Back after 2 years - My illustrated version of "Malric Inferno"

Hello, Splinterlands friends! It’s been a long time since I last posted here; to be honest, I’ve been busy with health issues and medical appointments—nothing serious, but it kept me away from my usual “Hive and Splinterlands” routine. Even so, I still have assets in the game, and I want to gradually get back to what I’ve been building. In fact, one of my passions, besides writing, is drawing. Also, when my kids were little and had drawing assignments, I helped them a lot because I’ve been good at it since I was a kid.

So, to get back into it, I wanted to put that talent I’ve had for years to good use, which is why today I want to show you a version of the “Malric Inferno” card. I chose it because it’s actually very easy to replicate, and besides, I still draw—though usually just for my granddaughters; but, looking for something to keep me entertained and also earn some extra income for my medications, I’ll start drawing cards or whatever else comes to mind from the game.

First, I’ll post a reference image so you can see my version of this card and follow along as I make the changes step by step. Also, since I don’t have any colors, I’ll be working solely with pencil and white paper—which is the most economical option. With that in mind, join me as we see how it turns out, especially since this is my first time drawing characters from Splinterlands.

It all started with almost invisible strokes, because if you don’t want to make as much of a mess as I sometimes do—erasing a lot and dealing with those kinds of details—you need to be very careful at the beginning. With that in mind, drawing a full-body figure requires that you first understand where the body ends and where it begins; recreating the flames and the energy is very important. I started with a very sharp 2H pencil to sketch quick circles and define that torso that characterizes "Malric." I admit that the proportions of the left arm gave me quite a bit of trouble at first; it looked too short compared to his chest, so you’ll see several overlapping action lines as I tried to find that perfect balance.

As Malric’s form became much clearer, after all that erasing and stretching of the paper, it basically ended up getting a little smudged. This is inevitable when you press down to define the details of the golden bracelets, since I really struggled to replicate them; plus, this is where the drawing starts to look “messy.” I had to erase the face area at least three times because the expression didn’t quite capture that unique blend that characterizes Malric. Those gray “ghost lines” remained, showing those mistakes, but in the end, looking closely and when I took the photo, the truth is that all that smudging actually suits the drawing quite well.

In this step, I set aside the harder pencils and took out the HB and 2B, which are better suited for the finer details needed to highlight certain aspects of the design. So I began working on the shading beneath her pectoral muscles and in the folds of her skirt or tunic. It was a process that required a lot of patience; this is the part that takes the most time, especially because I tried to replicate the effect of fire by using my finger to smudge the pencil at the base. This means that what I had erased earlier helped me smudge those shadows much more. For me, this is the most fun part, but also the riskiest, since if you’re not careful, one extra smudge and you lose everything, forcing you to redraw it.

Finally, using a very dark 6B pencil, I added the necessary contrast to finish it; I defined the rest of the details that were practically already finished in the previous step, but I tried to give them a little more definition. I would have liked to use colors, but, believe it or not, I’m not good at painting.

I hope you enjoyed this post; I tried my best, and it turned out beautifully. I know, of course, that it doesn't look exactly like the original, but I'm definitely happy to be drawing again.