Splinterland: Rune Arcanist -illustration

‎Hello everyone in the community! It’s been quite a while since I last posted, and I hope you’re all doing well. For this week’s Splinterlands art challenge, I wanted to step it up a notch and create something special.
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‎I’d like to introduce my piece featuring Rune Arcanist — yes, I decided to switch things up and focus on this rare promo card instead. It honestly took me a great deal of effort to complete this one. With my exams looming around the corner I had very little time, but I’m glad I pushed through.
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‎Rune Arcanist: the card
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‎Rune Arcanist is a rare promo monster from the Rebellion set in Splinterlands. (splintercards.com) While she may not have been rated at the very top among her peers, she brings a distinct strategic value. (splintertalk.io)
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‎Abilities & Stats
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‎Here are some of the key details about her:
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‎As a rare card, she carries the rarity weight of being less common but with good utility. (splintercards.com)
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‎She offers control and utility rather than raw attack damage: for instance, abilities like Weaken (reducing maximum health of the opposing team) make her a strong choice in certain rulesets. (Hive)
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‎Another unique ability she has is Phase Ward: she grants the unit in front of her the “Phase” ability (which helps avoid magic attacks). (docs.splinterlands.com)
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‎Because she’s high mana and high utility, she tends to be used in more specialised situations rather than the standard “deal‑maximum damage” style. (Hive)
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‎Gameplay & Strategy
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‎When it comes to how you might use Rune Arcanist in a battle:
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‎She fits best in a team where control matters — for example in rulesets where healing is disabled or magic attacks dominate. Because her abilities chip away at opponents’ maximum health or protect your key units.
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‎A suggested placement is behind a sturdy tank so that she can apply her utility while staying safe (especially since her speed and attack may not be elite compared to full‑damage monsters).
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‎Pairing her with a tank in front who benefits from the Phase buff is a smart play. Use her to give that tank sustainability and let your team do the work.
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‎She may not shine in every match — for example, in a low mana cap battle or a “Back to Basics” ruleset where abilities are disabled, her value drops significantly. (Hive)
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‎Why I chose her for my art
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‎What really appealed to me about Rune Arcanist is her visual aesthetic and the vibe she gives. In the illustrations I found: she’s an elf‐type sorceress, wielding runic magic, wearing elegant armor with mystical runes. (Hive)
‎I loved the idea of capturing that blend: someone who’s both graceful and powerful, not just a brute warrior but a commander of arcane forces.
‎So when I sat down to draw her:
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‎I made sure to keep the original design in mind (hair colour, rune motifs, staff or magical implement)
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‎But I also added my own touches and extra designs — little embellishments on her armor, subtle patterns in her cloak to reflect my style
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‎While painting I tried to emphasize her expression and posture in a way that says: “I am the one who shifts the flow of battle through magic, not just through strength.”
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‎My process
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‎For this illustration I used:
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‎Laptop
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‎Tablet & stylus pen
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‎Clip Studio Paint software
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‎Here’s how I worked:
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‎Rough sketch: I began with a loose outline to determine pose, expression and basic composition.
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‎Lineart: Once I was happy with the rough, I cleaned it up into clear lineart — this helped me lock in the character’s silhouette and details.
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‎Grey base colours: I laid down flat greys and mid‑tones first, to build the structure without worrying about shading or fancy colours.

‎Rendering & details: Gradually I added highlights, shadows, texture in her armor, runes glowing, subtle gradients in her cloak, small decorative touches.

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‎Final tweaks: I refined the lighting, maybe added ambient glow around the runic staff or symbol, made sure the composition felt balanced and that the character had presence.
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‎Final Thoughts & What’s Next
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‎I’m really happy with how the illustration turned out — though I know there are still areas where I can improve (for example, I want to push more dramatic lighting next time, and experiment with more dynamic pose). As an artist I’m committed to keeping craft moving forward.
‎Thank you all for your support and for taking the time to view this. I hope you’ll appreciate this piece of Rune Arcanist as much as I enjoyed creating it.
‎See you all same time next week for the next art share!
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‎Thanks again for reading and for being part of this community 💫