Some pieces start with a story.
This one started with a feeling.
Conflict.
Not loud or chaotic.
More controlled than that.
More internal.
🎠The Mask and What It Hides
At first glance, this feels like a mask.
Strong.
Structured.
Almost ceremonial.
But look closer.
It’s not one face.
It’s two.
Mirrored.
Balanced.
Watching in opposite directions.
And between them…
A skull.
đź’€ The Centre of It All
The skull is unavoidable.
It draws your eye straight to the middle.
It doesn’t feel like decoration.
It feels like truth.
Everything else wraps around it.
Frames it.
Protects it.
Or maybe hides it.
⏳ Time, Power, and Control
Above the skull sits an hourglass.
A detail that shifts the entire meaning of the piece.
Because now this isn’t just about identity.
It’s about time.
What we hold onto.
What we lose.
What eventually becomes unavoidable.
⚖️ Duality in Design
The symmetry in this piece is deliberate.
Clean.
Almost rigid.
But the details break that perfection.
Small imperfections.
Subtle differences.
Because real balance isn’t perfect.
It’s constantly adjusting.
🎨 How This Came Together
Like most of my work, this began with a rough digital sketch on the iPad.
Just mapping out the structure.
Making sure the symmetry worked before anything else.
From there, everything moved into Procreate and built up in layers:
- Establishing the central axis first to keep everything aligned
- Building one side of the design before mirroring it
- Adding the skull as the focal point early on
- Layering in colour blocks to separate each element
- Gradually refining details like horns, teeth, and texture
- Finishing with highlights and contrast to give it depth
This kind of piece is all about control.
Precision matters more here than in some of the more fluid illustrations.
🧠The Idea Behind It
This piece sits in that space between identity and illusion.
The faces we show.
The parts we hide.
And the one thing at the centre that doesn’t change.
No matter how much we dress it up.
đź–¤ Strength in Structure
There’s something almost emblematic about this design.
Like it could belong to something larger.
A symbol.
A crest.
Which gives it a different kind of power compared to the more narrative pieces.
It doesn’t tell you a full story.
It gives you a concept.
And lets you decide what it means.
⚔️ Final Thought
You can split something into two.
Hide it.
Frame it.
Balance it perfectly.
But at the centre…
the truth stays the same.
Art In The Land Of Dragons