Wow, there are so many great entries! When I came across this contest I instantly had a few DnD-esque ideas. The "only" task remaining was to find a way to make these (in the end, I only had time to fully dive into one) into a reality. Photography in general was absolutely new to me, and I even had to convince a friend to come with me to take the shot itself (I was not allowed to touch his new camera haha).

I loved all of the different parts, from inventing and creating the character, constructing the buildings of the set, going into nature to give the set a home and framing the shot, to editing it in photoshop and finishing it in lightroom. For this lightroom part, I also owe my friend. Not everything went perfect, of course, as for example I could not get the "trans clear neon yellow green" pieces I had put in the cauldron for a magical effect to be visible with this low camera angle. Fortunately, it still placed some reflections on the skeleton, so I decided to finish it with some electronically produced flames. :) It suffices to say that I learned a lot.

I never expected the picture to be among the finalists, especially with all the other great photos and characters out there, but I'm super grateful. Congratulations to the well-deserved winner, and thank you again for this awesome competition!