CGMythology's Sketchbook (nudity)

Valence:  Thank you, very glad to hear that!!

..............I did some final adjustments to the image, I'm calling it done for now as I spent quite some time on it and am ready to move on to another illustration.  Here is the final:

 

 Next up is a new illustration featuring a witch.  Always wanted to paint one so I went ahead and sketched out the scene.  I want this image to be highly detailed full of life, so I spent quite some time with the linework and general environment as well.  I'm pretty happy with it overall, but any feedback prior to beginning some color tests would be most appreciated!
  
 

For the archer, I like that the clothes feel a bit more unified now, but it also feels like she blends into the background a bit more again. Without seeing them side by side, I can't be certain, but I think maybe the archway behind her should be slightly lighter still so she shows up properly.

For the witch I like all the detail and I do love the big horns where the overall shape also reminds me a bit of a turban or or something. I liked the big horns of your recent mermaid too, but they seemed to grow out of her shoulders, almost, so I really like how these horns are most definitely placed on her head

Charlotte:  Thanks for your input! I moved on from the archer for now, but I do appreciate your input.  Glad you enjoy the witch, and good point about the horns!

.............I refined the sketch a bit and did some quick color tests.  The light source is coming from the orb on all of them as I feel that works best so I didn't mess with the general light source on these, just focused more on colors.  I think they all work fairly well, although I'm leaning towards 'B' as that has the best color harmony I feel.  I'm open to hearing input however so please feel free to let me know what you feel works best! 

Personally I think B is maybe a bit too uniform in colours since the background is also warm. For creepiness, maybe A would work best, but I rather like the blue orb (C) or maybe something a bit more purplish (even if that might be a bit cliché, perhaps?). I feel blue or purple would work well against the warmer background.

Charlotte:  Thanks for your input and Happy New Year!  I agree about the monochromatic feel.  I decided to go with 'B' but changed the background to a desaturated blue, which fixed the contrast issue.
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 Happy New Year everyone!  Some updates; I decided to go with 'B' after giving it much thought as I feel it's the most ominous looking... It was also the most monochromatic once, so I went with a desaturated blue for the background.  The image is pretty much finished, although I'm open to input as always so if something is majorly off please feel free to let me know!  Below is the final, plus the steps if you're interested. 

  ....................... Next up I started on a new illustration of a Viking.  The figure was referenced from  Obscura29  on ArtStation off a reference pack I recently bought.  I did my best to keep in line with the general pose while creating my own character design for the figure.  Overall I'm quite happy with how the sketch turned out, although I'm open to feedback before beginning the painting process, so if something feels off please let me know!  Below is the sketch:
   

Love how she turned out - she looks wicked

Charlotte:  Thank you, great to hear that!

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Reworked the sketch a bit to balance out the composition more as well as give the Viking a bit more weight.  I'll get started on some color tests shortly!

 



 

Did some quick rough color tests.  I'm leaning towards E, followed by B.  I really want to paint a winter scene as those are fun and I haven't had the chance to paint them in quite a while, so I'll likely go with E.  I would like to hear the opinion from fellow artists on what you feel works best so please feel free to let me know!  Below are the color tests. 

Reworked the pose of the wolf to make it more natural looking, and went with choice 'B' as my color palette as I feel it works best.  The image is still fairly early but it's coming along fairly smoothly, probably because I'm sticking with my initial color test.  Mountains aren't giving me as much trouble as I would have thought  considering I haven't painted snowy mountains for a while.  Below is the current progress:

   

The wolf's muzzle/mouth seems very narrow and pointy. I'd widen that snarl a bit more as you continue.