“Arachne, The Spider Queen” illustration for TALES FROM THE BOAT

I absolutely adored designing “Arachne” for the upcoming YA series TALES FROM THE BOAT. She is one of my favorite characters because she may be a demon but she is just so real. Arachne is at heart a woman with a cold and heartless exterior who conducts herself as someone devoid of feelings. The tragic irony is that underneath her hardened cold exterior there lies a deeply hurt, empathetic and caring woman who has been savaged for centuries by her own internal conflict that endlessly pits honor, duty, family and love against each other. Sadly what we see of Arachne on the outside are the battle scars resulting from this internal struggle; this war without heart. I can relate to that; she is a tragic character, a walking casualty of war with only wounds for her emotional armor. In the story there is a scene where Arachne has retreated to her lair to be alone. While there she allows herself a brief moment of inward reflection wherein her tragic story is revealed. It is an incredibly emotional scene and sadly one that is also all too real; because at its core we realize that Arachne’s pain has brought her to a place where she is contemplating ending her own life! It is in this exact moment that Nga finds her. I tried to capture this here and from Nga’s point of view; so that we like Nga are baring witness to the true weight of Arachne’s burden and the hopelessness that can be born from loss.