The Lone Boatman: A proud pawn who sails on

The sky's burned a sailors delight, the evening quiet beyond the crash of waves and occasional sea life making head for a gasp of air. He plucks the fool fish from the sea gleaming at the thought of a breakfast for a king he would serve himself come the break of dawn. He inspects the inventory, many goods and wears to keep his kingdom from falling apart, though he truly cares for none of it. They are simply his shipment meant to keep his family back home well fed and warm. A snuggly brown bear lays nestled in his nap sack waiting to be gifted to a little boy who misses his father dreadfully. The boy promised he'd be brave and look after his family while his father was away. Though the fate was always a possibility with such a line of work as his fathers, he will still feel a shock of dismay when the news of his fathers loss will reach back to him, the bear undelivered, rotten with algae somewhere unknown and forgotten. The sea of wrath rages on amongst the waters. Can you smell the wreaking stench of a brave man's determined blood dying the salty waters a deep dark crimson, almost indiscernible from the murky sea depths. He was a physical force to be reckoned with. The first to know of the danger impeding his country's daily life, and alone in the fight until the mountains range. His story is not just a cautionary tale, but a promise to all the other lone men who brave the seas. The fleet of the most important cogs in the machine of Khymeria, sailing on alone, but not in vain.

Hello, hello!

This is my submission for the competition. A bit of backstory, I am not very good at this game haha. I've definitely tried it, but it's not really the kind of game I can keep myself into, especially to justify putting money into it, lol. My husband @bananofarmer, however, is a guild leader! So it behooves me to stay somewhat in touch with the game! Weeks back, I was studying the cards and found this beautiful sea man with a lore that gripped my soul. Did I maybe go a tid bit overboard with reading between the lines? Yes. Absolutely. And my pun was also completely intended. Anywho, after rambling on about this sea faring fella for far too long, my husband went ahead and recommended I draw the guy for the art competition. So I did! And then I stopped halfway through and didn't look at it for weeks, until the other day when I remembered it and finished it finally. I'm a mom. This just the way I do most projects.

The process: A harrowing journey to a somewhat satisfactory ending

Program used: GIMP

Oh yes, I sketch on the rough side. I wouldn't mess with me if I were you, lest your eyes too be rendered as soulful specks. chefs kiss

Adding detail, not understanding how layers work in Gimp.

Decided to toss in a bit of background, to add to flavor to his journey. Not that the misty white abyss isn't an adventure in of itself. It's just a bit painful for the eyes after a while. I am not a snow person.

After remembering to wear my glasses, I feverishly attacked many parts of this boat. Was I satisfied with this result? No ❤️

Alas! The gods of doodles blessed me with the moment I could smack on a whole busty layer of line art, allowing this man to fiercely bloom before your very eyes!

The reference photo, complimentary of my child.

I was vaguely inspired by this random picture I found when I was browsing the official Splinterlands cards. (Seriously though, thank you to the original artist from @Splinterlands for this master piece. I showed it to my mom, and we both fell in love.)
Link to the contest post

Thanks for reading!