Norse Berserker Illustration WIP

tkalamov

Hello all. I would like to share a WIP with you and hopefully gather some opinions and feedback!



This is my first try fully rendering a character, mostly without lineart. I tried to incorporate some textures and photos to better represent the clothing material, as well as the icy foreground and the blizzard. This has been done with a basic brush for the majority of the piece, with some of the effects (and chains!) done with custom brushes.

The tattoos on his arm and the side of the torso are experimental and I am not sure whether I should keep them, with or without modifications, or ditch them.

I am really looking forward to your feedback, and if we can make a productive discussion out of it for everyone involved!

Malazkaboom

Alright! a full illustration is hard to pull honestly, because you need to consider many things beforehand, you have questions you need clear answers to, like:
1. What am i trying to convey? (the story, emotion or mood*)
2. Where is my light source or sources? 
There are more questions to be answered for sure, but i consider these two the most important, the first question is the base of all of your choices in an illustration and the biggest CONCEPTUAL question. All of your choices must support the answer you give that question. As for the second one, it's the biggest TECHNICAL question, the more you understand your light and how it behaves, the better your finished piece will be, at the end of the day, no light, no picture. 

If you can give me and answer for these questions, this will greatly help me direct my critique. 


* the story can be complex, describing a battle scene or an emotional argument, or it can be quite simplistic like trying to express how something is scary, cute, or relaxing. how complex or simple your primes is does not effect how good the finished piece is, it's how well you are able to convey that primes.