Good evening everyone...
My recent artistic endeavor led me to the fascinating world of Splinterlands, where I undertook the challenge of illustrating the formidable Onyx Sentinel for their official art contest. This project represented a significant and thrilling milestone for me, not merely as an entry into a competition but as a profound personal exploration of digital art and character design. The entire creative process, from the initial blank canvas to the final detailed rendering, was executed exclusively on my mobile phone using the versatile and intuitive Sketchbook application. This choice of tool added a unique layer of intimacy and challenge to the project, proving that powerful art can be created with technology that fits in the palm of your hand.
The Onyx Sentinel, as a character, immediately captivated my imagination. There is a certain majestic and ominous aura that surrounds this entity within the Splinterlands lore, and I was deeply drawn to its powerful, crystalline structure and its imposing, silent-guardian presence. While this was my very first attempt at bringing this particular character to life, I felt an instant connection to its design. I found it to be exceptionally unique and strikingly beautiful in a way that is both intimidating and awe-inspiring. Its composition—a harmonious yet fierce amalgamation of dark, polished stone and sharp, geometric forms—presents a fantastic subject for any artist. The complexity of its design, with its intricate details and the interplay of light and shadow on its crystalline facets, offered a rich tapestry of challenges and opportunities for creative expression.
The process :
The orginal card :
My artistic interpretation aimed to capture the essence of the Onyx Sentinel while imprinting it with a distinct stylistic identity. I consciously decided to move away from a hyper-realistic or overly serious depiction. Instead, I envisioned my version of the Sentinel as a character that could leap straight out of a high-quality animated series or a dynamic graphic novel. I imagined it with a certain cartoonish flair—a charismatic and slightly exaggerated character that maintains its inherent power and menace but is infused with a dose of personality and approachability. This approach involved amplifying its most prominent features; the sharp angles of its crystalline armor became more pronounced, its posture more dynamic, and its overall silhouette more bold and graphic. I wanted to create a piece that felt alive, as if the Sentinel were poised for action in the midst of a compelling story, rather than a static, posed model.
Achieving this vision on a mobile device was a meticulous and deeply engaging process that demanded patience and precision. Using my fingers and the touch-sensitive tools within the Sketchbook app, I began with rough sketches to map out the pose and proportions. Layering is a crucial aspect of digital art, and I created numerous separate layers for the base sketch, the line art, the flat colors, the shadows, and finally, the highlights and special effects. The most time-consuming part was undoubtedly the rendering of its textured, stone-like body and the refractive, gem-like qualities of its blue crystalline parts. Carefully selecting brushes that could mimic hard surfaces and smooth gradients, I spent considerable time building up the depth, adding highlights to suggest a hard, polished surface, and deepening the shadows to accentuate its formidable form.
In total, this labor of love consumed approximately an hour and a half of focused, uninterrupted creation. This period was one of intense concentration and flow, where I was completely absorbed in the world of my drawing. Every minute was dedicated to perfecting a line, adjusting a color value, or ensuring the light source was consistent across its complex anatomy. The time invested was not felt as a burden but as a rewarding journey of problem-solving and artistic discovery.
Ultimately, this experience was incredibly fulfilling. It was a fantastic exercise in mobile digital art and character reinterpretation. I am exceptionally proud of the final artwork and how it successfully translates the official Splinterlands character into my own unique cartoon-inspired style. The process has deepened my appreciation for the intricate designs within the game and has fueled my passion to continue creating and participating in such inspiring artistic communities. Whether in the contest or not, the journey of creating my version of the Onyx Sentinel was a valuable and enjoyable achievement in itself.
And now thanks for everyone who read my post. ❤️❤️
Drawing by: #mrzeus
Thanks for sharing! - @cieliss
