Of course, it's time for Rebellion

Everyone knows it; there are new cards with incredible characters to enrich the world of Splinterlands. What was most certain is that I was going to paint these new characters, I just can't resist. So, from now on, you can know me as the artist of the weekly Rebellion paintings. I'm sorry, but I know you'll love these upcoming artworks.

And I've decided to kick off this set of cards with a painting of a character that caught my attention at first sight. It had something that represented a complete challenge for me, especially considering the perspective I planned to use, and that's the hat. I could have removed it from her, but I wanted to make it interesting. Ah, but too much text and I still haven't even told you who the character is (although it's in the title). She is Runesser Sevaya, a powerful mage trained in runemancy, to whom I've given a good demonstration of power in this painting.

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Tools:

Gaomon S620
Photoshop
Brushes courtesy of Imad Awan: Download here

🔰Process🔰

_Reference

-Step 1:

As I mentioned before, I took the perspective as a challenge. It was easy to position the character and the stone arch around her, but I spent quite a while trying to fit the Runesser's hat. I wanted it to look good but not be too high above the protagonist's head. Fortunately, I had the free transform tool to deform the hat sketch as I pleased.

-Step 2:

For coloring, I've applied the base colors, each on different layers, as I wanted to streamline the detailing process. You know I love using layer masks to not affect the rest of the work as I paint. Immediately, I went straight to detailing the layer of the skin, specifically the face, to bring her three eyes to life.

-Step 3:

To get a better sense of the colors of Sevaya's outfit, I paid attention to the background as I planned to give her suit a latex or leather texture. It was essential to know the colors of her surroundings, so I added the power ball between the fingers of her raised hand. This way, I already had a clear idea of where there was a very powerful light source. On the other hand, I took the sketch layer and erased some lines as I defined the elements in the painting. From the beginning, I was clear that I wouldn't keep these lines until the end of the artwork.

-Step 4:

On a new pair of layers, I created the lines for the details of the columns in the background. I also focused on the golden surfaces, trying to achieve a metallic texture. I achieved this by alternating three tones of a color that is intermediate between orange and green; if you play with the color wheel, you'll find it very close to gray. I also dedicated time to make the distinction between the blue of the sleeves and the blue of the rest of the suit, which I should mention, I've changed from a skirt to tight pants. It was the best choice for the perspective I used.

-Step 5:

Something that always seemed strange to me was the lighting on the arm, so I decided to add a semi-transparent sleeve that covers it entirely (a neat trick). I also shaped the scepter she carries; I thought it was great that it was the head of a dragon with a crystal sphere in its mouth, although in the end, it doesn't take too much focus in the scene. I didn't want to modify the hand holding it, although it has turned out well as it doesn't steal the spotlight within the scene.

And now, let's talk about the magic ball in Sevaya's hand. In the original design from Splinterlands, she holds something in the hand that doesn't carry the scepter, but I wasn't sure what it was. So, I replaced it with magic, mostly using the 'hard light' blending mode, which I also used a lot in the rest of the painting. With it, I achieved the most prominent highlights and some of the darker areas. That's the good thing about this blending mode; it can be used in those opposite cases.

This is how I've brought the first character from Rebellion that I liked to life with my art. Now, it's your turn to tell me in the comments if you liked the result.

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