'ArtRage, Painter & Photoshop'

Still keeping it loose, I worked some more form and detail into the critters, using stencils in places to add texture and interest. If you add the texture on a separate layer, it’s a snip to fiddle with it using the painting tools to make it sit more naturally without affecting the forms you’ve already created. Merge when you have something you like. Repeat for more texture. Experiment with blending modes, too – combinations of several texture layers can produce some interesting results (Fig.13, Fig.14 and Fig.15).

You can use stencils when cutting back from the blue shadow layers as well, but make sure to switch the stencil off and on regularly to view what you’re doing. The red stencil colour can be a little distracting.

I gave the background a bit of attention too, muting it down somewhat and adding more of a glow on the horizon to hint at a village nearby. I continued merging layers when I was happy with the effect and working on new ones to move on.

Working on the fly meant that I had lots of things to resolve, like the exact positioning and size of the fiddly bits, like hands and feet. In this case it included things like the rather uncomfortable placement of her right foot - somewhere I’d hate to have one put myself. Add little details like that as they occur to you. They don’t have to be finished, just marked in so you don’t forget them. (Fig.16 and Fig.17)