ID Above The Cut This Time! I Took Up A Good Amount Of Space Talking About The Inspiration And Process

ID above the cut this time! I took up a good amount of space talking about the inspiration and process for this one, and wanted to make the ID easier to get to, so no one needs to scroll through it if they don't want to.

[ID: A portrait of a moon elf, from Dungeons and Dragons, shown from the shoulders up, facing forward. Instead of having hair, five mushrooms of various sizes have sprouted from their skin, and a couple on their neck. They wear silver earrings, and their left ear has a small notch carved into it. Small beads of a dark, red liquid are scattered across their cheeks and right shoulder, and are concentrated on areas where red blotches have started to darken the pale skin. Their eyes are completely red, with the left eye containing a thin webbing that is also starting to form on the right. End ID]

CW for a discussion focused around mushrooms, fungal infections, death to said fungal infection, and undeath. There's also mention of tree parasites, starvation (after death), and colonization.

Really, anything under the cut is extra; you don't need to read it if you're not comfortable. Please stay safe! (:

Hi! Get ready for an essay, because while I was taking a break from drawing, I wasn't taking a break from thinking about drawing, and I have a lot of unorganized thoughts about this piece, not just about the design, but the fictional fugal infection that its depicting.

I got my Spotify wrapped playlist, and wasn't surprised when Lord Huron's "Not Dead Yet" was my most played song. After all, it's one of my favorites, often getting me in the mood to create, and the inspiration behind a concept I have for another new OC, an undead-ish ranch hand. (It's a work-in-progress.) So over the past few days I've been listening to that song on loop even more than usual, and it put me in the mood to look into some different zombie video games that I have no intention of ever playing. I noticed that the zombie apocalypses I was looking at were all focused on humans turning, and I couldn't remember anything about a zombie plague for any fantasy races. Thus, I decided to create a concept for one that effects the moon elves from Dungeons and Dragons.

I decided that the condition would be caused by a fungal infection. Partially inspired by how European colonizers brought illnesses to the Americas, I decided moon elves would first encounter it when trying to colonize land originally inhabited by wood elves. I know that is the opposite of how it happened with the colonizers, but I wanted to change it up a bit. The fungus wouldn't be a concern to the wood elves, as they already had time to adapt and build up a resistance. However, once brought back to moon elf settlements it would be able to run rampant.

As many already know, elves live for a long time. In this universe that I am apparently creating now, part of the reason for that is that all of them, not just wood elves, are similar to trees, slow growing, and able to survive even when most of its body has been damaged. In the case of trees, it means that when a parasite such as Dwarf Mistletoe* decides to use a tree as its host, a slow race begins. The tree needs to keep growing in order to have enough branches to obtain enough oxygen, while the mistletoe tries to use that oxygen for itself as it tries to take over the entire tree. In some cases, the parasite remains inside the host for a long stretch of time before sprouting to release seeds.

Something similar occurred with the infected moon elves.

After the moon elves' failure to take the land from the wood elves, they returned home, not knowing they were carrying the fungus. It took around fifty years before anyone noticed something was amiss. Infected elves began to die from an illness that weakened them over time and reddened their skin and clouded their eyes. From there, it becomes a standard zombie story: they start to rise from their graves, mindless and seeking out living targets.

The zombies themselves are fairly passive, only attacking if one around them is attacked first. In most cases, they simply wandered around they areas they had risen from, then following living elves. They did not go out of their way to feed, so many would eventually collapse once their bodies finally gave out, either due to starvation or decay.

The main threat comes from the mushrooms that sprout from their bodies. As the mushrooms matured, they released their spores, which then in turn infected the living around them.

The main design inspiration for this was the Bleeding Tooth Fungus, a type of mushroom that, as its name suggests, looks like a tooth with drops of blood on it. I decided that moon elves, with their pale, blue skin, would match the fungus the most after the infection sets in and red blotches start to form. The mushrooms sprouting from the body are not based on any particular species, just slightly inspired by the mushrooms on my Animate Dead sticker. The disk shapes are fun to shade and detail.

A large portion of the line art on the face and neck were done with the symmetry tool. To hopefully keep the piece from looking too balanced, and to distract from the mirrored lines, I purposefully shifted the mushrooms and details in the coloring to different heights on the face.

For the red markings, I experimented with a different combination of brushes that usual. In most cases, I use a simple opaque brush and add details with the flat marker, thin gouache, and g-pen brushes, but I decided to use one of the airbrushes to add some finer speckling.

The eyebrows are only there because I liked the shape I had made them, and I thought the cool color would add some contrast to the area around the eyes.

Thank you for reading this far! I normally don't post lots of writing like this, but if you're interested in reading some more of my world building ideas, check out my side blog, @tired-spider. I'm more active on this blog, but I a lot of my art and world building ideas there, along side some DnD stuff and headcannons for different media I'm invested in.

Critique is always welcome, and I hope you have a nice day!

* It should be noted that I first learned about this on a hike a few months ago. So while I think that this is the type of mistletoe I was told about originally, I'm not entirely sure.

I'm going to start taking sticker commissions soon! Alongside the character portraits I usually offer through the commissions option, I'll be taking sticker design requests through the tip option! Once I have a couple more example pieces, I'll start accepting them!

One of the suggested subjects is RPG items and potions, and I figured a health potion would be a good place to start! Based on a whiskey bottle, I based the color of the fluids inside partially off whiskey as well.

The ID is under the cut, and critique is always welcome! Have a nice day/night!

[ID: A red potion, in a clear blue glass. Two golden wing charms hang from the brown string tied around the the neck of the bottle. The label on the bottle is a pale brown, with blue details around the edges. A red cross decorates the center piece, and is surrounded by the text "Vampire's Blood Apothecary, 1329." Orange bubbles are suspended in the potion. End ID]

are u still doing requests

how bout my sona saguaro

(: I hope you like how they turned out!

Submissions are still open! The guidelines are here! If you have the time, please consider filling out this survey for a project some friends and I are working on! ID under the cut.

[ID: A Wings of Fire sona, owned by @/death-dirt-and-lavender, a rainwing and sandwing hybrid, with a bring pink frill running down their neck, and sandy brown and dull green scales. End ID]

Hey! If your art request are still open could you do my gal Stalactite?

Also your art style is amazing and is extremely pleasing to look at 💕

Hi! (:

Thank you for submitting her, and for the compliment! I love her color palette, it makes her stand out compared to a lot of the other Icewing designs I've seen. (:

Submissions are now closed! Thank you to everyone who participated! Critique is always welcome, and the image description is under the cut!

[ID: A portrait of a Wings of Fire OC, named Stalactite, belonging to @/0willowwisp0. She has sandy colored scales that become paler as they get closer to her stomach. Her visible eye is bright green, and her horns are a pale, dull brown. End ID]

Free Minecraft Skin!

To take a break from the art I've been working on, I decided to make a Minecraft skin! I have no need for it, as I made one for myself a while ago. Because of that, I've put it up here, in case anyone would like to download and use it.

Link to download and other specifications under the cut! Critique is always welcome!

This skin uses a second layer, in order to add the cuffs to the overalls and sleeves, details on the boots and face, and the upper part of the overalls. By removing the torso part of the second layer, the overalls are swapped out for a pair of jeans. None of the parts on the second layer overlap multiple body parts, so you can mix and match what parts you are showing at any given point.

I modeled this skin on one of the random survival maps I regularly make then abandon. It's shown on a "Slim" body type.

Download

My MinecraftSkins.com Profile

See the Skin in 3D

Aww, yeah! Time for a new traditional piece for school! (:

Normally I’d just post the finished painting, but I figured I could try to get some feedback on the sketch before I start painting tomorrow. At this point, I’m not sure if I will put something over the eyes or not.

Critique is requested!

[ID: A picture of a grey pencil sketch on a canvas. The sketch is a portrait of a person showing the right side of their face. They have a large mohawk, and wear a heavy looking mask that is made of segments plastic and metal. Their neck is mostly hidden by a sweater and the collar of their jacket, which stands upright. End ID]