First time on Steemit!

Hello everyone,

My name is Jackson and I'm taking the first steps in putting my art out into the world, all be it quite late!

I've been doing art for a long time but haven't had the courage to show it off yet, so if you are reading this: thank you for being part of the leap. I usually draw or paint things which I enjoy, anything which brings a bit of nostalgia, taking inspiration from fantasy, old Marvel comics and videogames. I particularly enjoy drawing characters and exciting comic-book style scenes, so if that's your thing then watch this space! I'll be sharing my work, sketchbook pages, processes and more.

Here is a page I recently finished in one of my sketchbooks; Kratos, from the God of War franchise.

Step 1. Getting a rough likeness done in pencil, over an orange ink wash.

Step 2. Laying down some acrylic paint, particularly working in the darker areas to start creating shadows. I tend to paint around the lips first so I can use a slightly different tone of paint there.

Step 3. I am happy with the painting, now I decide to work in some pen over the top to accentuate some of the lines and shadows, and add some white pencil to try and imitate the ashey texture of Kratos' skin.

Step 4. After fiddling with the placement of the eyes and trying to drop them further back into shadow to make him look as brooding as possible, it's finished! I often rework the eyes of my characters right at the end, as they are such an important part of conveying someone's personality.

Part of me likes the step 3 version without the extra pen and pencil better, what do you guys think?

Thank you for taking the time to check out my post, I look forward to getting to know the Steemit community and basking in our collective creativity!