August MOTM: Camazotz/Bat monster painting process // nsfw

here's the process for august's MOTM painting; you can download the attached .zip below, it contains 22 pngs and 1 gif.

drawing this started out as "oh god i have no idea what pose to go for" but quickly turned into "oh hey I should do one of those from behind, bend your lover in half poses, because 1) it's a Good Pose and 2) it provides a good opportunity to display the bat boy's wings by having him spread them out." I knew early on that i wanted the picture to show off his wings, so they shouldn't be obscured or hidden but i also wanted the pose to look natural. i love drawing wings, but they do pose a challenge (especially when viewed from a tricky angle) and may also put some limitations on how to pose the character (because with certain poses, you might need to figure out "where to put" their wings; a problem that wouldn't have arisen with a wingless character). i absolutely think this pose did the trick; it looks like he's caught up in the heat of the moment, stretching his wings over his lover in a way that's both protective and possessive and a little bit showy (gotta charm your partner with your pretty wings, yknow).

the first few steps, as per usual, consisted of figuring out the pose, the basic anatomy, and important details (so they would be easier to lineart). i figured out the posing of the wings by first doodling the rough basic outline/the shape i wanted them to make, then adding a simplified version of the bones of the wings and stretching the membrane between them. the colours of the colour palette i added after finished the lineart are directly picked from my concept sketch of the bat boy. it's there (on a separate layer) simply because it's more convenient having the colours right on hand, instead of having to switch back and forth between tabs in photoshop while i was blocking in the base colours.

i often use different layers for different parts of a picture; in the case of this drawing, each base colour (fur, skin, hair, jewellery) is on a separate layer. i also used separate layers for the wing membrane and the wing arms/hands and for the rocks, and the background has its own set of layers entirely. setting each layer to "maintain transparency" allows me to work on those areas only, which in this case was especially useful for colouring the wing membrane.

i mostly used the lasso select + gradient tool/airbrush method while colouring and shading this picture. I started out with big gradients (on top of the base colours) and moved on to smaller and smaller details, using lighter and lighter or darker and darker colours. rendering the wings represent something different than colouring fur or scales; the membrane is a large, relatively smooth area that needs to be shaded and textured in a way that looks good, not too flat and not too over-worked. i started with some gradients and subtle colour shifts, and added subtle texture by using "splatter" types of brushes (on low-transparency layers set to multiply or overlay). the shading/highlighting was done using the lasso select + gradient brush method, after which some details were painted on.

the colouring and shading of the characters' fur and skin is honestly pretty basic. the highlights and shadows i added have a sort of chunky and angular shape to them, if that makes sense, almost reminiscent of angular cel-shading? i refrained from adding too much detail in terms of texture; sometimes, less is more. the colour scheme for this whole picture is based on the bat boy's colours; he's various hues of grey and pink, with jade jewellery. i didn't want to add any clashing colours, so the palette is very harmonious and natural-looking in general. i gave the human jade earrings, too (gifts from his monstrous lover, probably), added a simple, pale green background, and some green-toned rocks.

one thing I've started experimenting with lately is setting the lineart layer to multiply (sometimes after changing its colour to dark brown or blue instead of black) and changing the transparency to about 50-60%. my usual MO is to keep the lineart layer "normal" and colour parts of it (see ... most of my previous process packs). but changing the transparency is another way to make the lineart "blend in" with the colouring, to make it look a bit less rigid and stiff. however, i also go over the picture after and fill in/emphasize some lines where i see fit, with hues that are x shades darker than the surrounding colours, either below the lineart layer or on top of it. for this image i ended up filling quite a few lines back in, with quite a dark colour (compare steps 13 and 17), but it still looks different from when the whole lineart was opaque black (compare steps 12 and 17). you can compare the result to these drawings, where the effect is more subtle because i didn't fill the lines back in as much, and where i also used lighter colours for where i did fill them in.

i entirely forgot to include any steps showing how i did the rocks ... but basically i went about it the same way as the rest of the picture; base colour, lasso select + gradient tool/airbrush, adding shadows and highlights, setting the transparency of the lines to 50%, cleaning up the outline, and voila. i last-minute removed the leftmost rock to make the composition a bit more balanced--it was easy, because all the lines and colours of the rocks were on different layers from the characters and background. i could simply erase the rock in question, clean up the outline, and it was gone without a trace. 

to finish the picture i add details, clean up the lines/outlines, and "polish" the image until i'm happy with it. the last few steps consist of adjusting the levels/brightness, temperature, and contrast a bit. i also ended up last-minute changing the bat boy's expression, and added the shoulder of his right wing (to clarify the way it's posed).

aaand that's it! once i've shrunk the image to the size i'm going to upload it at i usually also sharpen it a little and add a tiny bit of noise, which gives it a texture that i think resembles an old comic book page (if that makes sense lol).

hope you enjoyed this process pack! as always, feel free to leave any comments and questions below. <3

// art + characters © me.