Splinterlands Art Contest | EXPLODING DWARF

Hello Hivers of the Alien Art Community!

Happy New Year! Let's start 2024 with a colorful entry to the Splinterlands Art Contest!

It will be my first time entering the contest because I just started re-learning my skill in creating artwork. I used to draw or sketch when I was still in college but then I forgot about when I started working. Now that I have regained my passion for creating artwork, it will be thrilling to post about it here in Hive. I think that my participation in this platform has brought out my interests and hobbies like writing and drawing as well. It's such a great privilege for me to be able to share my work with the Alien Art Community as well.

Without further ado, here's the final result of my colorful version of the Exploding Dwarf.

I came across some post entries for the Splinterlands Art Contest Week 273 and was motivated to make my entry as well. I then visited the website to see which character will be the one that will serve as my subject. Everything looks cool but for this entry, I chose the Exploding Dwarf because of his fierce look. He looks very angry!

My medium for my artwork is a mix of permanent markers and highlighters. These are all very mundane art materials that I have in my office.

I started by sketching the proportions and general shapes using my Staedler 2B pencil. The sketching is probably the most difficult part of the process because I have to get the proportions right so I have to carefully study the reference image.

reference image

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As soon as I was satisfied with the initial sketches, it was time for the tracing of the final lines. This one for me is the enjoyable part of the process. Using permanent marker feels very comfortable to my arm so I enjoyed this one.

I always start with the facial features and then move to the parts of the character. I think it's crucial to get this part right so that it will be less of my worries at a later stage.

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Here comes the fun part... coloring! I like using highlighters for coloring because of the neon effect. It looks bright and vibrant too. The only issue is that I haven't mastered the use of this medium so I struggle a bit when it comes to getting the perfect shading on the artwork that I do. I think that with constant practice then I will be able to nail it someday.

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As a finishing touch, I used the thick point of the permanent marker to make the outline more prominent and to correct the spilled/bleed colors as well.

Mixed Media

Here's the final result!

Thank you for viewing my art post, Hivers!