The Font of Igusa

The Font of Igusa (井草の泉) is a secluded spring located in Hikou-Tou (飛行島), the land of the Ehn-Gu in the Aevis Archipelago. Its clean and pure waters is said to have healing properties, able to soothe and cleanse both body and spirit, and is long sought after by both adventurers and Ehn-Gu apothecaries alike. However, only very few know where it is in the Igusa Forest, and to safeguard the spring's purity from greed and pollution, its exact location has been kept a closely guarded secret.

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You know how you just have this idea for an art piece and it's just so vivid in your mind? The kind that just stays plastered in your brain, nagging at you to just put it on canvas or forever hold your peace? Because this painting has certainly been one of them. Maybe you don't know how to get there either like I was when I started, but you strive to figure out how anyway.

Needless to say, I was doing a lot of research to get this piece right. A lot of my time was spent watching Marc Brunet's videos on YouTube about line art and coloring. I had to redo the line art four times; there were a lot of adjustments I needed to do and I wouldn't settle for less on her line art. Her hair was initially flat, and then I drew inspiration from Shilin's art style when it came to hair (her OC Blackbird was on my mind in that part of the process, actually).

From her line art, I wasn't sure exactly what direction I wanted to take when it came to the environment's style. Vir turned out incredible but the background was my deal-breaker. Was I supposed to do the same thing I did with Vir's line art? What would it look like if I just painted it the way I normally did? So I spent most of that at first trying to see if the latter worked for her style, and I was reaaally binging on my references for guidance. Much to my surprise, it worked just right! 🌈

Much was learned from this piece. It has introduced me to the wonders of the Hard Light blend mode--I've finally cracked that code of how to make the lines blend with the skin! I've also learned what transfer on a brush is, and how important that is if I want to nail this new style in the future.

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Personally, Viresco has been, for a long time, an image of the chaotic and the sexual, broken by her past yet made whole through experience. In that raging tempest embodying all of what she is, lies a calm like any other storm--a person at peace of what she has become, accepting all facets of herself, even her inner darkness.

Yet I don't believe I've featured her enough in my art to properly portray all of what she is. I'd definitely like to change that though, starting with this piece. 😌

Fishing at Labyrinthine Cliffs

Another lovely painting from the Labyrinthine Cliffs! This time, I wanted to depict a fishing scene at one of the islands off the coast. Raas reeled in his catch, but he reeled in a little too hard, much to Sage Essher's dismay. He's still quite the greenhorn when it comes to fishing, but he'll get there! 🎣

This painting is not as detailed as my previous one but that doesn't make it any less satisfying. This is also my first attempt at trying to paint reflections on water with the help of a smudge tool. Damn, look at those reflections. Don't they look fancy? 👏😆

I'm very pleased to have a proper summer piece where the characters are near the ocean! And, although it saddens me to know the Festival of the Four Winds is coming to an end, I'm comforted by the fact that I've made two Four Winds paintings that I can fondly look back on whenever I yearn for the summer. And what a productive summer it has been in terms of art!

This year's festival was fun, as always. It was even better now thanks to the fishing and skiffs from the latest expansion of the game; I just loved being out at sea in Labyrinthine and fishing off of my skiff to relax while I took a break from painting. Also, the Zephyrite Shawl from this year's festival achievements is one of the best pieces of equipment I've ever had, and I'm looking forward to next year's Zephyrite-themed armor, weapons, and guild decor. ✨

That said, until we meet again, Labyrinthine 💕 Thanks for the lovely memories this summer. See you again next year! ⛵🌅🪂

Greetings From Labyrinthine Cliffs

The Festival of the Four Winds is my favorite summer event of Guild Wars 2, and ever since I set foot on the sunny shores of Labyrinthine Cliffs, I swore to myself I would make an art piece that would do this place justice. Naturally, I also wanted it to be art that featured both the skritt and the Exalted.

I'm absolutely shookt right now. I can't even describe my euphoria. I will say though that I'VE DONE IT GUYS. I'VE FUCKING DONE IT. Two years of this scene living rent-free in my head and now it's a reality. The skritt and the shiny rods of Westwatch have finally arrived in the Cliffs to celebrate the Festival of the Four Winds.

And the best part? It's painted exactly how I wanted it to look like. Consider this my magnum opus of the month, ladies and gentlemen. I'm rightfully proud of my accomplishments in this painting.

I won't lie when I say I was anxious at first. I feared it would be like when I attempted this on my friend's gift art weeks ago. But somewhere along the course of painting this, I realized that perhaps I'm being too rigid about all the details. Maybe I just needed to forget about being so worried about all the little things.

And that loose, relaxed mindset has paid off, more than I could ever have anticipated. I'm absolutely blown away by this result. Don't let your memes stay dreams, guys. Set your mind to something and anything is possible. 👏

Speelunkk's Shiny Cave

"Is the ooze still out there?" A voice called out wearily from beyond the giant pylon. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Oh!" Speelunkk, rifle in hand, dashed to the voice deeper into the cavern, his companions following not far behind. It didn't take long for the adventurous skritt to catch the faint glimmer of something shiny, which immediately caught his attention. "Heard something. Over here!"

"Who's there?" The voice asked. "I need assistance."

Speelunkk slowed to a halt at the sight. It was one of their new shiny rod neighbors from the golden city--the other races called them the Exalted. Its armor was caked in dust and soil, dulling its golden gleam. The Exalted laid collapsed on the dirt, the glow of its energy faint. It was weakened but still alive.

"Something shiny down tunnel!" Speelunkk exclaimed, kneeling down as the others arrived to see what was going on.

Essher raised his head, his vision coming to focus on a heavily bearded skritt carrying a rifle and a group of warriors standing behind him. "Oh, there you are." He couldn't believe he was saying this, but he had never been more relieved to be seeing a skritt of all people coming to his rescue. "I feared I might spend eternity here."

Speelunkk placed one of his hands on the weakened Exalted's arm while one of the adventurers cast a healing spell to treat the fallen sentinel. "What would trap such shiny pretty person?"

"An ooze ambushed me," Essher informed them, slowly feeling reenergized thanks to the spell. "I may not survive another of its attacks. I wonder if you might have better luck?"

"No worries!" Speelunkk tapped the butt of his rifle to the ground and beamed Essher a confident grin. "Will smash ooze and free pretty floaty thing."

At that moment, the ground started shaking as something started thumping closer to the group. The viney wall nearby collapsed from all the shaking, revealing another tunnel underneath, and a massive golden ooze that now ominously loomed over them...

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Some Guild Wars 2 fan art is here! It's been a while since I drew about my two favorite races from the game. This piece features an original reimagining of the skritt Speelunkk and the Exalted Sage Essher, in the golden ooze's cave in Auric Basin. 😎✨

I was looking back on my past work of Tarocheeki's farm. I really wanted to create something new in that style again this time. I think this piece was a step up from that, particularly in terms of the shading on Speelunkk, and the anatomy of his hands. ✌

At this rate I may as well draw the rest of the Westwatch skritt in this style. Wouldn't that be something, eh? 😄