Horriblin - Field Guide Challenge Entry

Introduction

This challenge immediately caught my eye. I’ve always loved the aesthetic of field guides and it sounded so fun getting assigned a random thing to draw/write about! I figured that it didn’t matter which category I got assigned from, and let faith decide for me. But boy was I in for an interesting surprise.

I ended up getting the horriblin!

My least favourite mob in the entire game I’m not making this up.

I deadass thought before submitting my comment that- hmm, should I really be open to any category? What if I get a Horriblin?? Noo- I thought -it will be fine!

I actually find it pretty hilarious but I did honestly consider not doing it. However, I realised what a great challenge for me to draw something I so despise. What better way to improve than that?!

So I did it! And I’m so glad that I did because it ended up being a lot of fun.

Process

I knew right away that I wanted to draw. It is, after all, my favourite hobby. So, I started with a more detailed drawing using a reference I found on Google. I wanted it to look more traditionally drawn, as if I had actually drawn it inside a journal, so I used my typical sketching brush for the line-art and used gouache brushes to get that painted watercolour-esque look to it. The drawing still looks quite crisp, however, so I added a few more sketches in the corner that looked more hasty and sketchy.

I also knew I wanted to include some more items in this spread. I had originally thought about drawing the difference types of weapons they use but figured that a horn was a better use of the space. So I drew a regular horn and coloured it in quite messily. But it still looked a little empty so I added a small lock of hair to splash in some more colour.

To finish it all off I added in the text, a few more sketches, and smudged out some of the lines and colours to emulate the moist air inside a cave and how that could have affected the pages.

(Fun fact! The font I used was created to look like Vincent Van Gogh’s actual handwriting which I once used in a school presentation about him that was over 50 min long and consisted of 72 PowerPoint slides)

Result

Full spread

Individual pages

The text

“Horriblin”

Text above the silver horriblin drawing:

“Horriblins are monstrous creatures who live down in Hyrule’s caves. There are four types of horriblins: common, blue, black and silver. They prefer to live in packs and are often found in smaller groups, inhabiting caves where they build wooden platforms to store food and other belongings.

Text in the far right corner:

“They have very strong arms which make them excellent climbers. They move across cave ceilings with ease.

Text in the middle of the right page:

“They fight primarily with sticks but can also use spears if they come across one. They are also known to throw rocks at hostile targets.

Their horns are very strong and can be used to craft both weapons and elixirs. Their guts are a rare find and can also be used for elixirs.

Progress pics and final thoughts

This was a fun project but there are a few things I would change if I had the time. The writing is not the best and I would have liked to plan out the composition better and space things out in a way that made it all work together better. But after the day I’ve had, I simply don’t have the energy. My brain is on siesta and won’t return until Monday!

I’m also sorry that this post is so long, but if you’ve made it all the way to the end I wish you all the best.

#fieldguide