August Pin-up - Goldlewis (Patreon)

 Make space for this hefty lad!! His proportions were fun to work with, even though I did need some time to sort them out. It was good practice. 

 Also a July themed August pin-up.......... lmao

 Let's start shall we?

> I started with a vertical oriented composition this time! Some stuff was already set up in my head such as the two presidents tagging along with him for a BBQ, along with the mustard "51" element, and the big hot dog.

> As you can see, I didn't put much time in the thumbnailing... Rushing steps is not a really cool idea as you'll see in the following steps LOL Some structure pass over this thumbnail, but the foundation was a bit weak so I didn't go far as usually do at this step. The overall mood and hand gestures are set up, though!

> I decided to make the composition a bit more horizontal, so the elements could have a bit more room for breathing. Also the other elements would cover Goldlewis, which is supposed to be the main point of the picture!

> The front view was quite boring as well..... I think Goldlewis works better with a side angle because of his cute big pompadour. The belly also really pops out!!!

> Refined the sketch so I can have a bit more of an easy time doing the lineart! For me at least, a good foundation ensures a  muuuuuuuuch smoother finishing process.

> Started the lineart! I've been trying to make the process a bit more methodical by focusing on foreground, then middleground, then background lately and it's been helping me a lot! I have to figure something like that for coloring.

> Goldlewis! But here you can see there's no weight in the lines for now.... also check out that grill! It's a photobashed one!! Let's see how I tackled it, shall we?

> Here's the pic I found online! Did some crops and deformed the original picture, and I ended up with this...! Ugly right!

> It'all a matter of polish, though. "Pixelated" the picture above to be more aesthetically aligned with my style, and for now, placed it on the picture this way before embellishing it. 

> Weight treatment!!! The lineart feels so different right!

> Tackled the background! Apparition has been helping me a lot with abstract backgrounds, so I did have fun on this one! I didn't start embellishing the BBQ grill yet, so you can check how jarring it is.

 It's always fun to make photobashing because it takes a bunch of creative solutions to make it work, like doing a puzzle!

> Here I placed the blocks I'll use to color. It brings a more clear picture to mind as well, regarding as how it'll look finished.

>Started embellishing the BBQ grill! Check out the burning coal. It's already looking cool!

> Flatsssssss.... If the setting has a regular lighting I've noticed I don't invest much in color sketches. It's a thing I gotta pull my ear a bit more to do more consistently tbh!!!!!!

> Primary shadows for the foreground!! Won't make secondary ones here to practice the visual hierarchy effect of doing the focus more finished than the other elements.

> Primary shadows for Goldlewis! As he is a ROUND boy I decided I'd focus on smooth shadows, which are not contemplated in this step!

> I left the secondary shading for elements of interest such as his face, hands and food. It's part of the visual hierarchy tests!

> Shaded the foreground...

> And then the rest!!!

 The stars I did for the flag are actually from another little thing I did!! Doing resources has been turning into a staple for my art. It's really fun to do, and I think it brings my personal flair to things!

 I think you couldn't guess where I grabbed those from.... it's not from any piece of the constellation project! I actually did them for a tiny shopping list I have over my fridge to control who buys what for the cats over here in my home. 

And that concludes our monthly pin-up post. I'll be opening the voting for the next character on the 1st!