Elftober: Secret Smile

I am happy seeing my elf character improve and grow with some details as I accomplish the daily prompts.

It started like a study on my first drawing looking like this. I quite like it but at this stage I am not confident if I can continue , if you may have noticed the left hand is a bit shorter than the other. I have missed adding just one block of color to make it right. This is a study and at that point I am already feeling good it is up to me whether to continue or that was it and I am done. Well I am still here and every time I open my canvas I get excited to create which lead me to creating the somewhat animated scene about.

I used the same template for the elf but I want it red this time to give it that reason to be secretly happy which is the prompt I am working on here. I added a tree decorated with colorful lights to make it festive because that is what makes my elf smile. I then added two more elves to complete the festive busy scene.

I want it to be atmospheric. I experimented adding darker background so that the falling snow would be noticeable just like how you see it on this image. I thought I would challenge myself and make the ground glisten a bit with thin ice or black ice if I recall that term being correct. To achieve that I made a gradient on the base of all the elements in the picture like the feet of the elf to give the illusion that there is a little faint reflection of his feet on the icy ground. I think it helped me achieve that effect.

The background needs more depth and details. I added more snowflakes that are a little detailed. I added snow on the ground and made it look like it is glistening. Behind the snow I made some pine trees which are slightly darker than the background that is how I create depth. I added another green elf on the foreground just to fill that space and made look like interacting with another red elf to avoid it looking random. Details like a candy cane and a red box were added being carried by elves to set that festive gift giving vibe.

The whole scene is done now but I could add more to it if want to but this is enough for me. I did some minor adjustments like varying the tone and value of some blocks of colors although that may not be noticeable. Starting with the red elf above beside the tree. The hat and suit I added little darker blocks to give that shadow and highlight depending on where my light is coming from. I did that to the elf on foreground I lighten the colors on the left part of its body to suggest the light source same goes with the other elements.

That is my interpretation of the prompt for this elftober challenge. Hope you like it