After at least 8 hours of work and 25 different layers used in Paint.NET, my masterpiece is now complete.

While I may have some qualms with the trees and grass (never easy to shade), they at least represent the style I utilize in drawing them.

The style itself isn't photo-realistic in any way, but it is a cool style. I didn't use any blend/smudge effects because I did this all in Paint.NET, which has no tools capable of it.

I wanted to use a style where the lines were not perfect, so I ignored the final level of neatness and left some of the objects with a little "ruggedness" to their outlines. The Tag-Lamps and the fireflies in the forest came out beautifully, and all I had to do was properly use the gradient tool. The beam of light was more frustrating, and in the end it just didn't quite want to cooperate.

You'll probably notice that the AxeBlade itself doesn't have the same kind of outlining as the rest of the forest-- this helps it stand out, as it is supposed to be both unique and the center of the piece.

I'm immensely pleased with this image, especially after all I had to do to make it. (In the end, the original Paint.NET file was about 6.5 MB in size! Holy shit!) It's replaced Feral Neon as my desktop background, and that is probably how it will stay for a long time.

...I swear, the lamps seriously look like they're lighting the place up. =D


The AxeBlade and Verde Forest (the Fox Family's Forest) (C)  neonnoble / Michael "Neon Noble" Nicolosi


PS: If you want to use this as a background, just ask me so I can tweak it for you, depending on size.