GR#186 - Betrayer - Sprite Process

[Reo]

Hey Cels! kudos on taking the piece as far as you already have! Hard work pays of!

I messed around with an edit earlier today looking at it now it might look a bit muted.
What I mainly did was upping the contrast creating some difference between light and dark for this menacing character.
I also tried to tie your ramps together a bit. I would even consider incorporating more red-ish shades into the skin tones to  separate them from the gold. I also took a stab at trying to fit the helmet after your reference, but if you're deviating from it that might not matter much!
I do think the blue tufts of hair read a bit as blue flame, I think more muted colors/removing the highlight might help here.
I messed around a bit with the codpiece skull and gave it a stronger shadow. You have some banding to look out for (for instance on the skull on his right leg around the eyes).
I realize scratches and other such details is something you'll add later on but I messed around with it anyway
Also I'm not a huge fan of the excessive reflections on the gold trimmings, I think a simpler approach is easier on the eyes and won't clash as much with the red part of the armor.

It's already an impressive piece, and I'm excited to see where it will end up done :3

[cels]

Thank you so much, guys! Don't think I'd forgotten about this. I just needed to leave it for a while, as my muse kept tugging me in another direction. I'm ready to finish this now.


@Manupix: I totally see what you're saying about the axe and the axe arm, but at this point I want to avoid redrawing such a huge part of this piece. I don't want to risk running out of steam, you see. Having said that, I think you had a really interesting idea in moving the focus to the skull and I'll try to pursue that idea. I suppose I'll need to make the hand holding the helmet (it's not a skull, but I don't know if you were being literal) brighter, but I can't really tell if the perspective and pose is correct at this point. I don't really have an eye for this stuff, I'm punching above my weight, as they say.

@Reo: Thanks so much for taking the time to do the edit. I really love what you did to the colours, removing the pink and making it look muted. I actually went further than you did, partly because Manupix suggested to make everything darker anyway.

I haven't had a chance to incorporate your advice about tying the ramps together, and I do see the great work you did to the codpiece skull, the scratches and the way you've fixed the shading in several areas. I will try to follow your example more in my next version. The skull is something I will have to reconsider as well.