Hey ..

What's happening is .. few new things are being added .. for which the concept sheet wil have to be updated.

Design is final.

As for the illustration ....
Detailing

That's the most painful .. most time consuming ...
If I rush through it ... everything will look bad and not cared for ...

That's why i'm very worried.

But... I'm trying to do things carefully.
Let's see what happens.

I hope you finish ...
Your concept is really cute.
Wish you all the luck!!

I think i'm almost done. Still tons of tweaks left.. but can't cover them all, it's endless..... an artwork can never be stopped ... there will always be room for improvement.

Few hours to go .. will update the concept sheet with a small change. Then the final artwork.

What about you??? How's progress??

This is it ...... i'm done!

I Thank you all for your help ; truly meant a lot.

Here's the FINAL SUBMISSION :

Concept Sheet

The Grim Angel - Concept Sheet.jpg2048x2048 1.17 MB

FINAL ARTWORK

The Grim Angel - Against all odds - Final artwork.jpg2048x2251 978 KB

Details will be posted soon.
I wish each and every one of you the very best of luck!

On a personal note :

I really wanted to come up with something that we could all relate to in some way.
The main highlight of this piece ... The Grim Angel ; she could be us in the real world, totally away from the crowd, trying to fight our own personal demons every single day. There are some of us who remain silent about it, while the rest of us confide in our friends and family.
The important is.... it's up to us to try and stay strong till the end... and eventually become our very own champion.

Technical info :

After a lot of experimentation .. i settled down for : 5165 x 5677 px
This gave me an option for a portrait crop as well, not worrying about revealing more of the artwork.

I used Photoshop CC 2015 and a mouse; years back, i had a wacom bamboo (old model) but gave it to a friend of mine since she was in need of it. On the other hand, i wasn't able to use it properly. Obviously, i needed a lot of practice. This also explains why i have so much trouble with my signature; i don't have a steady hand. But with a mouse, though it's hard work.... i'm able to control it better. So, for blocking shapes i use the pen tool, then hard / soft smudge brushes for fog, mist effects, specially to pull wispy shapes and thin strands.

Then, for the shading process, the "Adjustment layers" these guys rule big time!
"CURVES" , "LEVELS" , "COLOR BALANCE" etc ... they can completely change the look and feel of your artwork in so many ways.

For the first time in this piece, i used "FIELD BLUR". This allowed me to blur certain areas and keep the rest in focus.

Other than that ... endless, crazy hours of tweaking, taking advice from few of my friends and a mocha smoothie to keep me awake.

@jogri Thank you so much! \m/ wishing you the all the luck as well! \m/
I was really scared that i wouldn't have been able to finish this. I'm very slow when it comes to working with the mouse. Usually i take two months .. maybe more to finish a painting properly. O_o This was seriously a challenge for me.

@johnnybillydobby Thanks a lot mate! All the best to you too!!

@katsu93
Thanks a million for your kind words i always feel that i'm still in the learning process.. and that itself helps me go forward.

@Iago_Cavalcante i seriously don't know what to say LOL .. even a simple yes is so lame XD but you know what .... i have the same exact reaction when i see the most realistic painting done with a simple paintbrush, on a single canvas.

A fine example, but mostly my top inspiration : http://www.helnwein.com/works/
Just see his paintings ... you'll know why i'm so obsessed with detail(s).

There are few/many people who enjoy painting on a single photoshop layer. Their works will blow anyone out of the water.
That's my driving force.

@maxloegler :
MADMAX heheee XD
Seriously bro ..... I hope you win !!!

As for me .... last few hours ... i just shut down all stupid thoughts about the many elements that had to be covered. I just jumped from one task to the next.

@nesokaiyoh
I thank you immensely >: hugs :< wishing you all the luck as well

@berrysquare
Thank you my friend >:D< This challenge taught me one of many things in particular ... MULTITASKING. And i hope i make better artworks in the future.

All the best to you too ! I'm waiting for your entry!!!!!

HEHE
That made me happy <3
Craig Mullins is AMAZZIING!!!! I love "BROM" too
http://www.bromart.com/ - these guys are on another level. I'm very much inspired by them.

OMG .. TEA <3 desperate for a nice fruit fusion brew. I ran out of it ... Will definitely visit my fav store this weekend and just splurge. _

By the way ... is that your kitty?? .. i have 17 cats at home @_@ .. it's a nightmare.