Hey everyone! Nite morning 👋 How are you doing? I’m here
Hey guys, how u all doing? So yeah, here I am again joining the weekly Splinterlands art contest. This week I worked on Blackmoor Wild Elf, kinda wild but not too crazy. I did it in Photoshop, trying to keep everything pretty chill and not overthink every tiny detail like I usually do lol.
And right after finishing it, I started opening some of the new packs and tbh I finally got lucky after a long time, a few decent cards,a golden one and even a summoner, so the week started kinda 🔥. I also recorded a video of the whole process and grabbed a bunch of screenshots from it to show the step-by-step..
Tbh picking Blackmoor Wild Elf wasn’t even my original plan. I had like 3 other chars in mind, but when I opened the game and saw that card again I was like “ok ok, this one, let’s just go with it, no overthinking.” Lately I’ve been wanting to do stuff that feels more natural and not super forced, so maybe that’s why it clicked. The design has that forest vibe, but I didn’t wanna go full green-crazy or super magical or whatever. I just wanted something chill. And ngl after a kinda heavy week, opening Photoshop and starting something simple felt pretty good.
This time I started suuuper simple, like even simpler than usual. I literally just threw a couple grayscale blobs on the canvas, no real shape, just to block out the general comp. Lately I kinda like starting that way ’cause it feels way more free and doesn’t pressure me to make everything perfect from the start. After those random blobs, I started hinting the pose, but super loose, almost like I was sketching without really trying… even tho I was trying lol. The idea was to keep the elf looking chill, no heroic poses or dramatic stuff, more like someone who’s just there, breathing and looking at u 😁😁😁😁😁. And once those basic shapes were in place, then I started defining the features a bit more .... but still keeping it light so I didn’t go full crazy on details.
Then I started adding color, kinda the same way I did last week: super loose at first, nothing detailed. But this time I wanted to give it a bit more love at the end, idk why, just felt right for this character. At the beginning I wasn’t even sure if I wanted warm tones, cold tones, or something in between. I legit switched the lighting like 3 times ’cause every 10 mins I wanted a diff vibe lol. In the end I went with something soft, not too warm, not too cold, just a chill balance that fit the vibe I wanted for him. I kept the greens desaturated ’cause I didn’t want that loud forest look..
One thing that’s been helping me a lot lately is taking tiny breaks while painting. Like 5–10 mins, grab water or whatever. Sounds dumb but when u come back u suddenly see every mistake so fast lol. That happened a LOT with the elf’s face. At one point she looked like she hadn’t slept in 3 weeks, then she looked like she saw something traumatic in the woods lmao. So I started fixing it slowly: softer shadows under the eyes, eyebrows less intense, mouth more relaxed… and boom, he started looking normal again.
After the main stuff looked decent, I moved on to the final details: some soft highlights on the skin, tiny textures on the clothes, and a bit of rim light so he wouldn’t look flat. Didn’t wanna go overboard ’cause the original card isn’t super overloaded either. I also blurred the background a little so it wouldn’t steal attention. And then, ofc, I added a gradient on top ’cause it just ties everything together ..idk, it’s like a habit now lol. When I zoomed out to see the whole thing, it felt pretty nice. Not perfect or ultra polished or anything like that, but it had this chill, calm vibe that I really liked. Kinda matches the mood I had this week tbh.
And yeah, after finishing the art, I started opening some packs. From all the ones I opened, suddenly a gold foil pops up. I legit stared at the screen without blinking for a few seconds ’cause I thought I was seeing it wrong hahahaha. That does NOT happen to me often btw. I also pulled a couple cards that aren’t OP but not total trash either. And from the older packs I opened, I got a summoner, so yeah… luck was 10% on my side that day 🤣🤣
Overall this week felt pretty good tbh. I actually enjoyed the whole process, even the moments where I was super indecisive or changing colors every 5 mins lol. It was one of those pieces that just flows naturally without forcing anything. And the pack luck was like the cherry on top.
Joining the contest also keeps me active with art here, even tho I’m doing other stuff IRL too. So yeah, hope u guys like the piece and the step-by-step I grabbed from the video.
Oh, and one more thing before I wrap up...
A while ago I was looking for this little shark you see down here 🦈. It’s really special to me. I won it a long time ago here, n it was done by a person many years ago but also I consider a GREAT GREAT GREAT FRIEND now n who does amazing work , very talented🤗.
I thought I had lost it , I was very sad… but noooo! I got it back! Yes ! He found n sent it to me again, and I’m so happy to have it with me once more.
So from now on, this shark will be keeping me company 💙
Now yes! See you next time.
-.-
✨✨✨
