Aaron Radney Commissions Closed (For Now)
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aaronradney.bsky.social
Aaron Radney Commissions Closed (For Now)
@aaronradney.bsky.social
4.7K followers 490 following 8.9K posts
He/Him. Illustrator at www.aaronradney.com No AI or NFT. Patreon: http://patreon.com/aaronradney. Open for Commissions: https://forms.gle/hLYEyfpqsN5EbkPe6. #Ha-Nahn
Email: [email protected]
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aaronradney.bsky.social
14k is phenomenal. Congratulations!
I'm Aaron and I focus on non-eurocentric fantasy art with huge scales and lots of mythic story implications.
Mwindaji, Remnant Leader Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie yellow orange night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists. Ayrmael, God of Creation A digital illustration of a massive divine dragon with purple and gold coloration. The massive beast flies over a mountain city with floating islands all around. As it turns in the sky its wings trail through clouds. The creature has a thick almost gorilla like body and stripes like a tiger but made of something like gold that seems to flow beneath its skin. Nature’s Aegis An image of a Black non-binary person in a rainforest environment. They are a mage and the painting is done primarily in a green pallet. They’re channeling nature magic into a protective cloak that trails away from her shoulders and arcs gracefully across the page. They look over their shoulder at it serenely and is seen from a slightly raised angle. Small calligraphic symbols can be seen throughout the image. High Priestess Tarot Card An image of a woman in a blue dress seated upon a throne with moon symbols on it looking down imperiously. She is surrounded by stones, gnarled trees and a stone circle behind her head. Her hair moves as though it's being blown by a strong wind or moved by ocean currents. Her dress flows into a waterfall that turns into a pool that flows into the foreground.
November 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Given his inexperience Reven here probably starts off trying to be smooth and suave the way he thinks he's supposed to but the minute he gets a woman flirting with him he falls to pieces
Reven, Storm Sorcerer An image of a dark skinned elf male in a pirate outfit and a blue long coat stands on the mast of a ship holding onto ropes dangling from off camera. The image is painted in soft blue and orange tones. He carries a sword in one hand and looks out into the distance smiling. His shirt is open revealing a well toned chest and complimenting his sleeveless shirt and jacket that show off his muscles.
November 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Hello Kat!

Thanks to @backwardsttrpg.bsky.social for the call in. I'm Aaron and I've got some experience with landscapes and maps.
Farhaven Riverlands A landscape with a large citadel like structure in the background with two mountains that curve like horns and an archway that holds and impossibly large door. The whole image is done in muted blues and yellow/greens giving it a somber desolate mood. Two figures stand on a rise overlooking a dense forest at sunset. The world is rendered in luscious oranges, pinks, reds and gold. The two figures, silhouetted in the foreground look into the distance where a large temple complex rises out of the forest canopy. They clearly have a distance to go but the destination is in sight. A digital painting of a small segment of a district of a city. An establishing shot of a city full of bridges, canals, ramps and buildings built on top of buildings. The roofs are done in blues and greens with a large red tower on the right hand side. The image is bathed in warm spring day light. A wizard holds his lantern aloft in a creepy forest. Mist and haze obscure things around him as he examines large monolithic stones with strange runes on them. The stones are covered with moss and vegetation.
November 23, 2025 at 3:18 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
I've got the sketch for this basically ready to go. I'm very excited to work on this one more in between other things. Again, probably the most pulpy/closest to nsfw I'll ever really do but it blows me away that I feel like this is just a new baseline of good.
a sketch with color work of a dragon goddess standing above a city on an extending cliff in the sky. She's mostly humanoid but with dragon wings, a long split tail and a headdress with tentacle hair. She stares at the viewer impassively and sternly. The image is done in blues and oranges and in a clearly unfinished rough state.
November 21, 2025 at 4:52 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Thank you for hosting. I'm Aaron and I mostly do non-Eurocentric fantasy. Here are some examples of what I do. :)
Ayrmael, God of Creation A digital illustration of a massive divine dragon with purple and gold coloration. The massive beast flies over a mountain city with floating islands all around. As it turns in the sky its wings trail through clouds. The creature has a thick almost gorilla like body and stripes like a tiger but made of something like gold that seems to flow beneath its skin. Mwindaji, Remnant Leader Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie yellow orange night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists. Sun Titan An image of a giant seen from the waist up. He’s holding a spear and illuminated by a harsh desert sun. A rocky outcropping with memorial stones placed into them surrounds a small figure in the foreground that shields his eyes from the radiance. The image is done in yellows, oranges and browns. High Priestess Tarot Card An image of a woman in a blue dress seated upon a throne with moon symbols on it looking down imperiously. She is surrounded by stones, gnarled trees and a stone circle behind her head. Her hair moves as though it's being blown by a strong wind or moved by ocean currents. Her dress flows into a waterfall that turns into a pool that flows into the foreground.
November 21, 2025 at 1:38 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
I've come a long way since I did these. I can do them much faster now. I understand anatomy and lighting better and yet in looking at the ones above I understand very much why people love fan art. I can see my own joy even in some of the more amateurish elements.

I want to do more.
Art of Aranessa Royce, a woman in her 40s with a green and gold dress seen from the shoulders up. She has dark auburn hair with butterfly gems in it and sad green eyes. She wears a necklace with a gold wedding ring on it and a black choker as a sign of mourning. She's painted on a grey background with a gold floral pattern behind her. Two taglines say "Aranessa Royce" and "The Ironwood Widow" as I like to give little sobriquets to characters in CR when I do art of them.
November 21, 2025 at 1:34 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
So, bit of Aaron lore here. I don't usually do fan art. The bug just doesn't usually bite. But if I never did these I probably don't even have the little bit of a career I do.

I never finished these because I never finished campaign 2. But I should.
#CriticalRole
A digital painting of Caleb from Critical Role campaign 2. It shows a dirty hobo looking human male with reddish hair, a bandage wrapped arm and a frayed and tattered coat and scarf. He holds a book open looking off to the right and seen from below. Fire swirls around his lower body and there is writing on the bottom right saying "the man who'll walk through fire, to achieve his greatest wish!" An image of a firbolg done in the Critical Role style. He wears green armor with a purple staff and looks serene with his pink hair and pink details on his armor. He casts a shadow that looks like a tiefling in a long coat. The text on the bottom left reads: The man who walks through the valley of the shadow of death. An image of Fjord from Critical Role campaign 2. He is a strong half orc male with a sword in front of him covered in barnacles and a single large eye at the base. The sword is designed to look like a falchion. He wears brown and green armor with red rope chords around is arm and waste. He stands in the water ready to fight. The tagline reads: "The man reforged by tides" An image of Beau from Critical Role campaign 2. She's seen from the waist up wearing a blue pirate coat, golden magic bracers on her forearms representing the lightning gauntlets she got and carrying a staff in front of what looks like red pillars. She holds one hand up as though ready for a fight. She seems calm and relaxed in her dark robes underneath the coat. The tagline reads "The rebel with a cause"
November 21, 2025 at 1:31 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Quote how you draw women
#art #ArtShare #ArtTrain
A beautiful plus sized Black woman descends stairs in a regal outfit, one hand on her hip, a cane at her side for balance and a massive grin on her face as she looks directly down at the viewer. Her dress is done up in reds, oranges and yellows and her hair is slightly curled trailing asymmetrically down the left side of her cheek. The emotion is that all eyes are on her and that’s how she likes it. A digital painting of a pale redheaded woman in robes with a blue outer shall, a white inner robe and a red high necked body suit stands in a study with three glowing panels of energy before her. She looks to her left over her shoulder at one of them, her finger is pointed at another in front of her and her other hand taps easily at a third. The background is dark to separate her out from the rest of the image and make her clear. Her hair moves slightly as though she's just turned her head or there's an unseen wind blowing it. A digital painting of a Black woman in a red dashiki inspired outfit, dreads and glasses races through a tunnel running from some sort of monstrous demonic creature firing bolts of magic at her from far behind. She carries a gnarled staff indicating her status as a mage and the staff is glowing with bright yellow light. Goddess of Dreams A goddess clad in pale blues and gold floats above the walls of an Egyptian styled city. She has an embroidery hoop in one hand that looks like a night sky with a thread of sky and stars. The desert beneath her has a row of obelisks leading to the city gates.
November 20, 2025 at 12:21 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Artists! Quote with your night art!

I think my favorite part of this was doing a night scene that didn't allow me to use blues and gray.
Mwindaji, Remnant Leader Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie yellow orange night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists.
November 19, 2025 at 3:50 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
I know it's in the same vein/world as this thing. This dragon, Ayrmael is a dragon god of purely practical/utilitarian creation and the forge.

I think the above one is more about aesthetic beauty, art, music poetry that sort of thing.
A digital illustration of a massive divine dragon with purple and gold coloration. The massive beast flies over a mountain city with floating islands all around. As it turns in the sky its wings trail through clouds. The creature has a thick almost gorilla like body and stripes like a tiger but made of something like gold that seems to flow beneath its skin.
November 16, 2025 at 7:43 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Honestly? probably the closest to nsfw/pulpy type stuff I'll ever seriously do. Kind of excited to mess with this more eventually.
a drawing of an enormous female humanoid dragon creature standing above a fantasy city on a cliff. She's a dragon goddess with a thin frame, small chest and wings for arms. The usually sexualized parts are covered by a sort of scale bikini type deal. The drawing is done with brown and white pencil brushes on a toned background in preparation for painting.
November 16, 2025 at 7:39 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Artists QRP with your sketch vs final

I actually just showed off the whole process of this for patrons today! I also love how much some things can change as you develop a piece between shooting ref and realizing things in painting.
A black and white thumbnail sketch of a monstrous humanoid with no face and blades for arms drawn as if they're striding forward on a dark night backlit by the moon high in the sky. Similarly misshapen monstruous figures march behind them. Mwindaji, Remnant Leader Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists.
November 14, 2025 at 10:38 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Thanks for hosting. I'm Aaron and I mostly work on non-Eurocentric fantasy art. I'm working on my own fantasy world of #Ha-Nahn mostly when I'm not doing client projects.
A digital painting of a Black woman in a red dashiki inspired outfit, dreads and glasses races through a tunnel running from some sort of monstrous demonic creature firing bolts of magic at her from far behind. She carries a gnarled staff indicating her status as a mage and the staff is glowing with bright yellow light. Spiritual Matters A Black man in African inspired clothing and short dreads holds a book glowing between his hands in a dark forest. A spirit with a face like a west African mask and glowing blue eyes looms menacingly above him. The man has a book holster under his arms indicating he is a mage scholar from his setting and he looks forward confidently. Glowing symbols, representing story magic come from the book and wrap around his hand and arm. Goddess of Dreams A goddess clad in pale blues and gold floats above the walls of an Egyptian styled city. She has an embroidery hoop in one hand that looks like a night sky with a thread of sky and stars. The desert beneath her has a row of obelisks leading to the city gates. Mwindaji, Remnant Leader Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists.
November 14, 2025 at 9:26 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Thanks for hosting! It's been a rough week on my house's end (a rough couple actually) but I've still got art. Here are a sampling of pieces from my #Ha-Nahn setting.
Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists. An image of an old mage with a head wrap with closed eyes and thinking. His head is flagged by bronze rings and the background is a field of stars representing him thinking of infinite possibilities. Within the circles, the symbol for story magic floats in space. Two figures stand on a rise overlooking a dense forest at sunset. The world is rendered in luscious oranges, pinks, reds and gold. The two figures, silhouetted in the foreground look into the distance where a large temple complex rises out of the forest canopy. They clearly have a distance to go but the destination is in sight. A goddess clad in pale blues and gold floats above the walls of an Egyptian styled city. She has an embroidery hoop in one hand that looks like a night sky with a thread of sky and stars. The desert beneath her has a row of obelisks leading to the city gates.
November 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Above mages are using story magic in three different ways. For defense, for improvement and for aggressive action. And here we have two powerful masked entities.
#Ha-Nahn #DrawingWhileBlack
Sun Titan An image of a giant seen from the waist up. He’s holding a spear and illuminated by a harsh desert sun. A rocky outcropping with memorial stones placed into them surrounds a small figure in the foreground that shields his eyes from the radiance. The image is done in yellows, oranges and browns. Mwindaji, Remnant Leader Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists.
November 14, 2025 at 2:45 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
I realized my #Ha-Nahn portfolio I just put together has two major themes. One is mages interacting with the calligraphic magic of the world and the other are powerful magical beings within the setting.
Nature’s Aegis An image of a Black non-binary person in a rainforest environment. They are a mage and the painting is done primarily in a green pallet. They’re channeling nature magic into a protective cloak that trails away from her shoulders and arcs gracefully across the page. They look over their shoulder at it serenely and is seen from a slightly raised angle. Small calligraphic symbols can be seen throughout the image. Ha-Nahn: Ponder An image of an old mage with a head wrap with closed eyes and thinking. His head is flagged by bronze rings and the background is a field of stars representing him thinking of infinite possibilities. Within the circles, the symbol for story magic floats in space. Elemental Mastery An image done in pinks, oranges and reds of a mage casting a powerful fire spell. Three whips of fire extend from their outstretched hand in the far background spiraling out in curving lines and transforming into different African animals: an antelope, a wildebeest and a buffalo. The creatures rush forward across a savannah landscape as though charging the viewer. They are clearly made of fire but do not burn the grass.
November 14, 2025 at 2:41 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Hey, congrats on the 1K! That's amazing! I'm Aaron and I make non-Eurocentric fantasy art and I kind of have a fixation about making things huge it seems.
Mwindaji, Remnant Leader Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists. Ayrmael, God of Creation A digital illustration of a massive divine dragon with purple and gold coloration. The massive beast flies over a mountain city with floating islands all around. As it turns in the sky its wings trail through clouds. The creature has a thick almost gorilla like body and stripes like a tiger but made of something like gold that seems to flow beneath its skin. Great Spirits A figure stands on a rock out at sea and looks out across the cold, grey/green waters toward the distance. Rising from the ocean and mingling with the clouds and sea spray, a massive spirit in the vague shape of a whale combined with a flying fish rises and arcs as if jumping through the surf in the open ocean. The image gives a sense of the power and majesty of a massive spirit far out to sea. A representative spirit of the ocean itself. High Priestess Tarot Card An image of a woman in a blue dress seated upon a throne with moon symbols on it looking down imperiously. She is surrounded by stones, gnarled trees and a stone circle behind her head. Her hair moves as though it's being blown by a strong wind or moved by ocean currents. Her dress flows into a waterfall that turns into a pool that flows into the foreground.
November 13, 2025 at 12:48 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
One of the things I struggled with was the reality that #Ha-Nahn doesn't really do direct wars anymore. So why do they still have warriors?

These things. Remnants. This is why #Ha-Nahn still has warriors.

When living weapons are trying to kill you it helps to have people who know how to fight.
Mwindaji, Remnant Leader Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists.
November 13, 2025 at 12:24 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Selesnya forest on the left, Gruul forest on the right.
A Selesnya watermark forest showing a well tended "garden" with the plants interwoven with the city architecture. The trees are carefully tended and growing on and around the massive spires of the city plane of Ravnica and it looks very carefully groomed and maintained. "Nature" as seen through the eyes of a city dweller whose primary experience with it is the local park. A Gruul watermarked land. Here the forest has taken back its space from the city. Buildings stand ruined, abandoned and crumbling as vegetation grows all over things. Reclaiming it and demonstrating a big difference between the carefully tended to gardens of the Selesnya.
November 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
I need some levity so please indulge me. Bonus points if you tell me why you made that association.
Post this on your profile and let your followers associate you with a fictional character that you remind them of.
November 10, 2025 at 6:51 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Let's look at that shift again. Those are huge swings. That doesn't happen without efforts to make Black voters feel seen on issues that matter. And racism is still top of mind issue.
During the primary, Mamdani was bested by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by nearly 6 points in neighborhoods with more Black residents than those of any other race — a crucial voting bloc in New York City mayoral elections. Mamdani won 64% of the votes in those areas this time around, up 25 points from his 39% in June. The top 10 neighborhoods where he gained the most since the primary are all located in either southeast Queens or the eastern parts of Brooklyn — in historically Black neighborhoods where Mamdani turned his focus to after the primary.
November 9, 2025 at 5:11 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
In the primary Cuomo apparently won Black voters by a pretty substantial margin. This isn't super surprising to me but probably not for the reasons you think.

I don't think Black voters were especially high on Cuomo as much as they didn't know or know if they could trust Mamdani.
During the primary, Mamdani was bested by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by nearly 6 points in neighborhoods with more Black residents than those of any other race — a crucial voting bloc in New York City mayoral elections. Mamdani won 64% of the votes in those areas this time around, up 25 points from his 39% in June. The top 10 neighborhoods where he gained the most since the primary are all located in either southeast Queens or the eastern parts of Brooklyn — in historically Black neighborhoods where Mamdani turned his focus to after the primary.
November 9, 2025 at 5:04 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Here's the breakdown. Mamdani won fairly comfortably and might have by more if Cuomo hadn't run. And at just over 50% there's no way to claim this wasn't a legitimate win. That's good. Because a lot of rich folks put a lot of effort in against him. It'd have been real bad if it worked.
A screenshot of the percentages of Mamdani's win. It shows he got 50.4% of the vote, Cuomo got 41.6% and Curtis got 7.1%
November 9, 2025 at 4:36 PM
aaronradney.bsky.social
But stronger remnants... those require whole hunting parties to take down.

The worst are the named remnants known as the wicked three. The Bulgu, Uwaban and Mwindaji.

The terror of Mwindaji is she breaks the one advantage humans have over remnants. She always brings company.
Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists. Image of Mwindaji, a named Remnant (a type of living weapon in Ha-Nahn that is formed when a weapon absorbs so much hatred and malice from its owner that it tries to keep on fighting even after that person dies) stalking forward through an eerie night with a full moon. She wears a purple torn and tattered garment with great blades for her arms and a masked, eyeless face. She leads a small troop of others behind her as though prepared to destroy an unsuspecting village. Her body is full of indications of damage from previous battles and yet she still exists. It sits in an unfinished magic card frame.
November 9, 2025 at 1:24 AM
aaronradney.bsky.social
Typically, remnants are solitary dangers and rare. Even still it's recommended to attack them as a group. Typically 4 warriors at minimum.

And a skilled warrior though in exceptionally rare cases, has been known to be able to defeat weaker remnants one on one.
a digital drawing of remnants. They're a type of construct in Ha-Nahn forged from malice possessing a weapon. The three pictured here have vaguely humanoid forms but have arms like weapons, tattered clothing and strange elements to their forms.
November 9, 2025 at 1:21 AM