Verdarox was once majestic, but now he’s got that bad-guy vibe

I’m used to making holos in their cutest possible forms—the kind you just want to hug and never let go. But I’ve never made them look bad before, and I wanted to experiment with that this time. And who knows—this might not be the last time 😏

🔅 Third Prompt: Crown

For the third day of Zingtober, with the prompt Crown, I wanted to portray a dragon grass with a strong attitude of power and arrogance. I imagined it wearing its crown with pride—not as a symbol of nobility, but of dominion and ferocity. Its gaze conveys that it doesn’t need to prove its authority—it simply imposes it by existing. The crown, far from making it look majestic, only strengthens its aura as a villain, as if it were the unchallenged sovereign of a wild and dangerous realm.

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⏰ CREATIVE PROCESS

✏️ Phase 1: Ibis Paint for Sketching

I took a photo of myself to use as a reference for that "bad guy" pose, though I had to adapt the pose because I didn’t want to make Verdarox anthropomorphic. That meant I couldn’t draw the shoulders or chest, so I extended the neck and made the arm appear as if it were floating.

🎨 Phase 2: Lineart

However, I don’t like disjointed-looking drawings—I prefer everything to feel cohesive. So, when defining the lines, I decided to use a technique common in tattoo designs: adding elements that tie everything together. I incorporated these spiky, branch-like shapes that fit well with the dragon’s theme and accentuate its aura of malice. That’s also why the crown has thorns

🌗 Phase 3: Gray

Once again, I applied grayscale with a slight shift toward blue. I focused all the attention on the face by keeping it brighter—I only painted the edges around the line art, so everything is shaded except for the face, making it stand out even more.

🌟 Phase 4: Final Touches

I work in reverse—the usual method is to have all the line art fully done first, then add shadows with grayscale. But I render everything little by little, so my final touches are always about adding more lines that make the result look cooler. And I actually really loved the white line I added to its... horns?

And you? Are you doing Inktober, or focusing on Zingtober? Or maybe following a different prompt list?

Let me know in the comments—I’d love to check out your art and see how you interpret the prompts!

/┆\ My Zingtober Road જ⁀➴

		Crown	Murky	Deer	Pierce	Starfish
Reckless	Heavy	Sweep	Sting	Shredded	Drink	Trunk
Ragged	Blunder	Ornate	Deal	Artic	Rivals	Blast
Button	Firefly	Rowsy	Inferno	Puzzling	Onion	Skeletal
Lesson	Vacant	Award

▶️ | | ◀️

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