Introduction

____________________________________

【Q】 Does the energy come from our character itself?

【Q】 Is our character perhaps taking the energy from other places? (e.g. Alchemy)

In this Tutorial, we will tackle the latter and hopefully it will help make your drawings more fantastic!

 

 

 

 

◆　Alchemy｜BASICS　◆

In alchemy, there are four main elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air

And a fifth element, Quintessence, or Aether as Aristotle named it. The purest element of all.

　◆　These elements represent what alchemist believed all material existences to be made

　　　of. And they were further assigned four qualities by the philosopher Aristotle:

　　　HOT, DRY, WET, COLD

As some of you might know, Alchemy is not about taking something out of nothing.

It is about the exchange of things of non-material equal value.

This 「philosophy of transformation」 is why in a lot of fantasy stories, the artist/author might use Alchemy as an inspiration for "Magic", as it offers a more believable story structure.

(Though unrealistic super powers are just as fun to watch!)

　◆　The Philosopher's stone is another often used trope, as its rumored to be able

　　　to extend life. While other's believe it to be just an expression

　　　meaning that Alchemists were seeking truth or knowledge.

____________________________________【Q】 　Why should this be relevant to you as an artist?

____________________________________

With this, we will move on to finally drawing our alchemy "magic"!

 

 

 

◆　ELEMENTS　【WATER】

FLUID/WET and COLD

 

【Psychological Interpretation】

Hippocrates:　Emotionally well-balanced, transformative

Aristotle:　Moody, brooding

To demonstrate drawing fluid magic, I will borrow a water crystal from our little witch!

With that we are now able to use water magic!

(Keep in mind that water will reflect heavily onto your character!)

◆　ELEMENTS　【FIRE】

HOT and DRY

 

【Psychological Interpretation】

Hippocrates:　energy transforming, moving

Aristotle:　hot, dry

Fire in Alchemy stands in the highest point of the elemental hierarchy. It is highly transformative and thus might be assigned to stronger characters in a story.

So we should give it the appearance of something mighty!

Thus our fire magic is complete!

(I suppose this could be useful for roasting some veggies or marshmallows too!)

◆　ELEMENTS　【EARTH】

COLD and DRY

 

【Psychological Interpretation】

Hippocrates:　melancholic, concentrated on physical material, inflexibility

Aristotle:　cool, dry

Earth as an element in Alchemy symbolizes the lowest of elements as its shape has already been fixed and can not easily transform. It also describes a low spiritual understanding and can be assigned to more materialistic characters, or the "Muscle-But-No-Brain" stereotype.

Earth magic unlocked!

◆　ELEMENTS　【AIR】

HOT and FLUID/MOIST

 

【Psychological Interpretation】

Hippocrates: Sanguine, shifting/changing

Aristotle: hot, wet

Though air is immediately visualized as something soft and comforting like water,

it is also called an active element together with fire and should not be carelessly assigned to

a side character.

And our final elemental magic is done!

◆　FIFTH ELEMENT　【MAGICAL CREST】

The 【Fifth Element】in Alchemy is a non-material element.

 

　→　Meaning, our character itself is not magical, but they can summon magic from the

　　　non-material world.

 

　→　【Magic Crest】 thus includes the symbol of the【Fifth Element】

◆　Every shape has its own meaning

　e.g. SHAPE = WORD

 

→【Triangle】 (2 Triangles forming a star represent the "fith element")

 

→【Circle】The circle represents perfection, completeness, enlightment

　(It is thus why circles are often being used as the outer frame of magic crests, as it

　completes the spell of our character)

 

→【Square】The circle sitting in the triangle and square represents the philosopher's stone.

 

So when we draw our 「Magic Crest」think of it like writing. Every shape has its own meaning so instead of just copying what's already there, let's adjust our crest to fit our character! Perhaps invent new shapes with new meanings for your own story! (There's so much fun to have while world-building!)

●　The first thing we'll do:

　- Set up (Layer 1) with your circle. (Think of it like a "." in a sentence.

　- Set up (Layer 2) and use the 【symmetrical ruler】right in the middle.

　(Check the marked box to keep your lines at preferred angle)

●　Next:

　 - Place your most important shape into the middle of the circle.

　　(Make it something connected to the magic or your character!)

　- You can always turn off the ruler by clicking the 【Ruler Icon】

　　or turn it on for (All Layers).

In the middle of the crest I placed the four elements.

 

Ignis (Fire) being at the top as the highest element, followed by Aer (Air) and Aqua (Water). As we have discussed before only Earth is a element which no longer shifts in its shape, thus I disconnected it from the other three and put it at the bottom.

◆　Some of you might think "Wait, I heard those words in a game before!" and you're correct!

　　Just like "Mana", Ignis, Aer, Aqua and Terra are frequently used to name characters'

　　magic! The creators usually just change them with faux word-endings to make them

　　more "fantastic".

And from here on, you can use all of the Alchemy symbols representing planets (venus, saturn, ...) and materials (salt, silver, ...), as well as your own made-up shapes to finish up your circle!

◆　FINAL COMMENT　◆

Thank you for reading this little course on how to draw Alchemy Magic Effects!

 

I hope that these little tips will not only be helpful to you, but also that I might have peaked your interest with the story behind this common fantasy trope!