empiricalsmut

Ashe's Weapon Maintenance -- Patreon Exclusive May 2020

Added 2020-05-18 14:10:58 +0000 UTC

Thanks to everyone who voted in the last character poll -- here is Overwatch's Ashe!

I'm always experimenting with my art; I tried a couple of different things with this piece.

First, the overall size is a tiny bit smaller than my usual pieces. When the file size is too big, the quality of the pixels tends to look a little ragged, and the piece just doesn't look as good unless it is being viewed at 100%. For this one, I brought the size down just a bit, but kept the resolution high; I think it makes for a somewhat smoother overall look.

Second, I've almost completely abandoned using vector shading. I used to use the pen tool to draw a path for every shadow, and then fill it using a soft brush. While this gave a really crisp, sharp image, it was really bad for conveying softer shadows. For example, if a piece of paper is hovering over a table, and a light is shining down on top, the shadow cast on the table could easily be done with a vector shape. However, when you have the human body, you're dealing with lots of soft, curved shapes, with fabric clothes on top that have varying degrees of wrinkles; vector shadows are just way to harsh for this, and end up making the character's body look flat. I've transitioned into more freehand shading, and then using a hard-edged eraser to clean up where needed; it's resulted in a much more realistic appearance overall, and looks especially good on the character's feet.

Let's see... As for other random notes, I absolutely hate having to copy gun designs. Drawing them from scratch is fine, as I just design them as I go along, but having to constantly go back and forth to reference Ashe's rifle design, to make sure the proportions were correct, was a nightmare.

Anyway, that's all for now! I hope you all like the piece. I'm going to put up another poll soon, to decide on next month's character, so keep your eyes open!