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Concept

The idea behind this design is that of a warrior who, after killing a monstrous foe, flays the skin of the fiend’s face and – still fresh and bloody – applies it to his round shield, both as a trophy and as a sign of warning to other enemies.

Process

I created this illustration in two stages; first I drew the flayed face skin with colored pencils on colored paper. Then I scanned the drawing and digitally painted a round shield around it in Photoshop. In Photoshop, I also added a bunch of small details, like the bloodstains and the scar on the cheek, as well as an arcane rune pattern to the shield’s iron rim.