Heloise the Hollow is a Splinterlands character. Splinterlands is an NFT Trading Card Game based in the world of Praetoria.
This is my first cartoon model so I was not really sure what I was doing with just 1 picture for reference. I animated it in 3 Hailuo and 3 Kling videos and extracted all the frames. I guess that's a decent start, so this model is currently based on that.
Lore:
Heloise d’Armand once led the Dawnbringers, a band of mercenaries that fought against the Chaos Empire. Her strength and the loyalty she inspired made her a symbol of hope and justice throughout Praetoria. But as the war dragged on, the toll grew heavy. Defeats mounted, allies fell, and her dream of a liberated Praetoria seemed to slip away. Heloise was haunted by the sacrifices of her comrades and the fear that all they’d lost would be in vain. These doubts weighed on her as the Dawnbringers fought through the legions of the Tovingor Kalamenty, up the slopes of Mount Praetorous toward Uul, its tentacles lashing the sky. As her friends fell around her, a voice spoke in her mind. You will perish here, and all you’ve lost will be for nothing. It doesn’t have to be this way. I can give you the power to achieve your dream. Sweat and blood ran down Heloise’s face. Her muscles ached. The path behind her was littered with the bodies of friends and allies. The legions closed in. “What must I do?” she asked. Sacrifice those who have stood by you, and I will give you unimaginable power. “Why should I trust you?” What choice do you have? Either perish in defeat, or sacrifice them in the name of victory. She hesitated, but not long. After all they’d fought for, all they had lost, it couldn’t end like this. She wouldn’t let them have died for nothing. “Take them, then. Take them all.” For a heartbeat, all went still. Then the sky darkened, and around her, the Dawnbringers staggered to a halt. They lowered their weapons as if swords and staffs and bows had become too heavy to wield. Shields clattered to the earth with a clang. Many dropped to their knees. Simultaneously, their life force surged into Heloise. She rocked back on her heels as their strength filled her, a raw power that burned through her veins. A part of her screamed to undo what she’d done. But another part—deeper, darker—relished it. As the legions of Chaos fell on the helpless Dawnbringers and slaughtered them, darkness coiled around Heloise. Her armor cracked, and shadowy tendrils erupted from the fissures, writhing and flailing. Her brothers and sisters… they had given everything, and she’d taken it. She wiped the tears from her eyes. There would be time for sorrow later. Now, she had to finish this. But something inside her had broken and twisted. She had the power to realize her dream of a liberated Praetoria, but the compassion that fueled that dream slipped away, and a new dream took root. Control was what she needed now. Cold, consuming, ruthless control. The legionnaires of the Tovingor Kalamenty dropped to their knees and bowed before her. Heloise smiled. She’d won. Her sacrifice had not been in vain. She could continue the fight for Praetoria’s salvation. She could fight for the empire. For chaos. For Uul. Heloise d’Armand had become the monster she’d sworn to defeat. Among the broken remnants of her once-loyal followers, she became known as Heloise the Hollow—a reminder of everything she’d taken, and everything that had been lost, in pursuit of her dream.