February MOTM: hunter & the beast - painting process video // nsfw

here's the process video for february's motm painting; download the .mov file attached below!

the whole idea of this motm prompt was that the human should be dominating the monster, so my first order of business was deciding how to portray that. simply put, i figured that literally having her ride him was a good way to illustrate who's metaphorically on top in this power dynamic. i also felt like some restriction through rope stuff would be appropriate for this pairing, given how she's a hunter who, amongst other things, sets traps. i adore the aesthetics of rope, not to mention the trust and love implied in allowing someone else to physically restrict your body, y'know? i also planned to draw them in a forest setting, so it made sense to have him tied to a tree, partly leaned up against the roots of its trunk.

in other words i had figured out that i wanted him to be laying down, with her straddling his lap, and his arms bound by some rope--time to start sketching. i have always found it tricky to draw people laying on their backs, but i think i'm getting better at it? as i went along i figured out the specifics of the pose and the details of their body language, which plays a big part in this painting.

the hunter is literally above the monster, and her head is higher than his--not that she's looking down on him, but he's definitely looking up to her, adoringly. despite the size difference it seems as if her hand on his chest is all it takes to keep him on the ground, happy to obey her every command. he's not at all straining against the rope, relaxing into his devotion to her, safe in his surrender--and probably feeling a bit spent from his release. on that note, the pose allowed me to give a clear view of the messy penetration i felt like drawing, although it took some trial and error to figure out how to pose his legs. they're maintaining eye contact, with her looking calm and composed, while he's all [heart eyes]. the hand under his chin illustrates both fondness and control, and he rests on it like he rests his heart in her palms. 

much as per usual i went from rough sketch to lineart 'layer by layer,' gradually refining the lines and shapes of the characters. i wanted to use the same colouring style as in my recent julian and andreas painting, so i arrived at the lineart in a similar way. i didn't pay much attention to the linework of the background, though, since i intended to colour it in a more painterly and almost impressionistic manner. i just sketched out the basic shapes of the trees, roots, and moss-clad stones, to use as guidelines when colouring it.

the reason i wanted to situate them in a forest is to further the point that she's a hunter. of course, there are human hunters in every imaginable biotope--but i am, as already mentioned, influenced by my own upbringing, where my dad would go hunting in the forests of northern europe. those woods didn't look exactly like this, but the thick moss covering the ground is very much referencing some of my favourite spots back home. while i could have drawn her partially dressed in her hunting garb, i chose instead to place her weapons and clothes in the background, giving more clues to her occupation.

i changed the lineart colours from black to dark brown, set it to multiply, and lowered the transparency. some of the sketch layers are also faintly visible below the lineart, which again keeps it from looking "too" polished. later on i would make some of the lines more subtle by giving them a different hue that better blend into the underlying colours, or by partially erasing them.

speaking of colouring, i started with the forest, using the charcoal brush i'm currently so in love with. when i'm doing a proper background i like to at least slap on the basic colours first, because i prefer having an idea of what it might look like when i start colouring the characters. it helps establish the mood and atmosphere, not to mention makes it easier to ensure that backdrop and characters go well together--that the palette, lighting, and temperature is coherent.

that's not to say i finish the background first. as you can see it still looks very rough when i start blocking in the basic flats of the monster and the hunter, but it's better than working on them against stark white. i pasted in my concept sketch of the monster as colour reference, but ended up tweaking the saturation a bit, to make the hues fit the more vibrant tones of the forest backdrop. after reaching the perfect base colours i kept using the charcoal brush to add darker and lighter pathes, both to establish the monster's markings and to give their bodies more threedimensionality.

throughout this process i kept going back and forth between working on the woods and the characters. as for the forest i worked my way from broad brush strokes to details, from establishing basic shapes to refining the edges. i meant for the background to provide a lush setting for the lovers, without drawing too much attention away from them. i went for a soft colouring style, with no hard edges or lines, but without looking too blurry or like the characters were hovering in front of it, as if poorly pasted onto a green screen. they needed to look situated in the background but i also wanted the sharpness, contrast, and saturation of the characters to draw the viewer's attention.

this can be challenging, because you have to walk the balance between adding too much definition to the backdrop, making it a too detailed and sharp, or on the other hand making it too blurry and unrefined, which leaves the characters look out of place or 'detached.'

to achieve this balance i added a bit more detail to the area directly surrounding the hunter and her beast, while the planes of the forest that are further away are very simplistic and more faded in terms of colour, saturation, and value. where the characters are 'touching' the background i defined the shapes a bit more and even added hints of lines--see for example where the monster's hands touch the tree trunk. i used a few different charcoal brushes for the whole backdrop, because i find that they provide the perfect amount of textured softness but if you shrink the brush and zoom in, they can also be used to refine the edges and add definition.

all that said, a big part of making the characters look more 'attached' to the background was also to add some green overlays to their bodies. this helps 'anchor' them in the background and pulls the colour palette together. the same goes for the yellow overlays i added to both the characters and parts of the backgrond, creating a sense of warm light.

i kept working on the details, cleaning up the characters, and finally coloured the lengths of rope. i refined the hues and values of the background, and painted on some understated but effective deep shadows to the roots and stones. i added some warm overlays to the hunter, which is always a good way to make human skin look more 'alive,' and added little leaves and plants to the forest floor. the faint green gradients of the monster's left arm, foot, and tail also helps him fit better into the background, and directs attention to their more saturated upper bodies. like often before i saved the cum for last, because i paint it on a couple of new, semi-see through layers and it's easiest to do when the rest is already rendered.

i often forget how much i love drawing forests, and then i paint something like this and it all comes rushing back to me. i find it funny how i alternate between the simplest possible backgrounds (aka plain white) and, well, this. i also often forget how much i love working with green colours, and i feel like that's exactly what i said last time i painted something green, too... 

i hope you liked this process video, and if you have any further questions about this painting, just comment below! <3

// art + characters © me.