Tifa from Final Fantasy 7 -- Patreon Exclusive March 2020 (Patreon)

Wow, this was a fun one.

Thank you so much to everyone who voted in the last poll, because Tifa is here now! I was actually thrilled to do her once I got started, because her costume is so damn simple, which allowed me to focus more on my painting technique. I'm trying to pull away a bit from really hard vector cell shading, and experimenting with more freehand, because not only is it less labor intensive, but it just looks more natural. As a result, Tifa looks much more three-dimensional and voluminous, than she would otherwise.

Tifa's left foot was a challenge to do, I'll admit. As always, I use references that I have stocked either on my computer or on my phone, and I came up with this pose by mixing parts of different references, but that left foot was a real challenge. In the same way that I'm trying to move away from vector cell shading, I'm also trying to rely less on the lineart to convey shapes. The lineart ideally serves to separate the figure from the background, with the silhouette, to convey areas of harsh shadow, or to show a transition from one object or "material" to another. For example, Tifa's silhouette (the border between her and the background) is completely done in lineart. The suspenders/harness she wears, and all of her clothing, has lineart to distinguish the points where it lays on top of the skin. Her right calf is done in lineart, to distinguish the fact that it is a completely-separate extension of her limb, far in the front of her thigh.

In contrast, her right foot, while it has lineart to denote the silhouette, and the forms of the toes, the rest of the foot is done 100% in color. I didn't want to use lineart to show the distinction in volume and overlay between the ball of her foot and the arch, as it would end up making the foot look kind of flat. Instead, I went with full colors, textures, and shading, but never full-on, harsh black. As a result, it really gives the impression that the foot is sticking out into the foreground, toward the viewer, and makes her skin look much softer and more natural.

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Overall, I'm really pleased with this one, and I would love to do more poll pieces in the future! I think I will do one for May, to give you guys time to vote; I will come up with the next one for April.

Thanks so much for your continued support, both new and old patrons! Comment below what you think of this piece!