Dead Man's Tale

You know that epic thing that I was working on? The one that was so epic that I had to post a teaser-version before I actually posted it here? Yeah, this is it, my beloved Dead Man's Tale.

Well, it's not as precise or as a refined as I wanted it to be. In all actuality, I had originally planned to work this piece to the absolute ground; making sure it was smooth, almost air-brushed, in quality with all those little nit-picky details that I so admire in other artists' work. However, I realized about half way through roughing out the shading that I didn't draw at a high enough resolution for the details I wanted, and that I was already beginning to grow bored with staring at it. If I ever wanted to finish it, I would have to hurry myself along. I'm not experienced or patient enough to do how I imagined. All in all, however, I really like the result. The choppy, messy look to it adds to the atmosphere, I think, so I'm quite satisfied with it. :)

As far as the story behind it goes, the most you really need to know is that the living character, Egan, had been tortured and killed at a secret facility for his crimes as a rebellious mercenary. Once he had died in their care, they disposed of his body along with the others in a ditch (presumably to be devoured by the scavenging wild creatures that lurked there), but, for reasons unknown to them or even Egan himself, he managed to "wake up" a day later. He knows that he died, but he has no idea how he was revived. This picture basically depicts his awakening, surrounded by the bloodied and beaten corpses he'd been one of only a few moments before.

I loosely define this still as a slight work in progress. While it may be mostly finished, I might refine some specific things here and there, which I'll need your feedback for. If there is anything that jumps out at you or looks off, please comment and I'll consider fixing it.

"Egan" Character and Concept, and Art (C) Shannon Ashley (LuckySquid)