I'm happy to see you finished it despite the last troubles, the piece really deserve it.
It's awesome to se that all that backstory is very well depicted in Phaedrus face and gesture.
Great work!

Ahh omg thanks so much guys! I really am so proud to have finished it and that even after all this time working on it it came out well! I'm not religious but the thought of two gods battling it out at the mercy of the mortals is always something so epic! I appreciate all the kind words.

@Serfer
Yeah same, thankfully I didn't struggle too much with Phae's posture or his expression. Unfortunately I know his foot anatomy is wrong and I can't stop looking at it lol or the fact that it looks a little like an animal leg

@nyamesis
Awh thank you so much!

@mr_dessin
Ahh I'm glad you enjoyed it! It doesn't matter if anyone talks too much, I personally find it a compliment haha I appreciate your kind words!

Ahh you're welcome and thank you so much to be so kind (with everyone).
I really hope this was not looking like a rant or something...stress is a bit high here (even if that's not necessary :joy: )

(All) Your work is certainly hyper epic, can't wait to see you in the finals amongst the best illustrations and master artists : 3

Bloody marvelous job, good luck and looking forward to seeing you next year!

Damn this really turned out! Really beautiful work here, dude. Been a pleasure to watch this one come to fruition. Good luck to you!

@aredondocg
Thanks so much!
@sani
I'm glad you enjoyed it too, it's been a heck of a ride but certainly worth it!

@br00dley
Yeah you too, thanks!

@mr_dessin
There's nothing wrong with ranting as long as something comes of it lol I appreciate the compliments!

Well yeah, we will always be seeing mistakes after we thought it is finished, but at certain point we have to let them go but try to have them in consideration for the next pieces.

This came out so great! The lava/magma and sword, the light from above, it all just has an epic feel that would go perfect with some intense orchestral music! !

your entry is amazing. if you have time i would try to fix your small people. everything in your image has lots of energy and the small crowd is stiff. like, put that flying rock in the right corner or make it less contrasty. the characters there take attention away from your epic drama. id also make the rocks pointy because they just broke and haven't had time to become rounded by erosion.

Oh thank you so much for this! I will add this real quick

Alright I added the bit of extra rock and worked on the others a tad too. I think it does help, helps the composition a lot so thank you!

Wow! The volumetrics make the characters look massive. Really cool.

I really love your painting but be careful not to overdo it now (I struggle with that, too ^^°)

@Motocrab

Thanks! I'm glad it shows well, I haven't ever painted a character this big before. And while I used tonnes of ref, it's difficult to match everything up and get the perspective right at the same time xD

@EllyettWee
Thanks! And it's common for me to overdo things, I could probably get rid of some stuff to make it clearer but at the same time I love the chaos of it all, I tried my best to make method of the madness so I hope it shines through at least!

I got plenty of time left so I thought I'd work on a proper full body concept sheet of his before and after form. I found it fascinating, as he never always looked the way he did above. He only looks the way he does above (i.e. broken and dying and leaking all over the place) because he was mortally wounded and near death. So I wanted to showcase it a bit more! This is the start of it in any case, I'll be working on the back too. Want to stretch my photobashing for this concept though, as it won't count for the actual contest itself

What a crazy piece.
I was showing this to one of my friends and she went "why would you do this to yourself?"
It's effin massive. I especially like the top with the thunderclouds and the explosion/eruption.
Really good job on this one!