All Hallows' Eve (Patreon)

I actually waffled between 3 different ideas for this month's illustration, which is one of the reasons it got completed so late. But I decided to go thematic for the oncoming holiday, so I went all in on this photo I found and liked on Tumblr.

I couldn't quite figure out the composition I wanted; in my imagination, the male was surrounded by women on all sides, such that no background would actually be needed. But short of some serious size difference or LOTS of women, it was much easier just to draw them all standing... (Except, you know, for that one dame.)

I do like how the original sketch felt looser and more free-flowing. Things got a little stiffer once I switched to a harder, darker brush.

Next was figuring out the colors. If you've been a patron for some time, you know that mainly involves me choosing a base color and using that to pick everything else.

Once I'd added the shading, I played a little more with the background color. At one point it was a reddish orange, but I decided I liked the black for some sharp spooky contrast.

So here you have it! The complete illustration: