Nydderia - An Enigmatic Fae of the Deep | Splinterlands Art Contest - Week 298 Digital Art (New Character)

Nydderia - An Enigmatic Fae of the Deep (New Character)

That her father was the ruler of ΛZMΛRÉ located in Dark Water was widely known and undisputed. That she was afraid to approach him as a child was a closely guarded secret. But that would soon change.

Nydderia wept while confined to her quarters. The only daily visitor was her teacher; the mentor assigned to acquaint her with the knowledge and wisdom of the old ways of the Elemental Hordes and of her home, the Dark Water in the Deep. An apt student, at the age of twelve the book of knowledge didn't contain anything else she didn't already understand.

Of particular interest were the special abilities her father and his kind possessed that controlled the element of water. Other children of ΛZMΛRÉ her age envied her skill and heritage.

Soon, she would come of age when her skills demanded she summon the Elemental Hordes of the Deep without assistance. So she practiced, eager to surpass expectations.

The swift knock at her window showed huge bubbles. She turned to discover Jorge flashing a wicked grin. He was handsome and older than she, two qualities she admired. That meant another adventure into the deeper reaches of the Dark Water.

Her father forbade her to enter the caverns. But the lure of the shadows overwhelmed her senses.

She hid among the rocks. Her favorite game, but could never win, not understanding the tattoos on her forehead, face and body glowed, exposing her locations. These games continued until the next year.

One evening, she hid, but Jorge couldn't locate her. Her glow disappeared inward.

She stepped from behind the rocks. Instead of the girl, a woman of thirteen emerged. Jorge shrunk back and hid for he wouldn't dare to look upon her face. Frightened, he turned and swam as fast as he could back to their castle in the Deep.

Nydderia followed him, laughing and calling his name. She couldn't understand why he fled from her.

The Water Elemental met her at the gates. Embracing her, he led her to the secret room whereby she confronted herself in the Mirror of the Deep.

Her eyes widened as she trembled. "What have I done to deserve this punishment, father?" she screamed.

The tattoos on her head and face were gone. The diamond-shaped head crown was gone. The knobs on the side of her head were gone.

Inserted in the middle of her forehead was the signet ring of the Water Elemental. Deep azure lines protruded and covered her forehead as did strange orange markings on her cheeks. The bluest large, round eyes with matching pupils stared back at her.

She shrank back behind her father.

"You are now ready to summon your first wave of water, daughter. Nydderia, you strength will match mine. One day it will surpass me as I hand over power of the Deep to you. Stay close to me and learn well, for ΛZMΛRÉ is now yours to command."

The high summoner stepped back and admired his daughter. He scheduled her first summons.

Nydderia clasp her father's hand and swam boldly as if she felt the weight of her charge within her.

In creating Nydderia, I decided her character would be the only daughter of the Water Elemental. I wanted a unique image that 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 advanced version of Apophysis, the popular fractal rendering program, Version, 7X.

• Stable Diffusion. I used the popular program StarryAI to render this Image.

• Canva. This popular design program was used to blend all the art elements.

• The entire process for all programs took me two hours to create all the fractal images, the female warrior, and the correct image I felt would be appropriate image for Nydderia as the daughter of the Water Elemental.

• 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.

• Total time it took to complete my project was three hours.

I created two different versions of Nydderia, one as a child; then one as an fully-matured adult Fae of the Deep.

FRACTALS

I first created pure fractals as part of her water element. A fractal is a visual representation of a complex mathematical formula. The numerous variations available to apply to my design takes an inordinate amount of time in trial and error.

If one variation does not produce the desired result, then I have to apply another one. Sizes, triangle degrees, colors, and variables are tedious, but satisfying when I discover the perfect combination.

I uploaded the fractals into my design program, Canva to have the capability of blending the elements with the various tools accessible, such as colorizing, resizing, and positioning.

Next, I created the underwater part of Nydderia's environment in Canva. Her corals will frame her body. I uploaded the fractals. Inserting the "Egg" fractal onto the blank, white canvas, I duplicated it, then switched the canvas color to charcoal. I duplicated it again so that the images would fit on both sides of the screen. The image provided a lovely underwater scene. I then added a red tree that were contributed to the the #LIL free image database by @onyechi as foliage.

STABLE DIFFUSION

Designing Nydderia as a child

I designed Nydderia, the Water Element's daughter, in StarryAI. Working with stable diffusion can be a starting option. I see it as a blank template starting point to remodel and shape into a detailed body image.

I rarely utilize the entire image as the final product, but combine with other elements to change the look and texture of the original image output. For example, using StarryAI, the image of Nydderia I received, as you can see, was incomplete with only a partial body. I wanted a fuller image, but decided to surround her with the underwater foliage.

But first, here are the steps to creating the child version of Nydderia using StarryAI:

Text Prompt:
"Beautiful female of the sea with piercing eyes blue eyes and orange markings on her face, pursed lips.."

Style: Moody
Quality: Fast
Seed: 6277969015

Results:

Out of the four images that were produced, I decided Image No. 1 would work well with my theme. I loved the childlike quality. Also, I wanted elements on her forehead to use as tattoos on her face.

To transform Nydderia and create a full body partially shielded with water elements, I uploaded her stable diffusion image into Canva.

As you can see, I sliced portions of her head shield and body ornaments to create tattoos on her forehead and face. I envisioned having her as a child with outward signs of her immaturity. Also, I liked how the diffusion image created a child-like version of the adult that she would evolve into after she came into power.

I was pleased with the result.

Designing Nydderia as an adult

Now for the mature Nydderia, I desired a more hardened, aggressive, and powerful look, but still with feminine beauty. I discovered an image that matched perfectly with my theme, colors, and overall facial features that would depict designs and coloring to match the younger version.

Upon seeing the image, I knew it would work as the orange facial designs resembled blemishes that were now hidden inward with other features replacing them.

^Source

The final step was was to blend the free-sourced image into the fractal underwater scene I created. I uploaded the image into Canva to blend it. I wanted to retain the coloring of the original image, so I decided to layer it to the rear of the fractals.