Alright folks, today I finally got around to sketching out that Aphrodite Fortnite skin concept I’ve been thinking about. Gotta be honest, it wasn’t smooth sailing, but let me walk you through exactly how it went down, step by messy step.
Getting Started & Finding Inspiration
First thing I did was grab my laptop and jump straight into looking at existing Fortnite skins. I knew Aphrodite vibe needed elegance mixed with that cartoony Fortnite style. Scrolled through all the goddess-inspired skins Fortnite already has – Medusa, Artemis, you know the ones. Screenshotted a bunch for quick reference, paying close attention to how they simplify fancy outfits into cleaner Fortnite shapes. Propped those bad boys up on my second screen cause my main one was for drawing.
Step 1: Throwing Down The Ugly First Sketch
Opened Krita – don’t have fancy Photoshop money, okay? – picked the basic hard round brush and just started scribbling. And man, those first attempts were rough. I wasn’t thinking details yet, just big blobs trying to capture a cool pose. Wanted her holding a staff-thing, maybe? Or a glowing orb? Went through maybe five or six completely different poses. Felt frustrating as heck trying to find one that felt both powerful and graceful. Landed on this kinda one-leg-forward stance, like she’s floating a bit. Sketch layer? Covered in my scribbles and scribbles.
Step 2: Cleaning Up That Mess
Created a new layer over my chaotic scribbles. Lowered the opacity on that first mess so I could actually see what I was doing. Then, zoomed way in and started trying to draw actual clean lines. This part always feels slow. Used a slightly smaller brush and really focused on defining simple shapes: that big flowy skirt volume, her raised arm, the outline of her hair. Kept reminding myself “Fortnite style! Blocky shapes! Smooth curves!” Got rid of all the extra noodly lines I had from step one. Looked way better already.
Step 3: The Headache Called Colors
Okay, time to pick colors. Grabbed the fill bucket tool like my life depended on it. Started with her skin – picked this warm peachy tone. Then for her outfit, I knew Aphrodite needed purples or pinks, right? Grabbed this vibrant magenta color way too bright at first. Filled her main outfit shape. Immediately hated it. Felt way too loud. Went back to my reference screenshots – saw how they use softer, more muted purples with gold. Scrapped the magenta, went with a softer lilac for the main cloth, then added separate layers for gold belt bits and dark purple accent straps. Much better.
Step 4: Making Stuff Pop (Kinda)
Looked back at the Fortnite skins and saw how they use highlights and shadows to make stuff look three-dimensional without getting crazy detailed. Created a new layer set to “Multiply” for shadows. Thought about where light might come from – maybe above? Added some soft shading under the chin, under the skirt folds, beneath her raised arm. Another layer set to “Overlay” for highlights. Dabbed brighter versions of her outfit color along the top edges of the skirt and shoulder straps. Made her gold belt shine. Added tiny highlights in her eyes. Didn’t go overboard, just enough for pop.
Step 5: Final Touches & Saving
Zoomed out to see the whole thing. Felt like it needed something extra? Gave her orb thingy in her hand a soft inner glow – used a big, soft brush with a pale yellow at low opacity right in the center. Messed around until it looked faintly glowy. Double-checked that messy first sketch layer was definitely hidden! Added a simple background gradient so she wasn’t just floating in white space – dark at the bottom fading to lighter up top. Flattened everything messy into one layer. Hit “Export As” and named it ‘my_aphrodite_*’. Is it perfect? Heck no. But for following my own simple steps? Pretty chuffed.
And that’s literally how my desk ended up covered in crumbs while my coffee got cold – drawing Fortnite Aphrodite! Simple steps, messy process. Worth it.
