Tried some different variants of the two thumbnails I liked best.

I really liked the ones where it sort of jumps out of a wave, or is about to do so. It really gives me that "it's over" kind of feeling, where all hope is lost.

Same goes for the one where they're swarming beneath a ship. Having them circle around it more, really help sell the underwater look. That said, I think that would require way more effort to get something with less impact than the one the jumps out of the wave.

So i'll be going with one of the two images depicting it inside a wave from the first image or a mix of them. Something along those lines...

Starting with drawing the character and then creating a mask. I'll most likely do the same for the boat and then jump straight into painting the wave.

It's kind of tricky to figure out a pose that shows off the design, while still keeping the action and story of the image. This may not be the case for everyone, as I want to capture both the feel of something "emerging from the depths" and also show as much as possible of the character itself.

For it to look like the "attack from below", I will need to obscure some of the design and turn it into more of a shadow inside the wave. In order to not loose too much of the character within the wave, the pose of the character must counteract that.

Thus, I tried to push for more of an explosive leap kind of thing. I don't think I'll be able to showcase the propulsion idea I had for the lances though.

The values aren't really "there" yet, but I now have an idea of what process I'll be using for this piece.

The water is very intimidating, but at least it doesn't have a set form/design I need to follow. I can just paint away until it looks alright.

Unfortunate update:
I didn't notice it until now, but a lot of elements in my final piece are very similar (if not almost identical at times) to another submission of Art War 4. Since we're both doing aquatic creatures and his work is way closer to "done" than mine is - I will change pretty much everything, except the character.

(I shouldn't need to point out who it is, since he's among the featured ones on top)

I want mine to be able to stand on it's own, but with how things are looking right now, I'd just come off as somewhat of a copycat. Something, which I'm not too happy about.

I will proceed in a completely different direction and change up the entire composition.

Here's the new piece.
I discarded most of the background elements, in favor of more focus on the character itself. I'll most likely put a lightning bolt behind him and light the piece that way. It is supposed to look more scary than previous thumbnails. Kind of like "you thought you were safe, but it realized you were still alive", with a sort of sadistic grin on it's face.

Anyways, I feel more confident in this one.
The first one was probably destined to fail no matter what.

@nesokaiyoh Thanks! Yeah, I do think the story elements of mine made it stand out a little, but I ended up wanting to separate it as much as possible. Given that both are aquatic creatures, it is what it is.

@sani Haha, totally! I missed your somehow, but they do feel like they belong in the same universe (mine could be a henchman to yours?). As for the waves, I was actually thinking of adding some later on. Splashing from behind is a nice idea - will try it when the time comes!

Learning and correcting the anatomy as a I render is somewhat therapeutic, compared to all the work prior. It's a little bit dark as of now, since I haven't added in the actual lights (not counting the bolt in the back) .

Something went "wrong" with the face. I added/implied eye-sockets, but I accidentally widened his face. I'll adjust that later on.

(Any muscles that doesn't match human anatomy is obviously meant to be that way. It's a stylistic choice and has nothing to do with me not completely understanding anatomy.🤡)

@nesokaiyoh You took the words straight out of my mouth, as I was enjoying just that. Researching and correcting is really enjoyable and it becomes almost like sculpting, when working digitally.

Posting any and all progress that's made, every time I touch the piece.

I didn't have enough for any major progress today, so I aimed to tweak anything I wasn't happy with. Namely, the face and the abdominal anatomy. Since it's torso isn't as long as a human's, I had to make up the muscles to some degree. Based on actual anatomy, of course.

Since it doesn't have any genitals (at least not where we have them), I thought I might extend the muscles down further and blend it out. The fin-skirt will cover up some of it anyways, once that's added.

I hope I'll be able to have enough time available this week for the character. The main stretch goal for this week will be to render the weapons as well.

This has nothing to do with Art War, but I just realized that I hadn't completed my profile on cubebrush. Like... at all.

Anyways, now I got my picture up and all. Should stand out a little bit more now.

Back to work!

I find it a little bit tricky to paint it without truly implementing the light. Without indirectly creating another light-source, I tried to give it a little bit more contrast.

I do not feel too confident about the weapons and the fin-thingies. It feels like a matter of rendering skill rather than reference - which means more grind and now easy way out.

Adjusted some things here and there, which sort of solved minor issues with the proportions and silhouette. At the very least, I might just finish it's body on time (not counting the fins). If that's the case, I'll be able to finish the whole thing in time for submission!

Finally felt ready to add the rim-light. This is where all that anatomy rendering pays off, as I don't need to think too hard about where the light goes. I'll probably render 80-90% of the piece in B/W, before coloring it.

I adjusted the look of the fins, but i'm not 100% satisfied just yet. That said, I decided to let the lightning peek through a little bit, for some extra spice.

Quite a jump from the last update. I accidentally saved over an older version, that contained the things that happened between this one and the last - But I'll blame photoshop, since I don't feel like I was fully at fault. That does mean, that I can't show what happened earlier.

Don't worry. It wasn't pretty. This is much better.

Just finished with the character (still no name) !!!
Did a semi-fast color test as well, just to inspire me.

Since the last time, I've finally added the gills on It's neck and the crotch/waist fin(s).
I've also added the water logo on It's chest as a if it was branded. It reminded me of the fishmen in One Piece, who were subjected to slavery and other forms of cruelty. The branding could imply that It might not be on the friendliest of terms with It's allies?

What's left:
- The cliff base and the waves that will hit it.
- The actual color pass.
- ??? (Anything else I realize I've forgotten)
- Finishing touches.

@sani @nesokaiyoh
I meant to reply sooner, but saw now that I didn't.
Anyways, I'm happy to hear that you guys are liking where things are going.
Only a couple of days left. Let's give it our all!

DONE!!!!
Spent the entire day learning how to paint the water and going through with it.
The water kind of looks like water does in the old League of Legends splash arts 😂.

I have decided to name it "Redfin".
Name based on the yellowfin tuna and the European perch.
The tuna is one of the fastest swimmers and so is this guy.
The perch is often called "tusenbröder" (lit. thousand brothers), because of how many they are and I liked the idea of my creature attacking in numbers. The perch also happens to have strikingly red fins.

The name "Redfin" is what I imagine sailors calling these bloodthirsty fighters.
In that universe, saying that you're "seeing red in the waters" is a common expression for having a feeling that something bad is about to escalate out of control.
The moment you've set sail you're in their domain, with little to no chance of surviving a "red wave". Once you've spotted one redfin, more are sure to follow.

Mega happy with how it turned out.