Working with the Window Open...

I keep saying I'm going to take a break from drawing, like one 24 hour period without it, but coming up on the 6th day in a row just proves I'm a shameless liar. How can I stop though? I have one book cover done and another the other four in various stages of completion and already they are looking amazing.

And today? Cool air, sunlight, perfect weather for drawing so I couldn't pass it up. I worked on the clothes and shoes for one cover, started the outline on the next, and did most of a background for another (gasp, yes, background-- the one thing I will usually troll through stock photos to avoid doing). A great day and now I'm get ready to force myself to stop and give my hands and eyes a rest. Will I take a break tomorrow? Probably not. I'm already mentally plotting what I want to draw next.

Although, I should probably stop calling it drawing. Drawing gives off the wrong impression. It's digital painting. No one take four hours just drawing shoes. Also I paint on multiple layers. I shade skin that will get hidden by clothes on the finished product. I'm scribbling guidelines and palettes that will be hidden later too. Digital painting is not really like drawing or traditional painting at all and the stunning visuals and effects sometimes need special brushes (some I have to customize using a source photo or a vector image I've drawn).

How about a visual? This is my layer window and I haven't even done more than outlines and skin layers for the characters yet (and the character folders are closed or I would have need a fourth screen shot).

And yeah, I can't condense any of it. Each layer represents both a separate visual element and the order it needs to be to be visible. The background alone is occupying two and a half of the screenshots. Of course they're all in a folder that I can close to navigate easier once I'm done manipulating it. You can absolutely paint without labeling and organizing. It's also a pain in the ass to find everything if you do. I was a little lazy here, but I can remember what some of the default numbered layers are just by the labels around them.

I probably mentioned it before but I've been taking screenshots of my progress with all of them to share later so I can take people through my process. It won't be as detailed as a tutorial, mostly shots involving wherever I stopped or certain milestones. Mostly I've nailed some of the details by studying photographs and color-picking areas to attempt to recreate. What makes it challenging is that I'm NOT aiming for realism. I'm attempting to inject my style into even reference photos. I'm using 3D and physical models to figure out poses. It's an amalgamation of many sources, but still what I originally envisioned.

I'll cut out so I can get some rest though. Plenty of fun for the next week or two where the digital painting is concerned. I'm hoping to jump back into writing once I get through that. I've certainly been playing with UnSung enough in my head that I will beat my muse if she hides behind a blinking cursor. Hell, I've even been playing with ideas for UnHeard and that's not even a bridge I've come to yet. All this practice can only help the web comic though. I'm creaky and achy but it's the work I love.