September MOTM: bashful fluffy boyfriend - painting process video // nsfw

here's the process video for september's monster of the month painting; watch it by downloading the .mov file attached below.

there was a few things i had to keep in mind as i started brainstorming & sketching for this painting. in the design commentary, i talk about how i wanted the monster lad's body language to convey his shy personality. the 'bashful fluffy boyfriend' prompt is based on liquid ferret's suggestion for 'cute & fluffy' scenes, so I didn't want to draw anything too hardcore, messy, or raw. in fact i thought about keeping it more or less sfw, like having him cuddle his partner with no naked bits showing, or drawing a cute and relatively innocent kiss. but i didn't want to do sfw MOTM paintings two months in a row. i determined to draw a nsfw moment that would be very soft, gentle, wholesome, and cute. i definitely wanted to show the monster's blushing face, and have his body language express how he's a bit shy about being so turned on. his partner should be loving on him and making sure he's comfortable, so i definitely imagined a very snuggly pose.

i considered drawing an 'aftermath' moment, showing an abundant creampie and the monster lad being a bit embarrassed about having caused such a mess. thing is, i've been drawing quite a few such pictures lately and as much as i adore such moments, i felt it was time for some variety. instead i decided to draw the opposite -- some gentle and anticipatory foreplay, with the fluffy lad half-hard and his lover whispering both sweet and naughty nothings into his his ear.

it took a few tries before i hit on a pose that captured the vibe i was going for. turns out the best way to tick all the boxes was to have the monster lay on his back/sit back, with his partner in his lap. this way you can see his rosy face, and the way he low key clings to his lover, shoulders slightly pulled towards his ears. his upper body is kind of turned towards the elf, holding them close, but you also get a nice view of his hardening cock, and his weird little toes curling in anticipation. plus i could position his lover in such a way as to show of their inviting ass right on top of his groin, so i think any viewer can easily imagine what happens next.

the video shows how i spent a few layers gradually refining the sketch, using smaller and smaller brushes and adding more and more detail. it took some time before i was finally ready to draw the lineart, using a small graphite brush. but it was worth it, because i cleaned up the sketch layers, changed the colour from black to medium brown, changed the layer setting to 'multiply' and adjusted the transparency until they were just faintly visible between the lineart layer and the colour layers. this way they basically function as shading, adding a bit of form and dimensionality to the lineart even before i started colouring.

it also inspired a colouring method that's a little bit more painterly and 'soft' than my usual style, although i'm not sure if anyone else can tell the difference or if it's just me...? i didn't use the select + charcoal gradient method as much as usual, instead using a regular airbrush to add softer gradients, the 'gloaming' for softer hints of texture, and overall toning down many of the sharp lines and hard edges.

for the monster's 'sleeves' and 'pant legs' of fur i added some pretty deep shadows, to illustrate how thick it is, and i tried giving plenty of volume to each tuft of his big fluffy hair. speaking of big, it wasn't until i started sketching that i decided he should be really hung, just because the idea of someone being pretty shy and bashful about what they're packing is so cute. i thought about giving him a more monstrous cock design (you can see me try out a few alternatives during the sketch stage of the process) but ultimately settled for a pretty regular-locking dick. it somehow looks more big and heavy that way, especially after i added the veins. (i'm pretty proud of how i rendered this cock, ok?)

on a somewhat related note, you'll also see that at first i tried drawing the bottom's balls and cock squished between their thighs. but for some reason i wasn't really happy with how i was drawing it from that angle and with the thighs held so closely together, so to save myself the headache i dressed their ass in lingerie instead. the decision was originally a shortcut but i do think it's a great addition that hints at the elf dressing up a little for their lover, which i'm sure adds to why he's blushing so hard.

i added some blue overlays and undertones to make the colouring look more lively and vivid; it works really well with all the orange, since blue and orange are complementary colours. if you pause the process video right before the appearance of the blue overlays, you'll see how in comparison it looks more flat. towards the end i used a small brush to clean things up, add tiny details, and go over the lineart again. i usually polish a piece like that and it makes a huge different, but note that if it hadn't been for the semi-transparent sketch layers between the colouring and the lineart i would have had to spend much more time adding texture and form.

if you have any questions about this process, feel free to comment below! <3 hope you enjoy the video!

// art + characters © me.