This is a 2D master painting of a prop that Ashleigh Warner made for World of Warcraft. You can find the original here: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/g2R4L
No tracing or color picking involved. Strictly observation.
I enjoy making studies off of the things I see in World of Warcraft. It helps to inform my texturing process when I do 3D props. Its similar to how painters would create master paintings from classical paintings to understand how the original painter made their brush strokes & etc. Doing studies like this has helped me get this far, and I want to continue doing it. ^^