ART WAR 5 | 2D Submissions | Art World War | Bulgarian Samodiva | sparksofdawn

Hello!
Personal details:
Name: Georgi Madzharov
Email: gmadjarov7@gmail.com
Website: https://www.artstation.com/georgimadzharov
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/g_madzharov.art

I'm thinking of designing a bulgarian mythological character! I'm not completely sure what I'm going to go for, but for now: The samodivas are female water/forest spirits, luring the common folk deep into the woods and trapping them for eternity. Their basic design is a little simple, so I'm excited to try and come up with cool twists!

Some lore:
The Samodivas are mythological spirits, who appear as young women with blond hair and loose clothes or naked. They can make themselves invisible and fly. Their powers are contained in either their hair or shirts. They love dancing in forest clearings, luring men and killing them (feeding off their souls). They can cause drought and destroy crops.

Going off of that - Here's my initial sketch:

I'm going to give her some tattoos with traditional bulgarian patterns. The bulgarian flag is white, green and red, so expect these colors in varying degrees

I'm trying to push myself to a more stylized approach, so that's what I'm going to go for. Hope you like her!

@dannypavlovvr @tbrk Thank you! And Hi! ^^

Initial rough illustration comps and a color test.
I'm not really happy with them (they're a bit generic), but I had to get these out of my system and start thinking about the story and feel I'm going for.

I like the weightlessness of 1, but 2 gives her more power.

Next up - another batch of character concept art/ refinement

An update on the design:

I'm still unsure about the colors and if she needs the weapon or not, but I'm pretty happy with the design so far. As always - feedback is welcome!

Thank you for the kind words!
My 2 cents: I'd say the Art Wars are delightful because of the community spirit and seeing awesome art/ approaches, so don't prioritize the competitive side of it. Not to mention, I expect some really good people (past winners and such) to show up at some point, as it's a pretty long deadline.

Thanks! A mix between beauty and creepiness/horror is exactly what I'm going for, so I'm glad it's starting to show! And yeah, you're right about the leg (the whole pose is a bit awkward imo). It's on the list of hotfixes!

@stewart.mittnacht Thank you! I'll definitely play around with the proportions and shapes some more, before commiting to a final design And a slight lore detail - the samodivas are indeed super beautiful, but their nature is more akin to a succubus or a harpy, rather than a nature spirit (with slight variations in the myths).

@daarkneit Thanks a lot! Happy to hear that

@prinzmoana Well, it's not just the colors All the decorative elements are bulgarian designs, as well as a big part of her clothes (with the exception of the flowy side skirt). These decorative elements, obviously, are also found in other eastern european countries, but that's where the colors come in. But thank you for the feedback, I'll look into reinforcing the bulgarian feel, as any uncertainty means a weakness of the design!

@bauscheusse Thank you I'll try to make her as cool as possible!

Hello, hello!
After working on some other projects, I'm back on the samodiva!

Some redesign:

I'm thinking of ditching the weapon, as it doesn't really fit too well with the whole flowy dancing aesthetic.
Changed some proportions and design elements to reinforce the bulgarian feel. I have fantasy elements in there with some of the floating cloth pieces, but I want to make her look otherworldly and fairy-like. (Also, I just find it fun )
As for attack, she's going to suck the soul out of her enemies, but I'm still exploring other, complimentary means of attack.

I'm going to hit my head against the wall of colors some more, before presenting them to you
Have a nice day!

I get ya
Btw, the right design is a mix of what I like from the left ones with some added tweaks. There's no cleavage, it's a necklace element. Bulgarian traditional costumes are quite 'proper' and layered in general, even the uncovered arms are my creative license and would be quite strange/scandalous historically
Thanks for the crit!