ART WAR 4 | 2D | War of the Elements | Xul’Drahim | gabinguede.work

Full Name : Gabin Guédé
Email : gabinguede.work@gmail.com
Website : www.artstation.com/gabin-g
Instagram : www.instagram.com/gabin.guede

It is said that this ancient beast was the first hydromancer, and that he led an army of souls.
Sealed in the abyss by powerful elementalists, Xul’Drahim was summoned back by hydromancers to fight alongside the forces of the water. Out of control, he enslaved their souls and now seeks to reform his army.
The tide will crush everything.

Hi everyone ! I'm hyped by this year's theme and I'm really happy to enter my second Artwar
I had a lot of issues with the website for a week and just managed to sign in and enter the contest now. I started drawing a week ago so I have some concepts to post already. I have a good idea of what I want to do now, but my final piece isn't started yet.

Here was the first sketch of Xul'Drahim. I had in mind an ancient sea monster that would control water wizards and use their powers to carry him in a giant bubble.
The idea evolved, but I still want to do a water beast that leads an army of hydromancers.

Concept.jpg3840x2160 1.56 MB

Some days later, I did some sea monsters sketches, and quickly found one I really liked.
Here is the new design I wanted for Xul'Drahim

Redesign.jpg3840x1494 594 KB

Thanks, I like how yours is going too !

Thank you very much ! I'm a huge fan of Feng Zhu and Anthony Jones, I think they influenced me a lot while I was learning how to paint

That's exactly what I was going for, lol !
When I started drawing the only thing I had in mind was "Let's draw a Monster Hunter-like sea creature"

I did some testing for the design of his head. It was a tough choice to make but I think I ended with something that fit him well.
This head has something more human-like than the others, it makes him look like a demon coming from the abyss.

I still have one picture to post and I'll have caught up on everything I did this week.

Head-Design.jpg3840x1680 1.04 MB

Thanks for everyone's kind words ! It keeps me motivated !
Here are my color tests. It was super fun to do, and I really like the last one (the one on the right of the second picture).
It looks like a monster coming from abyssal depths, exactly what I was looking for.

Colors1.jpg3840x1680 1.6 MB

Colors2.jpg3840x1680 1.45 MB

Today I wanted to design Xul'Drahim's powers to find how he could summon hydromancers' souls.
I found a design I like for the souls, and I have enough material to start sketching compositions for the illustration

Thanks ! I think I'll go with your idea about the hydromancers summoning
I didn't do too much the last days, I'm a bit afraid of messing up the illustration. I really want to find a composition that shows the whole design of the monster, I'll work on this today ^^