to paint soon. ❤️ Secretary birds are soooo beautiful. I hope I get the chance to see one in real life at some point! . #birdsofprey #secretarybird
20
413
2K
✨(Digital)Art Ressources - A Thread✨. As promised, here is a little thread with links that helped me improve as an artist!.This is meant for everyone who is overwhelmed with the process and doesn't know how to start with (digital) art or looks to revisit the fundamentals.
28
980
2K
#HumanArtists ❤️.The human creative process can never be understood and matched by a machine. Keep creating fellow Artists!
22
303
2K
Hi #VisibleWomen ❤️. I'm Christina and I love to paint magical things and light. ✨. I'm also a huge Dragon Age fan. My dream job would be to do official DA art for BioWare. ❤️. 🌍🎨✉️christina@christinakraus-art.com
25
365
2K
A screencap study that turned into a Solavellan sketch. I miss them so much. 💔
24
283
2K
Turning 33 today. 😊.Here is a reminder that it's never too late to start drawing. I got my first freelance job at 28 and was only able to live off my art at 31. So many early 20s in my timeline panacking they never make it while most artists won't have careers until their 30s.
151
185
2K
Hi #PortfolioDay . I'm Christina and a freelance artist working in videogame and tabletop. I love everything fantasy, animals/creatures and one certain elf. ❤️✨. 🌍🎨✉️christina@christinakraus-art.com
29
312
2K
💚🦦ELUSIVE OTTER 🦦💚. For Magic: The Gathering - Wilds of Eldraine.AD: Deborah Garcia. I had so much fun painting this little critter. 🥰
41
346
2K
Hi #VisibleWomen ❤️. Lovely to meet you all. I'm Christina and love magical things. I love to capture a dreamlike quality and light in my work. ✨. 🌍🎨✉️christina@christinakraus-art.com
23
332
2K
✨ Announcement time ✨. I'm beyond excited to share with you that I joined the lovely folks over at Wizards of the Coast as freelance Illustrator on Magic - the Gathering. I can't even begin to put into words how excited I am and what a privilege this is. ❤️
160
59
2K
Some photostudies I painted inbetween work to switch my brain off. Just wanted to paint some pretty ladies. ❤️. The references are from @howardlyonart and his amazing artists ref packs. They are worth every penny.
25
223
2K
Hi #PortfolioDay ✨.I'm Christina and a fantasy artist from Germany.I do art for Magic-the Gathering,Humblewood and the like and am currently preparing for a mentorship with Donato Giancola.✨. 🌍🎨💌christina@christinakraus-art.com
34
231
2K
“They call me the Dread Wolf, what will they call you when this is over?” . A therapy piece for inbetween my other work. 😊. Process gif below. ❤️. #thedreadwolfrises #DragonAge #DragonAgeInquisition
51
301
2K
The lot of them together. ❤️. #humblewood #humblewood2 #dnd5e. Client: @HitPointPress.Writer: @tkjoinsthefray
19
240
2K
Hi #PortfolioDay 😊 . I'm Christina and a freelance artist located in Germany. I focus on character art (human, animal & creature) and really love Dragon Age. ❤️. 🌎 🎨💌 christina@christinakraus-art.com
45
321
2K
"I know something you don't know. I am not left-handed!"🤺. "Cruelclaw" . Painted for Magic: The Gathering - Bloomburrow.AD: Zack Stella. My personal fav illustration I painted for Bloomburrow. I love the bad guys and he is such a cute one too!😍.Sketches below!
36
287
2K
ORT with your most popular art. That's this fella here by far. He went viral on Twitter and Reddit. I still get weekly licensing requests for him that I always decline because @HitPointPress ended up officially licensing him for Humblewood. 😊
13
150
2K
Little painting practice. ❤️ .I love this elf and I hope he comes back. Please @PatrickWeekes ? 😭. #Felassan #DragonAge #saveFelassan
33
270
2K
The Temple of Amaranthine. Painted for #Humblewood and @TheDeckofMany ❤️. The most challeging piece of the latest batch and definitely one that brought me to my limits again, but that's good, because it means I'm learning stuff!. AD @LeeshaHannigan ❤️
53
288
2K
@JoelCHoltzman Are we at the point where we need to add 'No AI, only human work' into our resumes? Genuinely wondering.
12
12
2K
"Ar lath ma, vhenan.". Some self indulgent sketching from the past weekend. ❤️. #solavellan #DragonAgeInquisition #DragonAge
15
207
1K
Another day, another #inktober ❤️.Why are feathers so hard to draw with ink tho? 🙃. This one is again available in my store. 👇 ❤️. #inktober2019
23
238
1K
✨🐰Preston, the Vanisher 🐰✨. Painted for Magic: The Gathering - Jumpstart 2022.AD: Kieran Yanner . More info and sketches below! 👇👇👇
30
233
1K
❄️Nilak ❄️. Nilak = Greenlandic for 'freshwater ice' . A concept drawing for my next portfolio piece. ❤️I was inspired by all the amazing MTG Strixhaven art, so naturally my head exploded with ideas and I designed this fella. Excited to show the finished piece soon. ☺️
32
198
1K
I'm excited to finally share this proud Capran boy I painted for Humblewood 2 a while ago.🥰 It's the officiall illustration for the new Capran race. Can't wait for the new campain to be officially released. Everyone worked so hard to make it a reality. ❤️
43
186
1K
Very excited to share that I have been part of a community collaboration for #DragonAgeDay and was commissioned by BioWare/EA to paint a portrait of Solas.✨🐺 . I never thought I would paint him in official capacity, but here we are.❤️ This was pure joy to work on.
50
257
1K
Managed to do some portrait studies yesterday after work. ❤️.As always I set a timer for these to keep me from going into detail too much.
14
118
1K
Custom made art that is tailored to your clients wishes and unique in every way, shouldn't be cheaper than mass produced prints everyone can buy at the local store. 🙌.
13
298
1K
Tested out @RealisticPaintS on the ipad and holy shit? The pencil brushes are so good that they behave and look like actual pencils. My mind is blown. It even simulates a traditional drawing surface for you. This is 100% digital.
26
117
1K
Drawing characters I like is also my main motivation for anatomy practices or general studies to improve my work because otherwise I'm just bored out of my mind. Everyone has their own motivations. If yours is fueled by Fanart, lean into it. (2/3).
1
105
1K
Hey #VisibleWomen ❤️. I'm a freelance artist from germany and currently not available for work due to Tendonitis, but I still wanted to participate! ☺️. I love animals, creatures and elves. ✨. Hope to show new work soon. 🌿
24
248
1K
Nare Lavellan in her full glory. ❤️.A Dalish elf, and Knight Enchanter who leads the Inquisition with a fierce and strong, but also kind hand. #DragonAgeInquisition #Lavellan #DragonAge
31
277
1K
Hi #PortfolioDay 💫. I'm Christina, a freelance fantasy artist from Germany who loves to paint light and magical things. I'm currently an artist for Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone and book covers. 😊. 🌍 💌christina@christinakraus-art.com
33
222
1K
Next playable race for #Humblewood2 is the Seeta Luma. A subrace of the existing Luma. They are larger than regular Lumas and have prominent beaks. This is Zenja. A Seeta Luma Druid who is excited to set out for his first adventure.✨. Painted for @HitPointPress ❤️.#Humblewood
28
218
1K
"People are always dying, it's what they do.". I painted this 6 years ago after my first Solavellan playthrough and then BioWare licensed it at some points for canvas prints. I still like it a lot. ❤️
11
245
1K
I used to feel like less of an artist because I never really had the desire of creating my own worlds or characters like most professionals seem to do. I do occasionally, but my passion for Fanart and reimagine worlds is way stronger. I don't feel bad about that anymore. (3/3).
8
115
1K
"Come, before the band stops playing, dance with me.". One of my favourite lines among others. Solas lets his mask slip in the Winter Palace and we get to see the man under the calm mannered apostate. 🐺❤️🔥. #solavellan #DragonAgeInquisition #DragonAge
41
253
1K
Excited to introduce Dorri (they/them), a sandcale Tilia Rouge. Tilias will be a new playable race option for #Humblewood2✨.These cute but mighty fellows are based on geckos. 🦎. Painting done for @HitPointPress .#humblewood #TTRPG
41
164
1K
Drawing at 17 vs drawing at 32. I only really aimed for improvement in my art when I was 24/25. Everything before that were heavily referenced manga drawings with zero clue about anything. The one the left was a copy of a drawing of Arina Tanemura. ✨
21
127
1K
Here is a little process gif of the painting process. 🥰
"I know something you don't know. I am not left-handed!"🤺. "Cruelclaw" . Painted for Magic: The Gathering - Bloomburrow.AD: Zack Stella. My personal fav illustration I painted for Bloomburrow. I love the bad guys and he is such a cute one too!😍.Sketches below!
17
94
1K
My #SixFanarts turned, as expected, into a Dragon Age + 1 thing. Garrus is rightfully questioning his life choice. I want to do another one on the weekend since this is fun for practising looser digital sketching. Keep the characters coming! I promise less DA. 😂. #dragonage
39
346
1K
Hi #VisibleWomen ❤️✨. I'm Christina and a freelance artist located in Germany. I LOVE DRAGON AGE AND SOLAS AND THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING THIS TIME. 🐺. 🌎 🎨 💌 christina@christinakraus-art.com
19
274
1K
I'm Christina from Germany and this is my art. 💫💪
28
54
1K
My cover for Free RPG day went off NDA! :) .You may recognize these characters from the Busts I posted earlier this year. ❤️. Client: @HitPointPress . #Humblewood #freeRPGday
32
179
1K
The card. 🥰. Thank you for all the lovely feedback. Bill was truly a special character to paint. I remember this being the most fun client piece I ever worked on. It felt 100% like personal work. I got to design him top to bottom. ❤️
🐴Bill The Pony 🐴. For Magic: The Gathering - Tales of Middleearth.AD: Colin Boyer . FINALLY! After two long years I can show Bill, the first MtG card I have ever painted. 🥰 It's special to me because of that, but also because it's related to Lotr! ♥️.Sketches below!👇
28
90
1K
Meet Remus. My #dnd half elf druid. ❤️.He is my first DnD character and I'm so excited for our first session. :D .Not sure if this is his final design tho. Might change a bit again, but this is my first result. #dndart #dungeonsanddragons #druid
28
179
1K
I would love to work more in TTRPG, but the rates are not sustainable. And if we are on it let's ditch the different rates for half page and full page illustration. It comes out as the same amount of work. 500-600 USD for a complex scene with a bunch of characters is criminal.
If we have an opportunity to reshape the TTRPG industry, let's start paying artists fairly! With rates folks can actually live on! Let's build an industry standard that *doesn't* rely on the exploited work of creatives!.
22
219
1K
90 min tree study. 🌿 .I need to get more efficient with abstracting foliage. It's always a nightmare for me to paint. Also thank you for 24k and welcome to all new followers! ✨❤️.Makes me kinda feel bad for the lack of art lately, but I'm living in NDA land. 😬
24
110
1K
A slow arrow appears. <3 . I never liked the design of him I drew a couple months back for the line up, because it was rushed, so I gave it another shot. My first drawing after my injury break. Getting back into it is a fight, but I'll keep fighting! . #Felassan #DragonAge
26
181
1K
"The Dread Wolf inspires hope in my friends and fear in my enemies. Not unlike Inquisitor I suppose. You also know the burden of a title that all but replaces your name." . Solas is a well of endless inspiration to me. ❤️. #DragonAgeInquisition #DragonAge #thedreadwolfrises
27
269
1K
Badger Lord for Badger Lord Games. 🦡. Had fun painting this little fellow! ❤️. (I'm SO excited for the upcoming months. I can't share anything yet, but eeeeeeehhh ✨)
32
182
1K
@ArtStationHQ You have people on your platform selling illustration packs with 100% out of the machine generated images with no paint over. There is a difference between using AI to start off your process and posting images right from the generator and sell them. You NEED to moderate this!.
6
32
1K
Most of my Tolkien art is pretty old, but I still like this painting of Celebrimbor's smithy from 2018. It was a breakthrough for me in terms of colors, light and rendering. Don't ask why there is hay on the ground. Let's pretend it's magical and can't catch fire. 🤣
10
94
1K
#Dreadwolf ❤️🐺. Three years ago this was my first Fanart of Solas. It will always have a special place in my heart. IRecently it got licensed by @BioWareGear
16
133
1K
I may be working on a little #Humblewood fanart. ❤️.(This is just a crop of the lines. I hope to have the enitre character done soon.)
22
102
1K
I don't really have time, but I needed to paint SOMETHING. So here is a quick trailer Solas sketch. 😭❤️ . I AM HYPED! . #dragonage #DragonAge4 #DA4 #dreadwolf
22
212
1K
Self indulgent sketch from last week that turned into a little portrait. I took liberties with his hair. I'm doing a lot of self indulgent sketches lately. I don't know if it's just me, but I'm tired with the world right now. 😶. Send cat pics. #Fenris #DragonAge
39
278
1K
The Artist // The Art
22
43
1K
It's #PortfolioDay ! :D . My name's Christina and I'm a freelance illustrator based in Germany. I work for pen & paper and card art companies, and love everything fantastical. ❤️. 🌎 🎨💌 christina@christinakraus-art.com
14
215
1K
Let the fun begin! ☺️.Despite some pre-planning unexpected life stuff came up and I'm not sure how far I get this year, but we'll see. Selected originals will be available in my store again! ❤️👇. #Inktober2019 #inktober
13
150
1K
No. Artists need to talk more openly about fair pricing and I will continue to bring this topic up and fight for improved conditions. It's not degrading to say custom art is more worth than mass produced prints. It's a fact. Custom art is a luxury.
@ElbenherzArt Also, its actually quite degrading to complain about artists prices publicly. If you think they deserve more, than find them and tell them privately. When these poor artists read this sort of post, they more than likely feel worse.
26
177
963
🔥Joyful Stormsculptor 🔥. Painted for Magic: The Gathering - March of the Machine.AD: Taylor Ingvarsson. Sharing more infos and sketches below! 👇👇👇
40
157
970
Hi #PortfolioDay . I'm Christina and a freelance artist from Germany. I have a wide range of working experience in the tabletop and videogame industry and am currently looking for work! ❤️🌿. 🌍 🎨💌christina@christinakraus-art.com
30
198
970