Commission - Sheena the Gnoll (Patreon)

A big, buff, butch pirate gnoll! And, I've been assured, a friendly person, too. I had a lot of fun drawing her-- the commissioner sent me a reference they'd drawn in their own, much more cartoony style, and I really liked reinterpreting her likeness in my own art style while still keeping the attitude and energy of the original.

the additional images are to show the process behind the final image: sketch, "inks", flat colors, first touches of shading, and a multiply layer with cool and warm shading painted in. The final image, the one at the top of the post, shows the final highlights, the final colorized lines, and an overlay layer with some brightness and warmth painted in. 

"Inks" is in quotes because my inks usually aren't inks-- once I get the sketch layer looking well on its way to how I want the final piece to feel, I duplicate it into a new layer, darken it, and start refining it and adding more details, often with the original sketch layer faintly visible underneath so I don't get carried away and stray too far from the look I was happy with. 

I really like the amount of depth I can get using a sketch as the lines in a picture: using a brush with variable opacity lets me build subtle areas of shadow right into the lineart, and choosing where to leave the lines soft and where to sharpen them adds a nice extra suggestion of lighting and volume even before I get painting. I also think the little stray marks and less-rendered areas add a certain character and visual interest that 100% sharp, clean lineart doesn't really have. Although this is also me defending my messy lineart by being like, "it's my style!", I think I'm also right, lol.