Today, I'm sharing with you a character development project I had, some idea sketches, and a speedpainting portrait I did of the character at the end! So I present you, Tshilaba!
Of course, like every project, things started with messy idea doodles. I wanted to make a witch with a gypsy setting. At this point, I was doodling anytime and everywhere for ideas, until an image got set up in my mind.
And some idea sketches for hairstyles and accesories.
And a portrait and style experiment;
At this point, I more or less decided what she was going to look like. The heart under her eye originated from a witch lore I've read while researching the subject. Also at this point I've decided on her general color scheme, which had purple hues and golden tints as the main shade. Here you can see further work on her, with some basic expressions and a final phase where she "uses her powers"
Her eyes would light up like bright gold when she was working on her magic, as if fires were lit inside her.
And, her hands. Tarot cards would be her main "magic item" and the question marks indicated that whe had the question "between her hands". This idea came to me from the Spanish question marks. I also wanted her to have henna hand tattoos.
Around this point I was mostly done with the creation process. One night when I was just doodling again, I got caught up with the flow and... This portrait happened, completely unplanned and surprisingly fast.
Some close-up's. Yes, it's pretty messy up close.
And here's a progress gif for curious ones.
