This came out way far better than I thought it would, I was so tired while working on the coloring for this last night I wasn't even thinking. And I do seem to do my best work when I don't overthink things and just .. do them.
I've been experimenting alot with brush settings in Photoshop and how they can work with my tablet. I've also been focusing on color alot more if you couldn't tell.
Anyway, odd motivation for this piece. The biggest was: it's mostly for fun. I've been hankering to draw Azrael in a costume like this and a sketch I did came out so good I had to do a final. I'm going to explain the rest in bullet points cause it's easier:
I figured Azrael probably wore a different outfit when he was the practicing Angel of Death/Destroying Angel. This isn't final, however. Either way its kind of dumb to think he's worn the same thing for several thousand years
I've seen several paintings of the Angel of Death wearing robes of this color scheme.
I've been thinking alot about changing Azrael's sword, making it smaller/thinner. This too is not final. In fact this sword I drew here is kinda crappy.
You can see the face styles for the angels changing here. Overall I've been putting more detail into the nose/lip areas of my characters, but the angels are going even more to the realistic side than characters from other worlds/stories. Which is fine by me.
I haven't had alot of finished art lately because I've been sketching like crazy, defining the faces of the angels and actually doodling out older characters of mine and improving on their designs. I'll upload sketches on my website in time.
That fire came out friggin' awesome.
Azrael is missing his scar because this would be him before the war in Heaven.
It sucks that the hand I actually drew well is mostly hidden by the flames.
To get the shadows and highlights on Az's face right I referenced several pictures of faces lit from below, and also set an Obitsu drawing doll over a lamp to shine light on it's face (better for tones as the heads are rubbery and flesh-colored, as opposed to the glossy and grey Art S. Buck models which I also own/use)
Despite the refreshed computer having no MP3s I did manage to get myself some mood music going for this piece, luckily I have plenty of good CDs to rip. Alot of E Nomine and Modest Mouse went into this (odd combonation, eh?). Some Cowboy Bebop music too
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Specs:
Lineart: Traditional India Ink on Bristol Board Color: Photoshop CS, Wacom Intous2
Very vibrant and eye catching, while still containing the mood. Good job.
One tiny crit I have is that the shading on the hand holding the sword seems to be off. The shadows should be more on the other side of the fingers, however, it's nothing big just something to keep in mind for future works.
The shading on the face, and especially the lips is fantastic, the lips look really full and work for the piece.
Did you know that Memento Mori means something along the lines of "Remember you are human..remember you will die"?
This is amazing, too. =]
One tiny crit I have is that the shading on the hand holding the sword seems to be off. The shadows should be more on the other side of the fingers, however, it's nothing big just something to keep in mind for future works.
The shading on the face, and especially the lips is fantastic, the lips look really full and work for the piece.