Relief (Hi-Res + Extra Thoughts)

This is the hi-res version (3600 px!) with extra thoughts written below.

A grayscale for SDW_Industries on Twitter . Another rough day for Cal. Nothing feels better than finally getting home and collapsing in bed.

Tried to do something a bit more dramatic in angle/tone! A bit of a tilted angle to try to make things seem a bit heavier. And ahhh, this was so much fun to do. I know I say that a lot, especially on grayscales, but SDW was kind enough to give me some extra hours to really clean this one up and make it shine. Once we got past the thumbnails, the groove was found immediately. <3

Thanks, Cal, for letting me work with you and your fantastic character!! Enjoy, guys.

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Whoof. Sometimes I may sugar-coat how happy I am with a piece in order to try to appear positive, even if there's a glaring part of the image bothering me, but this time I'm -actually- 100% happy! I think if I had any complaints its the pose itself. Not that it's bad, but in the sketch and concept I definitely wanted more of a leaning feeling. I think it was in the sketch and thumbnail, but as things rendered out, I think it was lost a bit.

The extra hours helped this one immensely too. Usually I do give people a free hour on top of what they purchased, just to polish things up, but Cal was kind enough to offer me four hours...!! God, the jump from where it was going to end, to where it is now is immense. A lot of the small highlights and details, like the rain drops on him, the smoothed values, the hair... A lot of them felt incomplete or not quite where they could be, almost rushed. I was still pleased at that point, but my aim was higher than my skill for that budget. So, once again, many thanks have to go to Cal for trusting me to keep going and for being so accommodating. <3

Some of you follow my private vent Twitter, and know how I've been feeling the past few days regarding what I'm doing and where I'm going. It's almost funny, looking at that vent, then looking to this piece that was happening at the same time. I almost worry sometimes there are two brains in my head, given how opposed my results can be versus where my thoughts and feelings can lie. I gotta learn to marry the two and boost them both. But that's a side story!! I'll stop rambling, and let ya'll enjoy.

Thank you guys again so much for your support! The next commissioned piece is a snake character in a bit of a tight bind, so look forward to that~ Until then!