Raven Hill Process

Process — Raven Hill


1 — The usual low resolution sketch. I spent more time on the character than the background. I had a debate with myself about the ratio of the image size. I liked my 8:5 (16:10) ratio because it works fine as a widescreen wallpaper, but I enjoy a more panoramic scene so I decided to try a 2:1 ratio for once.

2 — I resized the image to 8000x4000 at 300 DPI. Reduced the transparency of the sketch so I can lineart the character only. It is around this time when I've decided to try a painting background again.

3 — At first, I wanted some kind of dusty or morning theme which is why it is this dull orange colour. I only used one hue more or less so I can focus on the lighting and decide on the colours later.

4 — I hid the sketch and continued to work on the details and lighting. It is at this time when I realized that I could make the columns more distinguished without relying too much on lines.

5 — So then, I spent more time on the columns. Added more detail and definition to the rocks so they don't look like chocolate chunks so much. XD

6 — With a colour layer, I felt like making it a somewhat saturated blue to create that full feeling. Because of this blue, the sun ended up looking like a moon. I thought that was fine because it seems to follow Myst's theme more.

7 — Added the base colours of Myst. I just sampled the colours from my past drawing of her. Later, I needed to change her colours to blend her into the background.

8 — Increased the contrast of the background and added some glow effects onto some surfaces. I also fixed the alignment of her eyes. Flipping the image horizontally helped me notice this error.

9 — Applied character shading. I thought I could finish colouring her and then blend her in overall so I wouldn't need to rethink her shading.

10 — With some colour and lighting adjustments, I attempted to blend her in as much as I could without destroying too much of her colours. Also added some glow and shine onto her, and drawn in the vines that was missing. I kinda rushed the vines because they weren't as big of a focus and it didn't really turn out that well because I had problems figuring out its colour in this blue environment. Also added her shadow.

11 — Made another colour adjustment to the entire picture to make it a bit warmer.

12 — Finally, some touches of snow and my usual signature and copyright information.

In the end, I was proud of this piece. I understand that the character may not blend completely with the background but I enjoyed the challenge. Thanks for reading and I hope this helps you in any way. ^^

_{P.S. 8000x4000 lags like crazy. x__x}