cant wait to see it finished!!

I'll keep whackin' at it. :)

The state it's in right now (the red is an underpainting/sketch, right?) is really unnerving.

But in that good kind of way. Keep this file up, eh? =)

Will do! Unnerving-yet-absorbing is my goal with my pro work. Guess it's creeping in with my goof-off work...there's a shocker. :/

It reminds me of one of those things where you get a shock after watching, albeit this one of that Jingle Bells song...

But this is really cool coloring though. =D

i must ask, what medium are you using? Pastels?

*laughs* Thankye! This is all done in Photoshop 6.0.

whoa :O

You and Oce are my main inspirations right now. *nods*

Lookin' good!

And YOU, big man. What I wouldn't give to be able to attend a workshop where you were teaching...

ok you must explain your inking/painting technique to me XD Does the order go Layer of painting/Inking/Layer of painting? Do you just carefuly edge along the ink so some of it shows through to indicate outlines?

I do most of this on the background layer. First pass is a layer of straight black. I drew the figure with a brush, watercolor function turned off, with that saturated red. Once I had the figure (roughly) how I wanted it, I created a second layer and began applying color.

That may be part of my problem: I'm thinking in terms of paint, purely.

that actually might be the way to go for me,I really need to think in paint rather than "overthink" things as I do. What program, painter?

Is Photoshop, 6.0 even. ANCIENT technology.

Overthinking, over-rendering, generally killing pieces is a phase you go through as an artist. Honest and for true, no bullshit. Going to a finish on a painting involves juggling so many elements that you do a whole lot o' killing before you get it.

Best way to get past overthinking is a) to do a ton of paintings and b) study good paintings. Names: Leyendecker, Sargent, Jerome, Cornwell (dead folks). Scott Fischer, Adam Rex, Darrell Riche, Jon Foster, Gregory Manchess, Todd Lockwood, John Jude Palencar, Mark Ryan, Kinuko Kraft, Gary Kelley, Terese Nielsen for livin' folks.

You have a bit of something on your face there, dear...