Phase 1
Here's an old sketch I found in my files of the demon, Mephistopheles in his true form.
The image can stand by itself but I suddenly had the desire to experiment with a fire & smoke background. Mephistopheles would be the perfect subject to match with such a background, don't you think? |
Phase 2
Added fluffy, billowy smoke clouds without erasing parts off Mephistopheles. I'll decide which parts are covered & shown as I ink.
I noticed that his chest looked pretty collapsed compared to his abs, so I expanded them. |
Phase 3
I've inked in the sketch!
For now, Mephistopheles looks as if he's out of place among fluffy white clouds. Fire & smoke is what I'm trying to express! Smart inking will reverse this, you'll see! |
Phase 4
Rendered the head, torso, horns & the hair! I'll render the legs next & the background shall be last!
I really like how the hair turned out. Together with the horns, they almost look like a headress.
The shadows & crosshatching on the torso were done in light lines so I'm free to make variations in gradients & feathering.
Heh... this guy's wearing too much jewelry. As I recall, it's because I wanted to portray his infatuation with trinkets. What the heck... I'll have to deal with detailing all this soon! |
Phase 5
His lower extremities have been rendered! Now that his legs (or shall I say haunches?) have been Shaded-in mid-value, the tail & wings can only be rendered in dark heavy lines to create contrast.
I'd have to work on the subject fast so I can start with the smoke-&-fire-cloud background! |
Phase 6
The tail was rendered in tree-bark texture. I gave him a pedicure, too. Haha. Actually, the toe nails are naturally dark like that of a wild animal's.
His ornaments & jewelry have also been rendered. Those tiny beads, gems, leather & metal parts sure took more time than I first expected!
The wings need thought & planning. I am debating whether to just render them in solid black or lizard-skin texture. If I were to proceed with the latter, it might blend in with the crosshatching on Mephistopheles' torso. Black wings, on the other hand, might blend in with the fire-&-smoke-clouds (which will be mainly black!
Aaargh! |
Phase 7
The fire-&-smoke-cloud background was the one thing I was so sure about, so I went ahead rendered it first. Now, I can get a clear idea of how to shade the wings.
I'm having a bit of a problem with Mephistopheles' right side blending in with the background. I will have to get myself some white ink to "pull" him away. |
Phase 8
See what white ink can do! By outlining the shape of the subject in white, I was able to pull him away from the background.
The wings were rendered in lizard-skin. The skeletal frame of the wings was Shaded-in lightly.
Well, that's about it! :) |
