Precise (formerly known as complex) Commission for  Shichigatsu

So for a few months now I've been browsing professional artist tutorials, and it seems that the majority of them work in black and white for the majority of their images. I experimented with this in my last big image, and although the final image turned out amazing, I just wasn't too impressed with how little color control I had over my black and white base. That is until I ran across some youtube videos by a guy named Nicholas Kay. He has these AWESOME videos that show his entire artistic process, and then on top of that he narrates exactly what he is doing so that you can try it too. Like other professionals a lot of his work is done completely in black and white before adding in color, and so he introduced me to a bunch coloring techniques that work really well with black and white bases.

The result... is this guy. :D I usually spend so much time fussing over my contrast and hues, where-as this whole image completely bypassed that headache. I was able to detail everything and get the lighting just right, and then worry about the colors down afterwards (instead of at the same time!) It was really awesome to try, and allowed me to spend more time on stuff that matters, like those pesky details!

So yes, I guess I should finally say a bit about what I drew here huh? ;D This is a black tiger character for Shichigatsu, who is nerdy and silly and overall seems like a pretty cool guy. The really unique trait for this character is his stripes; you might not have noticed it at first, but they actually run AGAINST the grain of the rest of his fur, making a cool rippled/ribbon effect. The inspiration for the stripes actually came from a dog called the Rhodesian Ridgeback, which have a weird against-the-grain stripe of fur down there backs. (Check it out here if you're interested in seeing what it looks like: http://a395.idata.over-blog.com/2/3.....dgeBack001.jpg) Anyway, overall this image was quite the challenge, but in the end very successful I think. Enjoy, and thanks to anyone who read all of these artist comments. :D