After being MIA for a while this is the first piece of art I have done in two months. Though it feels more like a lifetime. I was browsing through Splinterlands cards when Nerissa caught my eye.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmdZydrfQXjmZk6VGQDyjNU8szTdhSXefwHL1uqqbmLu5Q/nerissa_final.png)

## The Inspiration

In South Africa, August is "Women's Month" due to the national holiday "Women's Day" which is celebrated on the 9th of August every year. If you are wondering about the origin of this national holiday you can read a little bit about it [here](https://www.gov.za/womens-day) on our government's official website. Violence against women is also still a huge problem in this country.

Gloominess aside though, Nerissa caught my eye because she is such a strong female character, both mentally and physically. If you want to know more about Nerissa Tridawn and check out the original card art (which I naturally used as a reference) you can go to her [lore page](https://splinterlands.com/?p=card_details&id=390&gold=false&edition=7&tab=lore) So to celebrate Women's Month I decided she would be my subject for my contest submission. You can view the contest held by @splinterlands and all the awesome winners and entries on this post: [Splinterlands Art Contest Week 201!](https://ecency.com/hive-13323/@splinterlands/splinterlands-art-contest-week-201)

## The Process

I created this art on iPad Gen 8, using Apple Pencil Gen 1 and Procreate. To get started I needed some good reference pictures (aside from the original card art) as I am not that great with anatomy.

As Nerissa is muscular, the She-Hulk came to mind. Another strong female character. In the end, I selected to use a photograph of the She-Hulk Marvel Legends Figure as I really liked the pose and facial expression. You can find the original photograph along with others and information on the action figure over on [this post](https://www.superherohype.com/geek-culture/491525-she-hulk-action-figure-goes-green-for-a-new-marvel-legends#/slide/1) on superherohype.com.

After selecting the reference, it was time to sketch out the rough image:
![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmcEu1rxNs7LukBhxmDeYLosc1rXFPZkrau5CKbQZ7J26w/nerissa_01.jpg)

After finishing the sketch I realised I wasn't happy with the way her clothing was flowing, and it was counter to her hair, which made the whole image seem a bit off. So I fixed that while I was doing the line art. You can see in my sketch picture that I did go back and make some rough guides to help me as I finished the line art.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmSkvS7juijDtEcYxEUxT6W9VebmTJ6aLZNoKbbCpGhfbm/nerissa_02.jpg)

The next step is of course to block down the flat colours on different layers. Using layers and clipping masks makes the colouring process a lot easier and less time-consuming.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmPF3fgD17gxzPiD6H1XUzPzcNvBqGykSPJVc7HyxqtRGZ/nerissa_03.jpg)

Next, I started adding the shadow areas, imagining the light source to be coming from the top left, and slightly forward from Nerissa. Kinda difficult to explain exactly where I am seeing it in my brain, but I am sure from the shadows you get the idea, haha.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmX8MUrVngfgnGUg2VkFYLtKyUnEUH6WgsCi2hX82VNCkY/nerissa_04.jpg)

The hair is always an important, if not tricky part. It is usually easier to manage if you think in 'locks of hair' instead of single hair strands. More shadow starts to help give a more 3d feel.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmP9d3X7BQv9PFzQ18tHv2kJUgoa2pp3aM5DHtzAJw2oDT/nerissa_05.jpg)

Next up is a basic background and the highlights. You'll notice that I did add some extra shadows between the last progress shot and this one specifically on her midriff. I wanted to show off that muscle definition!

The highlights help to really flesh out the forms in the piece. Of course, I couldn't resist adding a bit of a magical aura around her trident, and those gems.

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmYWw3koBZ87x6ZfGUdbkWZCbErDz1W7xcheswuKDyuD2e/nerissa_06.jpg)

## The Result

After adding an angry magical glow to her eyes and doing a few final touch-ups Nerissa is ready to kick some butt. She won't let anyone get hurt on her watch!

![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmdZydrfQXjmZk6VGQDyjNU8szTdhSXefwHL1uqqbmLu5Q/nerissa_final.png)

## Thanks
Thanks for stopping by and having a gander at my art! If you want to be added to my art tag list so you can get a notification of when I post art please let me know in the comments.

*Tag List:*
@clairemobey @zakludick @jasperdick