A Digital Character Sketch: Shadowsithe Ghoststrike

Back in September of 2021, I was enjoying a day in World of Warcraft. There is an option to make and join custom groups, and I was scrolling through to see if there were any I wanted to join in on. Usually I don't; at best, I might see someone is looking for a rare mob or a pet that the hunter class like to tame and then, if I feel up to looking for that rare, I might go look for them on my main realms and help that person get the mount/pet they're seeking.

And that was how I found Emily Cammisa, a digital sketch artist.

Her listing was an offer for free digital sketches, but I've always been a solo player and even when I help others find rares, it's never without hesitation when it comes to making a group listing myself or asking to join one. I waited a few minutes before deciding to see if I'd be accepted - it would likely be the only way I would get a character sketch at that point, and I realized I really wanted one. It's a fairly common question in Facebook groups for World of Warcraft that players ask the question: where will you park your character for the last time? When the game ends, where will we log our characters out at for the last time?

Sad questions. I'm not the only person to love their characters like friends. I still don't know where I'll park my characters for the last time, but the repeated question does make me wonder how I will memorialize my characters outside of the game.

I waited excitedly; I adore my main, Shadowsithe Ghoststrike. She is a Forsaken Outlaw Rogue decked out in black leather and ghostly blues, and her theme is definitely spooky and dead: from the skeletal helm over her head, to the twin Phantom Blades resting across her back, to her very name and that of her guild, <Spectre and Shadow>. I created her as my first character on the Roleplaying server Blackwater Raiders in 2009, and she's been my go-to character ever since.

I was eventually accepted into the custom group and was instructed to come to the main city of Orgrimmar so that she could take screenshots for reference and to make plans for another night when she would actually draw Shadowsithe on stream for her Twitch channel. I recommend checking it out, or here's her list of links.

As she took notes the first day, I didn't really know how I wanted Shadowsithe drawn. While I imagine my main certain ways during my own game-play, I'd never actually had to develop her too much for Roleplaying purposes (there's very little of it left on any RP server besides the over-populated Moon Guard). So I didn't know what her personality was really: she's a loner, talks to her mounts/pets, and is a bulk materials merchant. Serious, but drinks a lot to pass the time farming (she's basically a zombie, so, why not?).

But there was something different about Shadowsithe. Or, at least her helm. The "crown of eternal winter"; it is a spiked, icy crown that sometimes reveals a skull over the wearer's face. The effect comes and goes. I hesitantly asked her if she would be able to incorporate both; I wanted half of the face to be beneath the skull effect, and the other to be the leather-strap-bound face below the effect. I sighed with relief when she agreed.

A few days later, I joined in to watch the stream of her drawing my main! I know next to nothing about digital sketches, so I can't even begin to comment on her tools or techniques, but by the time she finished, I was in love with the sketch!

I didn't really know what I wanted or what to expect, but I was so pleased to see my main in a different way! I often find myself wishing to seek another - paid - commission, or since I've started buying tapestries for the home, find myself wishing for a few tapestries featuring my main, her favorite mounts, or even ones featuring the guild banner or other characters/alts!

Actually, I've been wondering what Shadowsithe would look like now, after Emily's had a few more years to continue refining her style! Maybe, when I have income again, I'll see about getting a colorized commission...

Wouldn't that be glorious?

I've shared the sketch in plenty of spots. It's been used on my Facebook profile, in other articles on Vocal, and even in my own Discord servers! I still check in on Emily's streams sometimes too - recently even chatted with her in one. If you're looking for a commission in her style, I don't know what you're waiting for! She's got so many places to be found!

Tell Emily Shadowsithe sent you - and sends her support!

Thank you for your time! If you're interested in learning more about my main and what she means to me, consider checking out the following:

Baker's Dozen Beats: Shadowsithe Ghoststrike - 13 Tracks for my main

Life in Azeroth: Shadowsithe Ghoststrike - a micro-fiction short

Life in Azeroth: Letters to Shadowsithe Ghoststrike - a look at in-game mail for some good deeds

Achievement Earned: Fifty Million Gold Earned on One Character Through Auctions - how my main sold 50 million gold's worth in auctions