New Battle here!

It's been a while since I had a match in Splinterlands, and my insides were craving for an incredible and balanced fight. I didn't want the scales to be tilted in anyone's favor at first sight, just two heavyweights expressing their brute strength.

In the green corner stands the force of the forest, the embodiment of the forest's essence, the final boss in the midst of the trees. And in the other corner is the commander of the Prideheart Valiants, the one who is sent when the mission is completely dangerous, the one who shatters any enemy with his two-handed hammer.

This scene was meant to participate in the previous week's Splinterlands weekly contest, but I spent many days working on this artwork and didn't want to rush to finish it just before the contest deadline. That's why I decided to dedicate one more day and work on it calmly. Maybe I say this often, but truly, this is my favorite piece I have made for Splinterlands so far. I loved the composition.

Play Splinterlands Now❕

Tools:

Gaomon S620
Photoshop
Brushes courtesy of Imad Awan: Download here

🔰Process🔰

_References

-Step 1:

To achieve great dynamism in this scene, I had clear references for both characters. For Lichen Beast, I remembered the polar bears from His Dark Materials, and for Franz Ruffmane, I was thinking of Battle Beast from Invincible (which are both highly recommended series, by the way). With these characters in mind, I wanted to capture that fury in this battle.

-Step 2:

After sketching, I proceeded to give volume in grays to both characters, as I always do, using this technique to establish the light and shadows of the scene. Also, to avoid the monotony of monochromatism, I painted directly in blue the slime class that emanates from the bear.

-Step 3:

Now it's time to add color to the characters. As usual, the ideal method is to use the "color" blending mode, accompanied by "overlay" and "soft light". With this combination, you can add saturation to the grays without modifying the previous work.

-Step 4:

Then I started working on the bear's lichen, and I really enjoyed it because I managed to achieve a really eye-catching color palette. I spent a few hours detailing the entire vegetal texture of the Lichen Beast. As for the lion, I focused on his hammer and armor, trying to make both look shiny and eye-catching."

-Step 5:

To prevent the characters from battling right in front of the camera and making the composition look flat, I tried to make the slime fly towards the viewer's eye as Franz attacks the beast, seeking depth in the scene. I managed to create three planes, the closest to the camera with the slime, the middle plane with the battle, and the background of trees. I am very happy to have achieved that, and I am very satisfied with the color palette, dynamism, and composition. Now it's your turn to decide in the comments who you think will win this battle of strength and endurance.