I know, I know—I'm two days behind! 😲

But I got a little image editing gig that I couldn’t pass up—especially since my bank account was looking a little too skinny. 😅 Now, though, it’s time to go all in on Zingtober! 💪

🔅 Fourth Prompt: Murky

For the Zingtober prompt "Murky," I decided to go with a darker background. I depicted the Light Healer standing in front of a dense, murky water made purely of ink, its surface reflecting her face with a frightened expression. In that reflection, ghostly figures of Larvie begin to take shape—spectral forms that ended up looking a lot like the little knight from Hollow Knight.

🧠 TOOLS USED:

Photoshop (as always, my digital salvation).
Brushes: my trusty brush pack, with a few new ones featuring glitter effects
Resolution: 2048x2400 px

_{(Thx to Hive account@holozing for such adorable creatures to bring to life!)}

⏰ CREATIVE PROCESS

✏️ Phase 1: Ibis Paint for Sketching

Does anyone know how to flip the canvas horizontally in Ibis Paint? I really struggled with this today! 😫 I knew the healer's face looked crooked, and the most effective way to fix it is to flip the entire canvas to see it from another perspective and make corrections—but I just couldn’t do it! 🎨

🎨 Phase 2: Lineart

I struggled with how to handle the healer's expression—I wasn't sure whether to make her neutral, more intrigued, or frightened. So, I kept adjusting her expression from one sketch to the next. What I did was duplicate the layer and tweak her expression each time, allowing me to compare and choose which version I liked best. In the end, I went with the most dramatic look and ended up creating a GIF. Almost without planning to, I wound up with a subtle animation of her face shifting between expressions.

🌗 Phase 3: Ink

I painted everything black, and then used a layer mask to erase the areas where I wanted Larvie's spectral figures to emerge. On a new layer, I painted the healer's face silhouette in white, then added subtle shading to it.

🌟 Phase 4: Final Touches

I ended up using the sketch layer of the healer's face—I increased its opacity so the lines would appear deep black, then started erasing and painting over them to refine the result. Something I really loved was how the shading turned out when I added lines over her eyes; it intensified her expression of tension. It's a technique I picked up after years of reading manga.

As for the healer's body, my original intention was to render it in detail with clean, polished lineart. But since I left it for last, I felt too lazy to fully commit. Instead, I opted to define her silhouette using a solid color—I just shaped her hair and called it done. It looked great, and it kept the focus entirely on her face reflected in the ink.

And you? Are you doing Inktober, or focusing on Zingtober? Or maybe following a different prompt list?

Let me know in the comments—I’d love to check out your art and see how you interpret the prompts!

/┆\ My Zingtober Road જ⁀➴


			Murky	Deer	Pierce	Starfish
Reckless	Heavy	Sweep	Sting	Shredded	Drink	Trunk
Ragged	Blunder	Ornate	Deal	Artic	Rivals	Blast
Button	Firefly	Rowsy	Inferno	Puzzling	Onion	Skeletal
Lesson	Vacant	Award