ART WAR 5 | 2D Submissions | Art World War | Mexico | Cuāuhpilli | hanomrno

[hanomrno]

thanks a lot for the comment! I'll take your advice and spice things up with the water splash, good thing is that there's still time to do that hehe

[hanomrno]

Thanks a lot for the comment! Oh yeah, the ripples created by the monster totally got past me, thanks for the reminder!
I'll try the rim lights on the mask, it doesnt hurt to try hehe

[hanomrno]

Following your advice and suggestions, as well as a critique a friend of mine gave me, I made some tweaks here and there:
- Added a slight more prominent rim light on the mask
- I incorporated more forward movement on some elements like the headpiece's feathers and the necklace
- Added a minor splash on the creature's foot
- The water has more movement on the foreground
- I changed a little bit the water splash, as well as some major changes in it's values

Still working on this, the obsidian blades are not done yet, and I need to add water running on the soldier's side

[gabs-fg]

heyyy Hanomrno I just posted two quick skeches(not quick at all) Id like to know your sincere opinion on them whenever you have a chance if you may thanks

[prinzmoana]

Hey I like the changes you've done, it looks great.👍🏼
Maybe you could have a little bit light from the moon shine on the top of the blade? ^^ Just an idea.

[br00dley]

Looking great! Water is looking very nice, maybe have some bounce light from the water bring out some of the features in the darker areas of the champions legs.

[hanomrno]

thanks a lot!!
Oh that's coming up! hehe you read my mind

[hanomrno]

Thanks a lot!
Oh that's a nice idea, haven't thought of that really but definitely I'm gonna try it

[hanomrno]

Well, I keep rendering this into existance, but still I keep finding spots that seem quite unfinished yet
One of those areas is the blades, I'm not fully convinced on my excecution of that material. I think I'm gonna paint some studies and then rework that in the main piece.
On this one, besides the rendering of the blades I added a minor bounce light on his right foot, some more highlights on the water around that foot, and some color correction, just to start tying everything together

(If you have any tips on rendering that kind of dark jewelry it'd be very appreciated)

[hanomrno]

Well, I took some time tonight to write a little lore for my warrior. Writing is not one of my strenghts so this took me quite a while hehe

"The cuāuhpilli was entrusted by Huitzilopochtli, major deity for the Aztecs, as guardian of the Texcoco Lake, sacred place once chosen by the god himself as the grounds for the now fallen city of Tenochtitlan.
This fearsome warrior was brought back from the dead thanks to Huitzilopochtli’s flame as a divine gift, as it grants unprecedented power and life energy to the bearer. But with the stench of death, the cuāuhpilli embraced the curse that came with his divine task, for he is to guard the lake even past the fall and demise of the city he once was resurrected to protect."

Also, I just realized I made a mistake with the name. Cuāuhpipiltin is the plural form, while cuāuhpilli is the singular. So I made the appropiate correction to this topic's title.

[hanomrno]

I spent some days to mentally recharge, it was a rough week emotionally.
Following the lore piece I wrote, I just added some ruins here and there on the background; nothing very prominent as it would steal focus from the aztec.

A random thought about those mermaid-style hair flips out of water hit me and it made me think, all objects drag some water out when in those type of movements. So I tested that idea and here it is... it does make sense from a physics stand point, but I'm not 100% sold on the look of it. What do you think?

[gabs-fg]

I think it looks great! also, very well done with those Obsidian blades, they loook just awesome

[dreamsequenz]

Awesomee man o can feel the sharpness of the weapon!!

[hanomrno]

@gabs-fg @dreamsequenz Thanks so much! I was doubting about those blades, but reading you r comments make me feel way better about them

[hanomrno]

Well, I just checked everything after a 2-week break from the project, and I think it's all settled. Next time I post it'll be the final entry

[gabs-fg]

Best of lucks, man. It is a great illustation you have right there. I still have los of work to do before getting to that point you are in right now hahaha but lets see how it turns out.

[studio-petercools]

wow I am really impressed with the way you rendered the water!

[hanomrno]

Thanks a lot!!
Also best of lucks to you, sure it'll look nice

[hanomrno]

thanks a lot! it a mix between some water brushes and hand painting highlights and color shifts, the splash is all hand painted and uff it was tought to get it right

[hanomrno]

Well, this is it, my official entry to the contest.

Personal details:
- Haniel Moreno Flores
- hanomrno@hotmail.com
- https://www.artstation.com/hanielmoreno
- Instagram @hanielm_art

Champion: Cuāuhpilli
Country: Mexico

The cuāuhpilli was entrusted by Huitzilopochtli, major deity for the Aztecs, as guardian of the Texcoco Lake, sacred place once chosen by the god himself as the grounds for the now fallen city of Tenochtitlan.
This fearsome warrior was brought back from the dead thanks to Huitzilopochtli’s flame as a divine gift, as it grants unprecedented power and life energy to the bearer. But with the stench of death, the cuāuhpilli embraced the curse that came with his divine task, for he is to guard the lake even past the fall and demise of the city he once was resurrected to protect.

Concept Sheet

Final Illustration

Bonus illustration

This was so much fun and I got to learn quite a lot in the process. Good luck to you all!