[$6 & $10 TIERS] September Pinup #1: The Lonely Manor in the Ruins

"It's said that misfortune awaits those who risk the shortcut through the old ruins."

I worked really hard on this one! 😄

Concept
I've had this idea sitting in my head ever since drawing this lonely lady last August, and finally decided to give it a go. The underlying story I had that inspired this month's pinup set is as such:

"A knight on an important errand risks a shortcut through an old ruined village, and loses his way. Seeking shelter in an old manor at the heart of the ruins, he discovers he is not alone." 

That's the inspiration for this month's set, at least! Even if only an abbreviated version of the story makes it into the pinups, it still helps to have this foundation, when coming up with scenes. Lately I've felt uninspired to draw sexy stuff, and more of a desire to draw other themes outside of just raw NSFW. I blame my recent, obsessive focus on learning game development. 😄
So rather than trudge on in spite of my fluctuation creative direction, I decided to compromise and put some of my current musings into my pinup works. It does take a lot more work, but it has helped in keeping me inspired to keep doing my best with these sets.

A Different Sketching/Concepting Process
If you compare the final version with the original sketch/colored-sketch at the end, you can see how many changes I made to get it to the final version. Not just in terms of shaping of the lines and shadows, but also in terms of outfit design, environmental design, and lighting. I had a pretty clear vision of what I wanted the scene to "feel" like, but it took some time to find that, visually.

In my usual process, I'll move right to clean lines and then colors after getting a sketch I like, which usually only takes a couple of warm up attempts. But this time, on a whim I decided to try doing a rough color pass on the rough sketch, to see if it would end with the vibe I was going for. Doing this really helped me see where the image was weak, and where I wanted to tweak and edit.

For example, I've noticed my character faces have been becoming more round and wide lately, and so I made a conscious effort to thin her face up a bit in the final version. Also, the door design changed from something somewhat modern, to a more medieval style plank door. Even now, there's still things I would change, but I had to call it, eventually.

I ended up spending quite a bit more time iterating and altering this one than I normally would, until I got to the final product. Even if it took more work, I am quite proud of it! I tried to keep the cel shading look, while adding just a bit more detail in the lighting. I hope it blends well enough without looking like too much of a departure from my recent crisp, vibrant color style. I thought it would fit the grittier theme I am going for, in this set.

High Resolution Versions
The current month's patrons will be charged on the 1st of the following month, and receive the high resolution files around the 5th, after those charges process. So if you want these rewards, remain pledged until the 1st of the next month, so the system can charge you.

Thanks for the support!
~Ray