An arachnid that set out to be terrifying… but ended up adorable. 🕷️✨
Today I want to share with you Arachlet, a new holo joining the world of Holozing.
After how well the drawing of Zappity and Xolobis turned out, I couldn't fall behind with this one—so I tried my best to make it as good as possible. Honestly, when I imagined Arachlet, I only pictured semi-scary scenes, but in the end, I decided to take a risk and give it a cuter twist, so it could fit in among holos with its own unique charm.
Plus, this fanart had a deadline of today to participate in Inktober. The Holozing team has designated 10 prompts to join in, but this year I want to challenge myself fully: participating for all 31 days of Inktober. I’ve never been able to complete it 100%, and last year I didn’t even participate, so I hope this is the one. That said, I apologize in advance for the spam coming in October. 😅
In Holozing, even creatures that seem shadowy can shine with tenderness. Arachlet strikes that balance between mystery and likability: six legs ready for action, eyes that could intimidate in the dark, but also a heartfelt charm that makes it a unique holo.
I tried to give it a design that showed that duality. My goal was to make it look cute yet dynamic—able to scurry up walls and anywhere it wants to attack.
🧠 TOOLS USED:
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✏️ Phase 1: Sketch & Lineart
I used Ibis Paint for the first time, only because it records the process and doesn’t demand too much from my computer. It’s great to be able to show a bit more about how I start my paintings, though I’d need to get a bit more used to it. I felt a bit uncomfortable since I’m so accustomed to using keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop, so I made the initial sketch there and then went back to Photoshop to refine it. I was going to use the Pen Tool to create perfect lineart, but it was the same process I use to fill each part of the character, so I thought, “Wait, this is double work!” and just filled everything right away.
🎨 Phase 2: Grayscale
I tried to apply all the detailing of the painting in grayscale—and I succeeded. The result looked perfect, and the grayscale work alone could have been considered a great finished piece. But ah, that wasn't all—there was still a ton of work left to do on the coloring.
🌗 Phase 3: From Gray to Color
You probably already know this trick: using the Multiply and Hard Light blending modes to apply the first color tones to each element. The downside is that it doesn’t give an immediate result—everything still looks pretty flat and muted—but it does let me experiment more freely with colors without ruining anything. Then, the Overlay blending mode can breathe more life into everything.
🌟 Phase 4: Final Touches
In this phase, I refined the details. I continued working with the Overlay blending mode to make everything look nicely saturated, and combined it with Soft Light to create more striking color transitions. This is especially noticeable in the legs—without altering the grayscale base I had laid down, the texture now looks much cooler and the colors more vibrant. I also enhanced the highlights in the eyes to give them a livelier glow.
I kept the background simple and soft so that all the attention remains on the character. The final result is an Arachlet that, although originally conceived as a creature from a shadowy place full of dark colors, ended up looking utterly adorable. 🕷️✨
Let me know in the comments! 👇
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