Introducing - Jacob Strauss !

Hi Friendly Folks!

This is a continuation of my theme involving characters from an upcoming project: Pilgrim Adrift.
This fellow here is another of the protagonists who's journey we shall follow.
[Check out Joëlle if you haven't had the opportunity to ;D]

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"A seasoned Miasma Knight who prefers the term 'Diver', he had a surprisingly uneventful/untainted track record, up until the Belladonna Incident. Despite being one of the lucky few to have ever returned from the Puncture, relatively intact, he was convicted of dereliction of duty and held liable for all losses incurred. His sentence was auctioned off by the Admiralty, to be fulfilled at the whim of the highest bidder. Now saddled with the weight of indentured servitude towards his 'Investors', Strauss' remaining motivation is to fulfil his salvaging contract and earn his freedom from the shipyards."
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Alrigty, time to dive into the process !
[rubs hands together like a fly]

I wanted to start with a pose that accentuated Strauss' slouch and overall demeanor. As per usual, it isn't very accurate and not very close to what I want, but it lays down the foundation for the piece! It is, after all, just the first sketch~

Now this is more like it! Got all the major elements and shapes that I want in the piece. They will need to be refined, but the silhouette pleases me :D I threw in a quick and faint horizon line just to remind me of the perspective.

Now it is time to commit by placing down final lines!
I have to confess, over the last few years I seem to have developed a latent fear of this particular step. I believe it's a direct result of the underlying 'imposter syndrome' I've been trying to overcome as well :T
Anyhow! What I am trying to say is that I am actively attempting to get myself to love this phase again, and to feel less self-conscious about my work. Baby steps as they say!

This part is straightforward and just involves adding in the fill/mask for the character. Think of it as adding the 'meat' onto the bones. After this, it is time for~

Colours! I wanted a relatively muted palette for him so that I can apply high saturation later for focal areas :D
Almost there! We just need to add the shading and highlights~

And there we go :D!
I added some local shading/occlusion using a multiply layer and a saturated purple. There is also a darken layer with a gradient of dark blue coming from the bottom. I then used orange circular gradients on a soft light layer to bring attention to his upper torso and the corner of the helmet.
Last but not least, I used colour dodge to create little highlights to complement the soft light layer. I also, tweaked his left arm's width along with his waist, to make him look a little less beefy.
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Wowee! That was a lot more typing than I had anticipated. If you guys want me to keep the wordage down, just leave me a note ;D If you like it, let me know too~
I am hoping one day to try capturing the draw process on video, but this is still a brave new world for me so I'm going to need some time, and help, as I fumble my way through.

Be seeing you folks again shortly!
Cheers!!!