Dark Power

Painter 11.

October painting for the "Wings" calendar. Another year, another calendar. lol The calendar is still in progress. This is the first painting completed for it.

He's not necessarily a demon or even a fallen angel (although 'fallen angel' has been my mental shorthand for him). I wanted something different for the calendar that wasn't an angel or fairy. I had fluffy feathers and pretty butterly/dragonfly-like wings, why not try dark, bat-inspired ones. :) Also needed a painting with a suitable tone for October. He's a contrast to a particular angel piece in the calendar, so I went with it. So basically whatever interpretation of what he is that works for you.

This is sort of a companion piece to another painting for the calendar, "Angel of White" (tentative title). Dark to its Light. And both were meant to represent Black and White, respectively, in a color themed calendar I want to also do. But I snagged the sketches for "Wings" instead, since they're a perfect fit for it as well.

This was a little more complicated than appears on the surface. Yeah, I got caught up in the details, as usual. But, the lighting was a fair amount of the time this took. The other time consumer was his face, getting the look and expression that I wanted. I was aiming for seductive temptation with a touch of danger, and while I think it turned out a little 'nicer' than that, whenever I tried to add the 'danger' he would just look cranky. lol

There's a subtle texture in the skin of his wings. Not sure if it's visible at this resolution. I had a texture in his 'skirt' but didn't like the effect it had, so I undid it.

I'm really proud of how this turned out, in spite of the struggle and frustration with some of it. I think Painter 11 and the new pencil brushes, while creating some of that frustration, also allowed for me to bring some of the comfort level I have with traditional media to digital. :)