Turning Letters into ASEL ALAGOSDIL

Hello everyone! See you again in my post this time. After experimenting with the typography of ASHEN CINDERGRIM—a character from the Fire element in Splinterlands—this time I wanted to try something different.

Still in the same universe, but with a calmer, cooler vibe. Yup, the character I worked on this time is Asel Alagosdil from the Water element.

The idea came naturally. I wondered what it would be like to transform something that was initially fiery and energetic into something soft, cool, and flowing—like turning flames into snow. So, I didn't start completely from scratch. I reused the text from a previous typographic design, Ashen Cindergrim's. The first step was to disassemble and restructure the text to fit the new character concept.

For example, the word “BURN”, which used to represent the Fire element, I replaced with “SNOW” to better align with the water-and-ice theme carried by Asel Alagosdil.

Little by little, I began to see the transformation taking place: from Ashen's fiery form to a softer, more flowing one. It felt poetic, as if I were watching the Fire warrior slowly fade and Asel Alagosdil begin to emerge from the remains.

The process is slow but satisfying—each line of text feels like a puzzle piece that must be put into place. After a while, the lower part of the character finally started to take shape.

Once I was satisfied with the basic form, I moved on to the most challenging and exciting part: designing the face and hair. For this part, I revisited Asel's reference image to more accurately capture the details—every curve, strand, and shadow. I wanted to convey the calm yet powerful feeling that characterizes the Water element.

To make the process more organized, I used a different color for each layer of text. The goal wasn't just for aesthetics, but also to facilitate composition and visual balance. Using different colors also makes it easier for me to distinguish which words need to be corrected if they're too close together. It also keeps me from getting bored looking at the screen, as boredom can easily set in when working with typography.

Once the face was done, I added a small personal touch: tiny ice crystals formed from a single word—Splinterlands. It felt just right, like a subtle symbol that highlights the character’s origin.

When everything was in place, I applied a black background and turned the overall look white before moving on to coloring. When it becomes a contrasting color like this white with the background, it will show which ones I can shape based on the reference image. I used almost the same color as the reference image.

Only then did I start playing with shades of blue—the dominant color that represents the calmness and strength of water. I tried some gradient variations, but I haven’t found the perfect blend that truly complements this blue. Maybe I’ll experiment with that later.

And yep, here’s the final result! The typographic version of Asel Alagosdil—calm, cold, yet radiating strength. So, what do you think? Is the blue shade right for Asal, or should I add a touch of another color—perhaps a soft silver to bring out the icy effect a little more?

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