The Witch of the Realm of Darkness

After Aqua had saved Terra and descended to the Realm of Darkness, she had almost lost all hope. There was no way out of the realm, no matter how far she walked. She eventually came to rest at the beach. That was when Red Eye attacked. Hidden in the shadows, it was unnoticed by the exhausted woman. The viscous creature repeatedly lunged at Aqua, giving her no quarter. No on was there to save her. There was no chance of survival. It was not long before Aqua lay on the ground, bloody, disarmed, and hopeless. However, the creature did not finish her off. Instead, the Hunter of the Dark commanded the darkness to consume Aqua, transforming her into a being of pure evil with the ability to control heartless. She had been cursed into the darkness - all of the hope and light she had brought around with her was gone. Years passed as Aqua's powers continued to grow. She trained with the heartless night and day, strengthening her magic. By the end, she had been totally consumed by darkness. Aqua had become a witch, bending the heartless to her will until she would be strong enough to rise back to the Realm of Light and bring it to where she was strongest. She wished to bring the Realm of Light to darkness.

After Terra and Ventus had reclaimed their bodies, Yen Sid had sensed that something was amiss in the Realm of Darkness. The duo plunged into the realm to eradicate the evil that Yen Sid sensed before it could make it to the Realm of Light. Eventually, Terra and Ventus arrived at the beach, just as Aqua had done years before. The pair was surprised to see what had happened to their calm, caring friend - Aqua was now a witch. Her keyblade had morphed into a staff, and she wore a long, dark robe. Aqua's eyes were completely red. Her smile sent terror down their spines. She bore the same face, yet she was clearly not the same person. Still, they knew what had to be done - they had to defeat Aqua. It was the only way to ensure the safety of the Realm of Light. Both of them charged at Aqua with grim looks on their faces. However, their light did not prove to be enough. Aqua's darkness brought them down with ease, and it was not long until they could no longer fight. She smiled at the two who used to be her friends. However, this was no longer the same Aqua. No room for pity in her heart, she cast her shadow magic, transforming her assailants into heartless - shadows, doomed to serve her forevermore. Aqua smiled. Everything was going perfectly. There was little hope for the light, now. It was not long until darkness would prove triumphant....

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I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS CONTEST YOU DONT KNOW. I AM REALLY HAPPY WITH THIS DRAWING.
This piece is my entry for VanyCat 's Kingdom Hearts Halloween Contest - it's Aqua (my fave KH character) as a witch! I know I've just done a drawing of Aqua but who cares.

So I haven't done a 1000x1500px canvas in so long because I found it easier to just do 500pxs. However, in my journey through 500pxs, my art style has evolved so much - I've gotten better in pretty much every aspect (check out my last "big drawing" here: Blade Ranger). I went back to the big canvas because it's something I've wanted to do again for some time. This contest was the perfect incentive. So I did it on a big canvas again, and MAN IS IT EXHAUSTING. It was fun doing it, but I was so tired. I did the lines and was so dead. Then I coloured and was dead. Then I shaded and OH MY GOSH THAT WAS EXHAUSTING. But I pulled through and tried something different for the background (notice the brush strokes - there's no blending. I went for solid colours that aren't super close to each other) and played around with the shade/luminosity setitngs in SAI. I really like how it turned out! Plus, designing outfits is one of my fave things ever.

Once again, thanks to my friend tricia-s for helping me out. I hope I do well in this contest! I've learned so much from this drawing and only wish to improve. I've heard someone say something similar, and I feel like this is my current "skill limit", but I've just learned so much from doing this so expect another super big drawing in a few months that will be even better!

Hard to imagine what my drawings were like a year or two ago...I've improved a lot since then, and thanks for all of your support, those who fave/watch/comment!

Look at me rambling. I wonder how people can post their art without a giant internal monologue.