The Crusader

Who:
I know this piece was commissioned by EN Publishing. What happened to it after I turned it in is beyond me. I can't find it anywhere. The piece I turned in around the same time is easy to find in a product, but this one is a ghost. Strange.

What:
This piece represents yet another level up for me back in 2015. Before this one my work had been a little more comic book-like and less digital painterly. What changed? Well, I spent a LOT of time observing the work of others, reference images, and pondering how I wanted to present myself as an artist. I spent an equal amount of time trying to work that out in a practical sense, which meant doing a lot of work. When it came to doing this piece, I used reference, and I honed the image until I was happy with its silhouette and structure. Those were new ideas to me at the time. Usually, I would lay down a pencil sketch and then work it up. No drafts or series of sketches. Just the one and go! This image was different because I took the time to find it.

How:
The process is essentially the same as all my other work except the added effort mentioned already. From approved pencil sketch I scanned the image into Photoshop and got to work. I used many layers on this, which is another departure from my old habits. Ignorance and blind faith in your abilities can work, but only to a point. Making an effort to learn something new daily and expand your skill set is key to success. Always be evolving. Always be ready to grow. Strive for it, in fact.
Part of what I needed to do on this image was to have easily worked segments. I worked up a base monotone silhouette, and then partitioned it out into texture segments that would have similar finish (I.e. all her armor was one segment, her cloak was another, the bird was another, etc.). That helped a ton. I was able to focus on one set of reference, work up an area, and move on. I just did that until it was finished, and then went over everything once again to adjust values and bring it all together.

Design:
Other than the bird, which is sort of a falcom/phoenix mix, the most challenging thing for me was her holy symbol. It needed to show she was a good guy - a paladin of sorts - and yet not be terribly specific. I settled on a stylized sun sphere for the color scheme and implied light aspects. Then it became even more stylized as I decided to incorporate it into her sword!
The battle damage was the other aspect of this image that was both fun and challenging. I needed to show that she would (probably) live to fight another day, but that she was too wounded to ride. She is supposed to be attaching a message to the bird's leg, by the way. I also wanted to show that she had been out crusading for quite a while. She's had time to take damage and repair her armor. She's got dents and wear on her armor and cloak. Nothing really looks new or pristine.

Thanks all! See you next time! Thanks for stopping by!
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