꙳•✩⋆꙳•❅Happy holidays, my dear friends❆⋆꙳•☃︎⋆꙳

No doubt, we are in the season where the most affection is felt in the air, where going out on the street gives that feeling of being in a movie. I truly hope you are experiencing pleasant days with your family, your loved ones, or with yourself. And I wanted to bring this feeling to Splinterlands because here, too, we can pause the battles and the evil of the Legion of Chaos and let the peace of the Christmas spirit reign.

And to prove that everyone can be happy at Christmas, I went in search of a character who, at first glance, doesn't give the impression of being the happiest or the one many people want to approach. With fiery hair and a defiant warrior attitude, Zafira, the Torch Vizier, cannot lead a peaceful life, she is being pursued. However, that doesn't mean she can't be loved. For everyone, there is someone willing to love us despite the flames we emit, and she has found love in a baby Redwyrm, a wonderful creature that will accompany her during these holidays and throughout her life.

Play Splinterlands Now❕

Tools:

Gaomon S620
Photoshop
Brushes courtesy of Imad Awan: Download here

🔰Process🔰

_References

-Step 1:

For the sketch, I was looking for references of girls with their pets because I wanted to convey that lovely feeling of being with your furry friend. In fact, it reminded me a bit of the painting 'The Favorite' by Omar Rayyan, which became a meme several years ago since the dragon didn't have a cute appearance yet, and its huge horns made it look terrifying.

-Step 2:

I took the colors from the original Splinterlands card palette and used them to establish the base colors for both characters. I separated the main elements into different layers to facilitate the painting process. This can be seen in the clothing and layers of Zafira's skin and hair, where I hid the sketch layer to paint freely.

-Step 3:

After a while of painting the Redwyrm, I decided that I wanted to bring it back to the original position from the first sketch (go to the gif below to see it), as I felt it was too far away from Zafira. It turned out to be a good idea because now the Vizier is reclining on the dragon, giving the scene a more affectionate atmosphere.

-Step 4:

Since the dragon's body wasn't sketched, I shaped it as I painted, using crimson red to match it with the cold atmosphere around it, allowing the dragon to contrast directly with the warm orange of the Vizier's hair. Speaking of her, I completely got rid of all the sketch lines and shaped her face with some soft shadows, surrounding her with her flaming hair, which I defined in various layers. I used the 'hard light' blending mode to generate striking highlights. Additionally, I used the eraser and a strong brush to give her more rebellious curls of fire.

-Step 5:

Now that everything was in its proper place, I dedicated the next few hours to render the scene to give it a very striking and Christmasy touch. I tried to achieve this by adding soft lights in the blue background, accompanied by very bright snow. Initially, I thought about making the snow melt due to the heat of these fire-filled beings, but honestly, I had no idea how to do it, so I set that idea aside. However, I wanted to add something more since the lower right space in the composition felt quite empty. So, I painted a couple of Christmas presents there, to which I later wanted to add a bit of flames because it's inevitable that our protagonists unintentionally set things on fire around them. But I failed a bit in the detailing of these small flames (sorry).

Something I hadn't mentioned is that the character of the Torch Vizier has an appearance that I find somewhat tragic with the shackles on her hands and neck. So, I decided to omit these things in favor of a beautiful scene. Although, as I write this, I realize that I forgot to add the diadem to her forehead (hahaha), and I apologize for that because I'm a bit lazy to open Photoshop again to paint it. What I didn't forget was the Redwyrm Hatchling's greed for jewels and gold, so I painted a ring on one of its wings and some coins scattered in the snow.

Without further ado, I'll let you continue to have excellent Hollidays, and I hope Santa brought you a lot of love.

I will leave you a GIF with the whole process on it, so you can better appreciate the illustration process.