Cursed Ice Cream

Based on Dave Rapoza’s first gumroad video, I had fun with yet another style and approach. It was a nice change to work out all the problems in the beginning with line sketches and then meditatively paint in the colour afterwards.

Here’s a little background story to go with the illustration:
Oleg was a great hunter. The very best in the tribe. But right now he was far away from his family to track down the Cursed Ice Cream in the hope that he could break the spell; the biggest thorn in the Poknaq tribe's eye for as long as they could remember. The winters had gotten worse for each year and the tribe was starting to run out of food. Everybody knew the reason for this. It was the Cursed Ice Cream. The Cursed Ice Cream was an old legend, and it was a shot in the dark to try and find it, but the Bubilaq tribe had no other option left. They were desperate. Legend had it that centuries ago the lands were lush and green and full of life, but then a mermaid witch planted the ice cream somewhere high above the water as a bittersweet revenge for the ice cold betrayal of her lover when he took another wife. To break the curse, a brave young man would have to willingly place his heart instead of the ice cream and hope that the witch's restless soul would accept his offer and finally go to rest. Oleg was soon going to find out whether he made the cut or not.

Below are some WIPs.