DEV WORK AND STUFF | "Princess Skystar Sea Pone" (Patreon)

THE BRIEF

As per the 'Open Poll | MLP Character #1' I chose the sweet Princess Skystar in her cute mermaid pone form.

I wanted to step away from my lineart style and attempt a painting.

THE STARTING SKETCHES

Unfortunately I missed the very early start of this sketch. It was much rougher than the image below, but it followed the same flow and composition. I've always liked the idea of mermaid creatures lounging atop a surfaced rock feature.

After cleaning the sketched lines I added a solid grey shape masking the inside of the line art. I like doing this as it clearly shows the silhouette and helps separate the character from the background, which for me helps when I begin the clean the sketch and add the details.

BLOCKING IN COLOUR

Because it has been a very long time since I have actually attempted a full painting I was not overly confident in my start. Using the previously made grey area I lock the transparent pixels which allows me to add colour without exceeding the grey mask.

Lock Transparent Pixel Toggle.

Using the Lock Transparent Pixels option again I added colour to the black sketched lines.

I wasn't thrilled with the first version of colours. They were too green and sickly. A quick tweak with the Hue and Saturation adjustment and I had the colours where I wanted them.

Hue and Saturation Properties (Please Note: These are not the setting I used to make the changes. Through my process I failed to capture the settings I used.)

PAINTING OUT THE SKETCHED LINES

Inserting a new layer about the sketch, I colour pick with my ALT hotkey and I start painting.

Bit by bit I paint over the lines. Something that I missed at this point was turning down the layer opacity for the sketched layer so the that the lines where not as hard and bold.

I merged the colour layer, sketch layer and the over paint layer. Using the eraser I clean up the edges and prepare to add more detail.

FIXING THE ANATOMY

As I was working on the clean up I flipped the canvas which showed me many mistakes that needed fixing.

Using the Transform Tool I squashed in the sides removing the overly stretched appearance. 

Selecting the area around Near eye, I copied and paste the eye on a new layer. I resized the eye and moved it back into place. I did the same for the Far eye.

Selecting, copying and pasting the face I scaled it up and rotated it slightly to make the proportions much better. 

Painting over the seams to blend the edits into the orginal art.

MAKING THE COLOURS POP

Using the Curves Adjustment Layer I tweak the black, mid and white values. It did make the colours muddy, however that also has a lot to do with my lack of painting skills. 

Curves Adjustment Layer Properties.

ADDING THE FINAL DETAILS AND CLEAN UP

I do like the textured, painterly look but the colour at this point was very muddy and lacking a few finishing touches.

FINAL

ANIMATED PROCESS

REVIEW

It was really nice to start and finish a painting. My lighting is still very weak and my colours lack range. I am far too safe and rather boring.

It's a start.