For my participation in the Splinterlands art contest Week 265, I want to share a new character Lady of Fire and Ruler of the Lava Spiders. Although I have never played the Splinterlands game, I do have an account with cards available to play. I am a fan of all female warriors and other characters.
Source
With her fire and poison from the depths of the volcano, this invaluable weapon discovered by the Lord of Fire elevated the Chaos Legion. Her name was Fiona. She became his LADY OF FIRE and mother of his children, the Lava Spiders.
Inspiration for Lady of Fire and Ruler of the Lava Spiders:
LORD OF FIRE, her Mate for life
LAVA SPIDERS, her children
Reminder, you must be logged into Splinterlands to view character details.
LORE:
Only the bravest summoners of the Burning Lands have the skills necessary to summon the King of the Fire Demons.
Known as the Lord of Fire, he is said to spend his time lounging in his underlava palace in one of the great molten schisms of the Burning Lands.
The Lord of Fire cares little for the activity of his Fire Demons, but whenever his rule is challenged, he is quick to prove his power to his underlings.
He controls fire as a sculptor works clay and scoffs at shields and armor.
The Lord of Fire can simply burn you from within.
Reminder, you must be logged into Splinterlands to view character details.
LORE:
Few explorers dare to go deep within the volcanoes of the world. Tales are told of great spiders that weave threads of fire and trap their enemies in webs of flame. An inescapable and painful death.
When the Chaos Legion entered the Splinterlands through the great volcano in the center of Praetoria, they saw the lava spiders and used them to their advantage. Transporting these spiders into areas that need defense is a win-win for both groups. For the Chaos Legion, it is an easy barrier to ward off unwanted visitors. And for the lava spiders, they get free meals from the curious, the foolish, and the unwary adventurers that seek to strike at the Chaos Legion.
The dwarven warrior crept his way towards a long stretch of stone corridor. It had taken him months to find this secret entrance within the dense jungle. A hideout for supporters of the Chaos Legion. He intended to destroy them all and make safe the area once again.
He made his way silently into the corridor, gripping his dagger tightly. But as he trekked further into the darkness, he felt the heat increase. A heavy frown crossed his features. That wasn't right. Why was it getting so hot?
He turned a corner and stifled an alarmed cry. Crisscrossing the corridor were strands of spiderwebs that glowed red hot. He brought his dagger up, but it was too late. A searing pain stabbed into his back.
He was unconscious by the time the burning web was wrapped around him. Lava Spider
The Lady of Fire and Ruler of the Lava Spiders
Foretold that her lifelong fire mate from above would join her, she waited. Each day that dawned crisp past the entrance of the cave, she stepped to the cavern's edge. From beyond the Burning Lands, she called to him each night.
Hearing her cries, he set out on the journey. Little did he know that what lie ahead would change his life. Making his way through the forest and onto rocky ground, rounded the large boulder, careful where he placed his hands. The stones glowed crimson.
She welcomed him in, but surveyed his every move. Both stood ready to rush headlong into each other's embrace to succumb to the overwhelming attraction, but retreated. It was too soon. Could he survive in her world?
Lady of Fire reached out with extended loving arms and pulled him in. Deeper into the caverns she guided him, her body their shield.
They stood at the fiery alter. Her master pouring the sacred lava upon their heads.
Once cooled, he pronounced them Lord of Fire and his bride, Lady of Fire.
They went deep into the caverns. There, they dwelt, giving life to their children, the Lava Spiders.
In creating the Lady of Fire and Ruler of the Lava Spiders, I decided her character would be the wife of the Lord of Fire. His mate for life. I wanted a unique image in which composing her would entail blending different art elements. I did just that, utilizing the following technique:
Below is a summary of my procedures:
Fractal Art. I used the popular fractal rendering program, Apophysis 7X.
Stable Diffusion. I used the popular program StarryAI to render the female image.
Canva. This popular design program was used to blend all the art elements.
The entire process for all programs took me one (1) hour to complete.
Documenting (including screen captured) my processes in each program and in the publication of my post which consisted of a short story for my entry took approximately one hour one hour (1).
Total time it took to complete my project was two (2) hours.
FRACTALS
I first created two pure fractals in a fractal rendering program, Apophysis 7X. These fractal would become part of her facial feature. A fractal is a visual representation of a complex mathematical formula. The numerous variations available to apply to my design takes time to test for the perfect image before rendering. One fractal I placed on each side of her face I felt gave her image depth.
STABLE DIFFUSION
I designed the Lady of Fire and Ruler of the Lava Spiders in StarryAI. Working with stable diffusion can be a starting option. I see it as an option to blend with other art types to create a finished product. Although the Lady of Fire was designed with stable diffusion, I wanted her to be surrounded by her web of protection and her children.
To create the Lady of Fire and Ruler of the Lava Spiders, I enlisted the aid of a stable diffusion program, StarryAI. Below are my steps:
StarryAI Text input:
"Giant surreal and ethereal black widow spider with extended long legs and large eyes facing away from me."
Style: Argo
Runtime: 50
Seed: 1678105123
StarryAI Result:
Stable Diffusion Manipulation:
I wanted to change the Lady of Fire's appearance to a dark character. I utilized a filtering program to invert her image. Perfect for my purposes. The darkness highlighted the web features and turned her skin charcoal. A fitting mate for Lord of Fire.
I love the way the image looks sinister, yet a dark beauty.
To complete the Lady of Fire's face and blend other images into her profile, I uploaded all images into Canva, my design program. Below are screenshots of my procedures.
Started with a blank, white canvas.
Switched to a black canvas background, then added stable diffusion iamge.
Resized stable diffusion spider female to fit canvas from top to bottom. Refrained from expanding it further to fill canvas. Wanted the other fractals to fill in the sides as tentacles and change colors.
Added blue flame fractal as tentacles.
Duplicated blue flame fractal into four corners and repositioned them for highlights. The tip of the blue fractal is crimson, so it added the fire to her face. Perect.
Added final burnt orange ball fractal. Duplicated it, and reposition on both sides of face.
Thanks for taking the time to view my post. I hope you like my mixed media art project for the Splinterlands Art Contest - Week 256.
SOURCES:
a) JustClickindiva's Footer created in Canva utilizing its free background and images used with permission from discord admins.
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10" Tablet, (ii) Samsung Phone, & (iii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) All Community logos, banners, page dividers used with permission of Discord Channel admins.
e) Ladies of Hive banner used with permission of and in accordance with the admin's guidelines
f) Thumbnail Image created by me in Canva.
g) "Flames." What is Apophysis 2.09. https://flam3.com/
1 What is Stable Diffusion? StarryAI.Com. Online at: https://starryai.com/stable-diffusion
