Work Process "Fair Game" and "Phantastic" (Patreon)

Righto, so the first of the two promissed uploads. This might almost warrant two separate uploads by itself, but that feels kinda weird and cash grab-y :b

-

First is what little WIP stuff I have of the Fair Game fan art I did of Rick Griffin's Kitsune and Tarot having a game of chess back during that phase I had ._.;;

The first image is a pixelation of the final artwork I did just for laughs and I'm leaving it there so the post cover image is pretty :b

Next is the base sketch idea. I had no value composition there yet, just a general one to eyeball where I wanted what to go later.

Next is two steps of a rough value composition and the beginnings of surface textures.

Then we have a stand-alone of Kitsune right in the rendering process. I often turn off background/foregroud layers to avoid intereference while doing more intricate detailing. Rendered details often extend beyond what's immediately visible, so I can adjust positions within the picture, without having to later go back and put more detail in, which often takes you out of the workflow - mind you, that doesn't mean I never have to do that or that I render every object entirely in independence of the rest of the image Xb

Last of the Fair Game WIPs we have most of Kitsune rendered and me starting on Tarot, as well as the lantern smoke. Unfortunately I failed to capture more WIPs at the time, but I didn't have anyone who needed showing of it, so *shrug*

I do remember that I copy-re-pasted Kitsunes neck fluff plenty of times durign this render process. You can see some of it repurposed on Tarots neck fluff and if you pay very close attention, you can see it staunched, as well as reflected on his belly too. Artist cheats are handy ;3

-

Now I could have sworn I'd shared the finished version of this one on here, but I can't seem to track it down in the old posts, so I think there's a Tier 2 post incoming for you guys before I upload the second batch of sketches X3

This was meant to be a character portrait that would be printed either on canvas or metal for sale at the EF art show, but given that I haven't had an opportunity (and currently lack the funds again for such a product), of a dear friend of mine's concept of a masseuse with some interesting powers - spoilers: the bunny isn't real ;3

First up is the base concept with most of the value composition in place. Character portraits are pretty simple affairs, so there wasn't a lot to do, besides devide up the background and foreground a bit, but beyond this point it was just a question of rendering the different pieces of the image :3

Next is the start of the rendering phase for the bunny. Rough lighting on the anatomy, some hints at fur tufts here and there, flowing into the next version ...

... where the ears are rendered and the snout has been broadened a bit. Adjustments like that are pretty common throughout the process. Sometimes stuff looks a little off, even if it might be anatomically correct (or it just plain isn't).

WIPs 4,5 and 6 are just progressions of what the rendering process looks like. More definition towards the anatomy, more fur tufting, more details, eyes, nips, labia, etc.

7 is where I start in on the wolf character in the background. Here we have image saves of the progress both with and without the bunny in the foreground.

Next we have most of the rendering done. As the character is mostly obscured there wasn't all that much to do, however the details I did put in were vital to the image - plus, as I mentioned previously, the un-bunnied version shows some of the off-image rendering I do in order to be able to move things around if I need to.

In this particular case I also really just wanted to render those beautiful curves, because reasons =w=

A shot of the head for some detail appreciation (or lack thereof). This actually showcases really well how little actual detail is sometimes included in places you're not going to be focusing on as a viewer. The omission of said details is usually deliberate to avoid giving the eye something to focus on besides the thing I as the artist do want you to focus on, in this case the eyes. The shape of the muzzle is enough to tell the eye what it is they're looking at, without having to look at it directly :3

Finally, after having both bunny and wolf rendered, I test out different versions of the phantasm effect, some of which work better than others. Same thing then goes for the color stage.

I'm fairly sure I could probably produce something better in the effect department today, but I honestly also don't know what that would look like. Having said that, I am happy with the results and would still show this off as one of my more accomplished works.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll have to retreat from the desk for a bit and think about soft, warm, fuzzy curves in my face =w=