Hi guys,
I'm back with another illustration for the Splinterlands game character 'Shin Lo.' This character is a reward card in the game.
I reconstructed the game character with my own style and taste, using influence from the game figure. I wanted my reproduction to appear larger and more magnificent, and I'm delighted it did. I hope you agree with my points of view, and that you enjoy how I reinvented the game character in my own way.
Before I go into how I made my image, I wanted to talk about the game character a little bit more out of respect for the original authors who pondered their thoughts to develop such a unique concept, character, and plot.
This mystery Dragon from the other side of the planet talks in a language that none of the Splinterlands Dragons comprehend. Since his arrival, he has provoked clashes with Lightning Dragons, City Dragons, Burrowing Dragons, and even the mighty Gold Dragon himself. Shin-Lo is little more than a nuisance to the Dragons of the Gloridax, sneaking up behind them and taking cheap shots whenever he can.
Every time I read a character's narrative and concept, my admiration for the creators grows. Let's start with how I made my artwork.
To begin, I created this artwork in Adobe Illustrator. I began by sketching the most intricate aspect of the piece, the head. I began with the outlines and worked my way up to the intricacy of the head's inside, drawing the borders one by one. I attempted to make the expression as absurd as possible. I started sketching the beard, mustache, and horns after I finished the insides.
I began working on the body when I finished designing the head. I attempted to make the body as slithery as possible in order to resemble the Chinese Dragon God. I attempted to recreate the dragon's mane from the original character but was unable to do so.
After finishing the upper torso, I began sketching the hands. I put some hair around the hands, similar to the game figure, but instead of making it flaming, I wanted it to seem more natural. To lighten my burden, I simply duplicated the right hand, including the hair, and pasted it on the left side.
I did the same thing with the lower body that I did with the upper body. It follows more subtle features in the lower body than in the upper body.
I attempted to retain the fundamental aspects of the shape, including the colors, as accurately as possible throughout the picture. After finishing the image, I began searching the web for a suitable backdrop, and when I finally found it, I was overjoyed since my task was virtually finished. I graded the character darker to match the backdrop as a last-minute touch-up.
I've included a GIF to demonstrate the illustration's metamorphosis. This is my artwork of 'Shin Lo;' I hope you like it and would appreciate your support.
