Hello guys,
Here is Elftober Day 9 which is all about Shadow Play, and I just had to step outside my usual style of drawing to make this one happen. Usually, I keep it pretty simple with my soft, textured line work and flat color bases, but you can't have good shadow puppets without an atmosphere right? To really achieve that glowing mushroom for my light source, I had to do something different with the background and lighting. I used darker, richer colors, and focused on blending those soft glows and shadows I know it’s not my usual style, but I think the result is totally worth it to create that magical night time vibe. This little elf is having the best time making shadow shapes under the toadstools if you did not notice there is a rabbit on the ground formed with his hands.
Now, a bit of work in progress snaps to give you an idea what happened behind the scenes:
I start by building the foundation these circular shapes act as a reliable skeleton or foundation onto which I then build the details, clothes, and contours.
Now that the geometric shapes had been made easy to manage I can finalize the line drawing. I made the hair quite curly and long, the tunic is simplified and the shoes basic. I forgot to draw the left ear but the overgrown hair would actually make up for it hahaha.
Time to make the base colors. I chose forest green, algae blue and that family of color to give it that deep woods feel.
The mushrooms are another layer that require the same amount of time and detail I did with the elf but I will not show that process anymore. Here the shadow of a rabbit is still obvious because the background is still white. Good luck to that.
I added the dark blue color for the sky so the luminous mushroom would shine. The ground has this darker mossy green color now making the shadow rabbit difficult to identify. That was a struggle. The fun part is adding the stars on the sky and the rest of the forest trees
The finished drawing still looks dull and washed out, good thing this adjustments I made on the image kind of help a bit. I increased the contrast and the shadow see the image above and that made it look night time without making it look all dark. The elf and the mushroom still popped.
Here are the prompts for this week you may use if you want to take part in this whimsical challenge:
Date Prompt
Day 6: Borrowed Things: The elf has borrowed something from the human world maybe a button or a lost coin and is inspecting it curiously.
Day 7: Mud Puddle: The consequence of running, the elf has landed maybe face first in a puddle of mud.
Day 8: Treehouse Talk: The elf is having a serious hushed conversation with a friendly animal maybe a toad, an owl, etc.
Day 9 Shadow Play: The elf is using the light of a glowing mushroom to make funny shadow puppets on a rock.
Day 10 First Frost: The elf is bundled up and fascinated by the first signs of frost on the grass or a window.
Thank you
Krisette
Elftober is my personal art challenge running throughout October, where I create a new elf drawing every day. Inspired by the popular Inktober event, Elftober is my own initiative to focus specifically on the magical and whimsical world of elves. My goal is to draw one piece of art featuring an elf for all 31 days of the month, using a custom prompt list to spark my creativity and help me explore my drawing style. It's a fun way for me to celebrate the magical autumn season with my favorite pointy-eared friends
You didn't have the time to add depth to the elf himself? That would have tied him well with the background. It is one of your best in this elf series though
that is a nice trick to color correct