96 - random symbiote sketches - The hero that can save us... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) (Patreon)

[...that title was inspired by the song "Hero" from Nickelback, which ultimately motivated me to start drawing Venom again right after finishing my kinkbiote sketch.. Then the next time this song was on while working on this, I chuckled and thought of this line as a title for this... I'm sorry, but I have to use it xD

...also fuck this, I've been sitting on this for days trying to select the right variations, so idgaf anymore, have 22 freakin' alts xd]
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I guess I can't really call this a "sketch" if I've spent a lot of hours and days working on it, can I?
But it's definitely was a result of some anatomy studying, that's for sure.

and I can't even, like-
Holy Lord praying for my soul
HOW THE FUCK DID I MAKE THAT????

Yes, I am surprised once again of my own doing. xd
Generally the idea for this took it's time. I almost drew another laying Venom, but I've already done that in this sketch dump, so I had to do something else. Then I encountered with the reference picture I've used for this, like a sign from destiny as it heard my thoughts forming shape, cuz I kinda wanted to do something like this, but haven't found the right, helpful material.
A bit strange how I don't remember experiencing anxiety and fear when I started to work on this. I was relying on my past learnings of anatomy shapes at first, the curves I wanted to/ imagined my Venom would have, and then I was checking irl references to make sure my mess of thoughts can look good on paper too (and if they were accurate for real life implementations more or less). Altho the perspective is a bit tricky here.. so either it's anatomically incorrect here and there, or I didn't give a fuck cuz I wanted it to look like this.. xd

Do you know how freakin complex our arms are in case of muscle structure and build-up??? Damn. Especially from this angle, I couldn't really find a good reference for this project. Then thinking that this wanted to be a "sketch" would calm down my perfectionist-self a bit tho.
I actually *really* enjoyed working on this even if it took me a fuckton hours for one and multiple sittings. I love working on details and seeing them fleshing out, that kept me going (I also had to pause a few times at first, cuz.. ya know, it got a bit hot in my room ha).

Originally I imagined this is a view from someone that's being backed by a wall(?), and Venom's looking down on 'em, while having both of his arms up, palms placed on the same said wall. He's bent over a bit, placing a shadow on the viewer, while having his whole form outlined with rim-light.
This would have required minimal add-ons after the lineart stage, similar to previous sketches in the line of this sketchdump project (#96). But I got lost a few times in the working and almost made the whole artwork looking different. So the colouring stage, lighting-tests and background-works made this picture more than something like a sketch in terms of quality.
- For example, instead of just having that rim-light around, I added some coloured light touches, like if he was getting some light on him sourced below. THAT made it more hotter than it was already is (and this helped giving it a 3D look).
- After that, I've made this lighting colouring again, but in thoughts of the old 90s cartoon's style, which surprised me how it came out on my sketch (earning it to be as an alternative pic to show off here).
- Then I got lost in making the background too, I just kept working on it and maybe overdone it aswell. Started making the background darker, which I later realised didn't fit for the rim-light contrast around him. I'm not sure if the bg is fitting for this, but I'll leave it like that if nothing happens.
- While making the lineart thicker, I was worried I'd ruin his expression that was provided with the really thin lines at first. At the start I abandoned the head and worked on the body, then going back made it feel off, like the body just got attached to a random Venom head. I think this made me realise that it was time to take a break, and it was a good decision, cuz coming back to work later, I didn't see it like that again.

I planned to finish this earlier than I managed to.
I started working on this on the 4th of March, then thought it would be funny to finish it for Women's day, so I worked on that day, but didn't make it. Then I thought 03.09. sounds like a good date too, as for when it was made, but that didn't happen either. THEN my body was starting to get sick with a wannabe-throat-ache (thanks for the cooling weather) and fucked up my sleeping schedule once again; I couldn't continue working cuz such irl events and others. THEN trying to finalise and select the good look out of all the possible variations.. Fuck. So yea, I said fuck it and just dumped it here. xd Luckily I know what I'll publish when it comes to it tho.
Come to think of it, idk what took so long to actually finish this in case of drawing. Must be the time deciding on changes to keep em or not.. 🤔 and all the other practises.

That little "Hi." was randomly added while sketching the lineart.
Thought with a pose like that, in a situation like this, having that sharp grinning smile, would generate such greeting form from him. Also thinking of the 1rst Spiderverse's "Hey." phrase for this setting made me chuckle a bit, but didn't want to reference nor copy that so kept the first version. I think Venom would say this in a hotter/spicier way than the other line, anyways.
Also the little heart was a must  ̶(̶o̶f̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶r̶s̶e̶)̶.

Once again, I'm sorry for the bunch of variations, it's just difficult to choose the right one(s) when they all look good in a way. xd
Personally, I really, Really love the auto-toned versions here (it wasn't working with the spidey symbol on tho :/ ). Gives me old anime/cartoon vibes. There's a nsfw artist (bluethebone) who creates art in such style, I wouldn't mind doing something like that too to try it out aswell. Also these auto-toned pics are good for references for colouring. Nuff' said: I just love it. 8)

In the last pic is how my sketch dump looks so far... he's kinda sticking out from the crowd there cuz how detailed he is, and I actually had to make him a bit transparent cuz he was a bit too dark compared to the rest.. xd
I already have a plan (and a quick wip sketch) for the last character to put on this pic before calling it done. It's gonna be Carnage so he won't be left out, and placed where the "WIP 2023" sign is, between the 2 Venom SpaceKnights.
I'll... try to make it fast and simple this time.. maybe I can make it like that.. x'd

This piece was also a kind of milestone for me;
The first time drawing my Venom almost fully and frontal revealing.
I still have some insecures for his proportions, but I gotta get out of my comfort-zones sometimes, get some flexes 💪 and deal with new things so I can pave out the path for my old and new ideas!✨☝️
Furthermore, this is the 100th post tagged as "art" at Patreon! 🏆🤘😎

Placing my signature on this was a hard decision for me, didn't want to censore one inch of him. xD So yea, I am satisfied with the outcome.
More or less.
It's good stuff.
Good stuff. ✨👌