The first thing almost everyone wants to know how to draw is the ElfQuest characters themselves. Cutter, Skywise, Leetah, Rayek, and all the other ElfQuest elves have a look that is all their own. We’ve spent a lot of energy over the years trying to keep the elves “on model” — no matter what other artists have drawn them — and to keep them looking distinct from elfin characters created by other artists.
(An aside: Because ElfQuest first appeared shortly after the Ralph Bakshi animated film “Wizards,” people have wondered if ElfQuest was inspired by the cartoon. The answer is no. ElfQuest was in development long before we ever heard of “Wizards,” and there are really no elements in common between the two.)
These character model sheets are taken from the out-of-print Chaosium ElfQuest role-playing game book. Because a bit part of role-playing involves the creation of a player’s alter ego, Wendy made these designs to help players “dress up” their own characters using ElfQuest mannequins of various elfin and other body types. Aspiring artists will also get a sense of the different body proportions by studying these “blank slates.”
Character Model Sheets
Other ElfQuest tribes (RPG-style)
The illustrations that follow are some ideas for various tribes of elves not included in the four (Wolfriders, Sun Folk, Gliders, Go-Backs) featured in the Original Quest. The sea elves created for the role-playing game went on to become the WaveDancers. The plains elves are still waiting in the wings (although they’ve been hinted at in the Hidden Years and “Wild Hunt” tales that feature Ember as chief of a splinter tribe of Wolfriders).
