Landy’s Sketchblog - Page 8 - Sketch-paintings and sketch-writings

Trahearne & Malyck Practice Animation | February 14, 2026

Posted on February 14, 2026

2d hand-drawn animation showing Mordrem Lieutenant Malyck greeting a corrupted Trahearne. — Current version.

Spent some hours last night seeing how much I could add to this small animation practice!

I did the early draft for this one at the end of January. I had a vague notion of potentially finishing it for Valentine’s Day for fun, but before I knew it, the day was upon us! Yesterday became practice to see how much I could add, or how presentable I could make it, by today.

The version all the way at the end of this post is how the file looked when I opened it yesterday. I wasn’t sure whether I’d add color – I could have spent much more time on the lines – but I learned a lot in this one from how I added the color this time.

Line version of the previous animation. — Lines only.

I have to confess I’ve always not understood cell-shading well. But I am quickly growing an appreciation for it after trying it out here.

Early draft showing the keyframes. — Early “keyframe” draft.

One thing I noticed recently is there’s a “messy” stage when going from the early “keyframe” draft to adding the in-between “breakdown” frames (below). It’s a bit counterintuitive for me, because when adding the breakdown frames, it almost looks like the animation is reversing its progress – at the same time, I can start to see more of how the final motion might look. And seeing that potential is what makes adding these breakdown frames so invigorating to draw!

Version when I opened the file yesterday, where I had started adding the “breakdown” frames.

Hannibal and Will Warm-up Drawing | February 11, 2026

Posted on February 11, 2026

Drawing of Hannibal reaching for the back of Will's head, as Will dispassionately takes a bite from an unspecified bit of meat from his fork. — Will and Hannibal Warm-up drawing

I enjoyed season 2, episode 10 of the “Hannibal” tv show for all the wrong reasons, but it’s been a refreshing reminder for how much I love dark fantasies, haha. I knew I’d have to do a small drawing of them at some point.

This is from memory (another drawing from imagination practice), so I don’t expect the likeness to be precise – though I was thinking of the actors’ portrayals (Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelson). My hope is it conveys the “feeling” of their characters, even if the likeness isn’t precise. I’ve been really enjoying the actors’ performances, especially during season 2. This show has been a delightful, slow-burn for me – I almost didn’t continue it after the first initial episodes in season 1 – but the show really rewards you during the second season for sticking with it. I’m very glad I’m finally getting around to watching it after so long!

I’m still within season 2 (I think just finished episode 12 the other day). This show has been sort of fascinating me for how much it was able to get away with. I can’t believe it was a network television show. I question whether they would be able to shoot this show today.

I’m really glad it exists. I learned afterward that this show was cancelled in its third season for poor ratings, and even though I love it, I can understand why – it is so niche and unapologetic in its show creators’ interests. I really admire and respect this level of dedication to staying true to their vision. It almost feels more like an art house or indie production than a network show.

Wider crop of the previous drawing. — Slightly wider cropping.

It’s giving me much to ponder about the type of art I want to do and express.

Guild Wars 2 Official Forum Avatars | February 8, 2026

Posted on February 8, 2026

Artwork showing nine forum avatars used on the official Guild Wars 2 forums. — **Top row**: 2022 | **Middle row**: 2019 | **Bottom row:** 2018

I was reminded of the forum avatar projects I was part of back when I was an ArenaNet Creative Partner for Guild Wars 2. It reminded me that I don’t think I’ve ever shown the original batch of avatars I drew.

Much of these are older artworks – especially the ones before 2022. I remember this was a really fun project for us to work on as fans of the game. I’m still sentimental over a few of these because of this, despite some of them showing their age!

I’ve shown the second and third batches on socials before (but i think this is the first time for this blog, now that I’m using it again :D ) – the first and second rows in the image above. I remember posting those, and the original batch (2018’s) was so long ago, that I thought I had only done these 6. I only remembered I had drawn 3 additional avatars during the first time they ran this project, which I think I was only reminded of when I happened to see them being used on their official forums some time after.

Four forum avatars from 2018. — The three forum avatars from 2018, including an extra alternate version which was unused in favor of the live version.

I don’t have the original files for the 2018 batch (at least not on my current PC), and found these when searching through my emails for when I submitted the files to ArenaNet. I completely forgot I had drawn two versions of Cadeyrn – which according to the email I wrote at the time, I apparently drew both because I couldn’t decide which to go with. The top version is the one which is used on the forums now, which I’m glad about as it’s clearly stronger as a sized-down avatar compared to the alternate option.

I do love Cadeyrn as a character, and since I didn’t remember I drew this at all, it was fun to see a new artwork of him I had forgotten about!

As of this post, these avatars are still live on their official forums. I still get a kick when I see them being used!

“Surprise Me!” Commission | February 6, 2026

Posted on February 6, 2026

A “Surprise Me!” (or “skeb-style”) commission finished last month in January. This is a commission type I haven’t really done before, but I’ve been interested in trying. Thank you again to the commissioner for asking me to draw it for them!

Sometimes also called “skeb-style” commissions, because these are a commission type which to my understanding, first became popularized in Japan.

Loose line sketch of the previous painting. — Initial Sketch

What I like about these is that they offer more flexibility for both the artist and the client. In exchange for more artistic freedom for the artist, the client enjoys a lower rate. This works best for artwork where the client is open to being surprised by the final art – for clients with a specific vision in mind, or who are more comfortable giving feedback during work-in-progress steps, this commission type isn’t the best fit.

But for those who enjoy being surprised, this can be wonderfully satisfying for both the artist and commissioner! :D

A few more process images below, and then I’ll post an overview about this commission type:

Initial colors added, as well as a color mask for the figure. — Color Mask

General aspects about “surprise me” commissions:

These are similar to “Pay What You Want” commissions. The commissioner is free to stay within their desired budget, with respect to a potential minimum amount.

Some artists invite you to give a brief description for what you’d like painted. I enjoy asking for:
- A) Brief description of your character’s personality.
- B) 5 keywords describing what you’d like to see in your commission. This can be anything from the mood, atmosphere, tone, or emotion you’d like to see for your character.

The artist will say (or mention on a page somewhere) what they can do for your general budget.

Important difference from other commission types: There are no WIP’s (“works-in-progress”) or revisions. The final result is what the client receives.
- This is the key aspect which makes “surprise me!” commissions have lower rates than regular commissions.
- Of course, if there are character errors in the final art, these will be adjusted at no additional cost.

If everyone agrees with and is comfortable with these terms, the artist then draws what they can within your budget after receiving payment.

If all goes well, you are happily surprised and delighted by the result! :D

I’m considering adding these as listed commission type at some point. In the meantime, if this interests you, feel free to contact me and I can put together a custom order for you.

Nightmare Court Necromancer Sketches | January 31, 2026

Posted on January 31, 2026

Drawing two hairstyles from the in-game options to figure out which look might fit the character (Animated).

I’ve been idly wanting to figure out a look for a new Nightmare Court necromancer character I’ve been thinking about recently. He’s in the same setting as “Nightmare’s Embrace,” but isn’t a major character (he likely won’t feature in the mini-comic later this year). Different from my existing sylvari characters, the idea for him arose from a short story I was writing, instead from one of my existing in-game characters. My other sylvari characters originated from their in-game versions first, with their personalities developing afterward. Oftentimes, influenced by the experience playing them in-game.

I haven’t made a new GW2 character in a long time, and thought this was the perfect excuse to create a new one. I played around with the in-game style options the other day, and thought drawing them might help me decide on this character’s look. I think the color scheme is close – especially for the hair and glow color – but I’m not entirely satisfied on his hairstyle. The two here are the closest I was partial to for him, but I’m leaning toward sketching a few ideas at a later point not based on an in-game style, to see if I can figure out a look that fits him more closely.

Line drawing of a sylvari showing two hairstyles from the game. Left shows a short hairstyle with broad leaves. Right shows a long hairstyle with numerous small leaves. — Lineart sketch.

Painted still of the previous artwork without the added glow. — Still of the drawing, without glow.

Same drawing as before, only the right shows the lineart sketch, while the left shows the color sketch. — I just liked how this version looked.

Animated gif showing the pulsing glow of a sylvari with long hair. The glow is warm orange, his hair a dusky, reddish-violet. — Animated version of the hairstyle on the right.

I also tried out animating the glow color to see if it would help me decide on whether I liked either of these hairstyles for the character. Between these two, the one on the right fits him slightly better, and I think it turned out better when animated.

But doing this helped me decide I don’t think I will be satisfied with either hairstyle for him.