Created New Fantasy-Based Digital Illustrations

[Edit] This blog post was a continuation of work over a period of time, thus right below are the latest versions (if you keep reading the original blog post below these samples where the crystal is curved you will find my previous work with a wide range of samples):

Below are vectorized versions done through the trace command using Adobe Illustrator of Warriors Find Magical Crystal:

Older version below (before I straightened the sword):

Pixel art variants:

[Original post]: I have been working on transforming another former hand-drawn (with some pastels thrown on top) artwork of mine into a digital illustration. The artwork was done very quickly and really when I just first started to pick up art again, thus the proportions were totally off (like of the warrior figure).

However, despite its roughness, I liked some of my ideas in it and saw potential in transforming it digitally into something more relevant. Thus, I used a combination of two different apps as I usually do on the iPad, Procreate and ArtStudio, because combined they pretty much can replace Photoshop and its various filters and options. But with the added ability to use a stylus or Apple Pencil in my case.

Also, to be honest, I think the original version and its filter I added right below it have character. They are almost like a cartoony style of comics or cartoons we saw as kids on Saturday mornings or in Poland as evening cartoons called Dobranocki.

However, when digitizing it lately, I had to totally transform the warrior figure as he was just too small when compared to the rest of the scenery. Then I worked from there using various brushes and effects. The idea of this piece would be like a fantasy book or role-playing game cover artwork or in-game intro screen artwork.

The idea behind it is like in a role-playing game a character or warrior enters a mysterious cave and finds a mysterious crystal that lights up various objects around him.

The title for the piece with the blueish-white structure displayed:

Warriors Find Magical Portal

The title for this piece is when the purple crystal displayed:

Warriors Find Solace in a Magical Crystal

Replace Warriors with Warrior if it is just the original figure I created within this piece.

Here is the original hand-made drawing and what I created from it starting with my favorite versions to older revisions:

Before you open the images below on a desktop, know they are done on an iPad screen and are meant for tablet or mobile resolutions or as minimized on a desktop. However, I can resize them or alternatively save any on request as PDFs for commissions or other ideas and projects.

Here is the first image below saves as a PDF. Here is another version with a new background I added since posting the ones directly below.

I also would like to add this image to the ones behind as I have added a new background (to the pure black or earlier textured backgrounds to make it more interesting I think) since posting the ones above.

However, for now I do not feel like adding it into all images and and reuploading them individually. Here is the PDF again of one version with the new background. Know that I can make these samples or have them as well with this new background in rear any time:

The images below this are a mixed bag with some mistakes I’ve only noticed after enlarging them on my mac and my HDTV – mostly the black spots on the backgrounds that did not blend seamlessly. On the iPad it looks fine, but when blowing the images up I saw what I needed to fix in that background and have in the images above.

However, the images still have some aspects that may appeal to people more than the ones above such as the different style of pants or legging armor. Of course, I can redo or mis these as I have them all stored as either full images or aspects of them as layers.

Here are some eve older variations you can follow as I kept revising the piece and improving it one idea at a time:

I can continue experimenting and revising it like adding the white armour style of pants (with chains coming down) to the top one (not the original but top one from the revisions I posted) or adding a totally black background. However, in that case the bats may be barely visible.

However, not wanting to be redundant I posted a variety of them, but can keep changing or pasting different aspects of the images into a new variant if I feel like working on it further.

If you look carefully, you may noticed slight changes, such as the dome or structure holding the large magical diamond changing at its base with me experimenting with various enhancements and filters in some revisions of it. Again, I can change aspects of each image around into one image. Also look at the pants and chainmail armor how they shift or change with different revisions.

Here is an Adobe Illustrator rendition I stared working on:

The idea of it is more cartoony of a style, but also neon light and gaming like with the character almost not belonging there or coming out of the picture. I also played a bit with the emboss filter to get this look:

To top it off, here is a quick or simply motion graphic gif animation:

[Edit]: As you may have noticed now looking at the images, I’ve decided to keep working on it and added a more 3D looking sword handle and belt. You can see it in some of the samples I changed above on top. I’ve also made the background cliffs darker and this is seen in some of the newer samples I changed above.

I have a backlog of a lot of hand-drawn illustrations and pastel drawings that I am in the process of digitizing. You can see my hand-crafted samples on the illustration section of this site. I already digitized another piece with various different renditions of it here.

Again I want to reiterate that when you open most of these images on a desktop and blow them up they will look washed up. Again, check the PDF here for what I can offer in terms of desktop view and do not judge them by the way they look in jpeg form on a desktop:

PDF Sample

Below is a resized not greatest quality 1920×1080 for desktop full screen image:

Note, contact me if the exact version you want is not listed in the. buttons above.