Painter X.
A commission for littlegoblet (on DeviantArt) of her character Nickolaise (Georgina's boyfriend). I was going for a wistful moment, a quiet reflection of nature in the midst of a summer storm, drizzling breezes and the scent of grass and earth and rain.
It's almost an accident that the background is stormy. At first the sky was just a muted late afternoon day. But I thought the texture of it was a bit boring, so I began working in more effects and details.
As I lightened up the horizon with the saturation brush I started using more with this piece for lighting effects, it struck me how it gave a mood of a summer storm, where the clouds are thick and dark, but the sun is bright and hazy and the air warm. I liked it, so actively worked to refine the effect.
It was a bit of a challenge, mostly because of the lighting effects, especially on Nickolaise; wanting to capture the character for littlegoblet; and much of the details.
I used Painter's pattern brush to create the scallopping on his shirt and the lacing on his leggings. I don't know how many versions of the lacing I tried before I finally made one that looked right.
His hair was extra fussy because when I first laid it down I liked the effect I got on the left side and wanted to retain it throughout the refining process, but it needed to match the right side *and* my usual technique for hair would cause it to lose some of the effect I liked if I was too heavy with it.
The sword was a particular challenge since it is supposed to be ornate, but I tried to make it slightly practical too. In the end I leaned more towards the ornate, mostly because I got carried away with the decoration. lol
For the grass I used the same brush I use for hair, but way bigger :)
Originally I intended there to be a small village/farm in the distance, but I didn't like it. On the other hand, there was no road or fence, but as an experiment to try to work in the village I laid them in and *that* I liked. I thought it broke up the background space nicely, created better visual flow, and hinted at the trappings of civilization I had wanted the village for.
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