Fortress of Lies

I wonder how many people still remember the last fan art poll, and who won it (well, now you do, lol).

I didnt know what to do for the longest time and I dont like forcing things so I just waited for the right time, and eventually I was like "Hmmm, since its been so long, what if also added 2B and the pods as a surprise factor to make up for the wait?" and then this composition just came naturally. I still had it set up for like a month before I actually got started on it, but then once I did it was pretty quick and took just a day or two.

Here is the process pic of this one although its not very interesting since its a very desaturated pic and there wasnt much work in terms of colors, it was all about shading and lighting. Still, why not have it anyway?

Anyway, I knew right away this had to be called "Fortress of Lies" because thats the name of the song that plays in the bunker sections, and those who played the game will know why that is.

As for the pic itself, I really liked the fact setting up the characters like this let me highlight both of their main features, and it wouldnt be a Nier pic without 2B's butt.

I originally wanted to do a dark space background outside with the earth being visible (you can still vaguely see it), but it wasnt working so I quickly changed it to the bright setting you see and I liked that a lot more since it makes the characters really stand out.

I also toyed around with the idea of having both wearing white for a bit, but at that point there was just way too much white in the pic and I needed the contrast of black clothes, so I went back on that. And 2B in particular just looks better with the black and white clothes, matching the white hair + black headband.

I was also not sure if I wanted A2 to be all clean and pretty or keep the dirty/worn look she had in game, but Im glad I did because I think the dirt textures on her skin and clothes add a lot to it.

Also Im actually already working on the character that placed 2nd in the poll, which was Samus, so that one will come quickly. Although Im having some problems getting it to look the way I want, so I hope it wont be a frustrating one.

I dont actually remember who placed 3rd, and I have almost twice as many patrons as I did back then, so its probably a good idea to make a new one after that.