Two rather quirky characters from the forthcoming illustrated novel, "The Ring Saga", based on Richard Wagner's immortal opera cycle (and a lot of Old Norse mythology as well). Here Flosshilda, eldest of the three Rhinemaidens, toys with the dwarf smith Alberich, whose affections are considerably more sincere than hers. It is this encounter that leads directly to the cursing of the Rhinegold, which sets in motion the downfall of the gods and ultimate destruction of the world. And all because a guy was pining for a kiss. So ladies, beware! Spurn a man at your own peril! As mentioned elsewhere, my dwarf smith character began life as the lowly Michael 3, morphed beyond recognition through all manner of deformities until he no longer resembled his former self. Grungy, dirty skin, warts, and lots of body hair grown all over the place makes for a very unhappy dwarf. But wait! Here comes that hot Rhinemaid! The three Rhinemaidens all have custom skin maps painted with various fish scales from assorted mermaid packs (see my previous images in this series for specific credits, or visit my blog and website - links are on my bio page). Flosshilda is by far my favorite of the three, and the last of that I did. I discovered Blazewolf's "Aquaria" texture set for "Lost Realms" just a few days before I was set to begin creating this character, so it was somewhat serendipitous (earlier test versions had a pretty lame skin temped on). And again, the skin base I built it on is the pale flesh texture from DanieNMarforno's "Daiwa's Dominion" in case anybody's interested. It's a great skin for cold and bloodless bodies like these underwater sprites would be. Skin texture base for Alberich is from "The Elderlies" by Dalinise, which provided those lovely teeth morphs and maps as well. Gross! Buy a toothbrush, dude. One funny note I might mention since I'm near delirious from four days straight in front of two computer monitors (extra labor for labor day) is that the golden brooches on Alberich's tunic are actually the breast shields from the "Iceni Queen" set by John Malis, just shrunk down and flattened out a bit. Gotta make do with what you got, as the saying goes (or, "necessity is the mother of invention" - choose the cliché of your choice). Happy rendering, everyone.