July MOTM: fearsome bat demon - painting process video // nsfw

here's the process video for july's MOTM painting, featuring a bat monster and her wife! access it by downloading the .mov file below.

i kid you not, i went through *four* canvases of sketches before i came up with a pose. i don't know why it was so difficult, but i think i was having a mini art block. there will always be days when i feel like i just don't have any ideas, or like my hand has forgotten how to draw. whenever that happens i try to take a break and let it be for a day or two, after which i'm usually able to bounce back at it. but other times i push through, because sometimes you simply need to get shit done.

i tend to put high pressure on myself and often when i struggle with art it's because i worry that what i'm doing isn't enough, for one reason or another. pushing yourself is a good way to grow as an artist, but if it goes too far it can turn into an unhealthy habit of perfectionism, excessive self-scrutiny, or asking too much of yourself. sometimes you have to take it easy and allow yourself to stay in your comfort zone for a bit. as soon as i remembered that, i was able to relax and choose a pose (with the help of a couple of friends - you know who you are <3). 

i think that refining the pose and drawing the lineart actually took longer than colouring this piece. as you can see in the video, the first doodle is super rough, and i kept adding new layers to gradually refine it more and more. i needed to figure out exactly how to pose the wings, the arms, and the tail, without any one body part obscuring the others. specifically, i wanted to showcase how the wings behave like cloth, without covering too much of the characters' bodies. the composition was a bit off-balance at first, but i fixed it by adjusting the angle, moving the tail closer to the center, and having the demon's long hair pool on the floor (it almost looks like a waterfall). 

since i was so happy with the demon's outfit, i wanted her to be wearing at least part of it, but the skirt had to go lol. i think these ladies are the kind of couple that have a well-stocked toy chest, and tonight a strap-on came out to play. the demon has a perpetually terrifying face simply because her mouth is stuck in a twisted grin and her tiny pupils give her eyes a very intense look. as a contrast, i wanted her wife to look incredibly comfortable, relaxed, and pleased. as always, it's important to me to draw smut where everyone is clearly enjoying themselves. even with the demon's intimidating appearance, i needed it to be obvious that there's nothing but love and lust between the two of them. 

after finally finishing the lineart, i set it to "multiply," lowered the transparency, and changed the colour from black to tan. next i started adding the base colours. i used many different layers -- one for each piece of clothing, one for the outside of the wing and another for the inside, one layer for the arms and another for the legs, and so on. this way i could easily lock the transparency of those layers and add gradients to one area at a time. there's many overlapping parts in this image and i used contrasts in hue and value to differentiate them from one another; for example the purple drapery of her wing basically creates a backdrop for her head and upper body, her dark hand is clearly outlined against her white thigh, and the dark shadow behind her snout keeps her head from blending into her hair.  

i was really loving the colour palette of this piece and after establishing the basic gradients i decided to stick with a rather simple colouring style. i added small shadows on layers set to "multiply," and highlights to layers set to "overlay." the result is crisp and clean, but because i'm using charcoal brushes there's still some nice textures. as for the lineart, i created another new layer set to multiply and used a reddish brown to go over many of the lines. this creates a nice, subtle effect where some of the lines are a bit red at the edges and it makes the colouring look bright and vivid. i often find that reinforcing the lineart like this adds extra punch to a stylised piece and makes it look more polished. i also cleaned up the colouring where necessary, and added finishing details with a small brush. for example i decided to soften up the demons expression just a little bit, by changing the angle of her eyebrow. 

last but not least i added some "special effects" layers to brighten up the piece and make the colours pop a bit more. i never know exactly which special effects i'm going to add, it's all experimentation. i usually airbrush patches of colour on top of all other layers, covering the focal points of the piece or larger swathes of it, and then i try out different layer settings. i adjust the transparency of the 'colour splotch' layer(s) as i go, and experiment with different hues -- it all depends on the palette of the image. the best way to get a feel for layer effects is to experiment, a lot. for this particular image i airbrushed a faint yellow "overlay" to the characters heads and torsos, but the whole canvas is also covered with a pale purple layer set to "colour dodge." the yellow overlay gives the characters a warmer tone, but the purple layer doesn't actually make the image look more purple: it just brightened it up a bit and effectively increased the contrasts. 

with that, the painting was finished! if you have any questions about this process, go ahead and ask below.

// art + characters © me.