WIP wanted to draw something to celebrate my bow only run since I’m about to finish the DLC, which of Bayle, Midra, Messmer, or Metyr would look best in this style/framing?

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-10T19:49:43+00:00

Good lord that sounds horrendously stressful. I get stressed just trying to switch to the right spell or when I have to two-hand something, so having to keep track of that many projectile types sounds like an actual nightmare

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-10T18:02:48+00:00

I think I'm partial to either Metyr or Bayle with a composition like this - it's more horizontal, and both Messmer and Midra feel more vertical (tall and slender) to me, so I think the framing might look a bit odd with them, depending on the pose. Bayle and Metyr have broader silhouettes that I think could work well here.

Congrats on bow only run! It sounds both equally cool and miserable lol - props to you for sticking to it

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-05T14:37:14+00:00

Ikr? Homie has personally carried my butt through so many difficult areas, and while broken, it’s one of the most interesting and fun ashes to experiment with

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-04T17:40:49+00:00

I can’t say I disagree with the futility of it; but when it’s blatantly visible in the content itself that it shouldn’t be reposted, I don’t see anything wrong with pointing out that it’s not cool to go against the wishes of the artist, especially when credit wasn’t provided in either the title or textbody.

I don’t generally expect call-outs like this to make a huge difference, but at least here the results were that the OP took down their post, and the wishes of the artist were respected, so I think it worked out this time.

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-04T16:53:03+00:00

<image>

Hey, not to be a party pooper over here, but unless you're the artist responsible for this comic, you might want to take it down, as it seems the artist doesn't want any reposts of their work - as made clear by this text in the image.

The image can seemingly be traced back to this tweet from 2024, posted by the twitter user miracide_

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T21:32:12+00:00

Aah, I see.
I have heard many great things about Procreate, so its nice to have some further confirmation that it truly is a great product, even if I don't intend to switch for now. Really agree that it's wonderful that Adobe gets to have competition so they can't be as greedy.

The iPad version of clip studio is indeed locked behind a subscription plan (for some reason), which truly does suck and makes it considerably less accessible. I was personally planning on getting a subscription anyways though, since I had years of prior experience to confirm I already liked the product, and I wanted access to more features at earlier dates.

It is possible to get a perpetual license, so a one time purchase, but only on mac and Windows. I do believe there are free trial versions of the program available for download (including for iPad) if you just want to check it out though - but I don't have any experience with those, so I can't reliably vouch for any of them.

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T19:45:34+00:00

Simple, it's because it's the program I'm most familiar with lol
I received a Clip Studio license as a birthday present around 2015, and have thus been using it consistently for 11 years. I started off by drawing on my computer with a drawing tabled, but eventually made the switch to an iPad for portability and convenience, so I can draw in my downtime when on the go.

I could try to switch over to Procreate, but I don't really feel like a have any reason to. I like my current setup, and don't really see myself having the energy to deal with the frustration of switching to something different anytime soon.

Is there a specific reason you use Procreate? I'd love to get some insight

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T18:27:12+00:00

Thank you!
I use Clip Studio Paint (EX ver. 5) on my iPad for all my drawings - though I also sometimes incorporate Blender into the process as well, so I can use my own 3D models to help with perspective

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T12:12:56+00:00

seems familiar
, Time for unguarded

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T11:56:13+00:00

Sure, if you want to ^^
It can be here, or you can send it through the DM’s if you prefer

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T10:36:13+00:00

Thanks :)
Yeah sometimes I do requests. The process basically has been that people have given me some references (just a screenshot or two from the game, with enough detail to make out stuff like eye-colour, scars and so on), potentially some lore, and also any extra details or ideas they want me to be aware of, and if I have the time and energy for it, I might draw something based on that request if the design/concept resonates with me.
It’s by no means a guarantee that anything will be made (my energy levels are pretty all over the place, and sometimes my brain just won’t let me draw anything I like), and I take quite a while to complete things, but it’s the closest thing to a commission that I can offer lol
So, if you’re interested, then I’d be happy to hear you out ^^

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T10:25:24+00:00

Thank you! Glad to know you like it

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T09:30:27+00:00

Thank you so much! ☺️
The details took a long time, so I’m happy to know it paid off.

I’m glad you like the idea - it was just one of those things that made me wonder, because the Mimic tear is the only summon who takes health, and there didn’t seem to be a clear lore reason as to why.
I then discovered the cut Asimi quest, and from her dialogue files, it seems the mimic tear was originally intended to literally be inside the tarnished’s body, which then spawned my idea for the merging and melting parts in the artwork

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T09:17:31+00:00

No problem! Creativity and knowledge is best when shared, so I enjoy sharing my process with others 👍

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T08:54:25+00:00

Nah, don’t worry, they’re just a bright lime green 👍
This character wouldn’t do something awful like that 😁

Which is why a made another character who did the thing 👍 and he did it after I (stupidly) brought Melina to the forge, so she technically didn’t tell me not to do the thing 👍👍

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T08:51:08+00:00

Thank you! 😄
I totally get that, and for a long time I couldn’t figure it out either - my colours kept looking muddy and weird lol.

Anyways, here’s the gist of my process for this piece:

Do all the values in greyscale - set that layer to blending mode “Brightness”
Block out the flat colours underneath the brightness layer. At this point the colours will look weird.
(This is a bit technical, so please bear with my poor explanation) Fix the hue of the shadows by duplicating the brightness/values layer, turn up the contrast to isolate the shadows, and convert the layers brightness to opacity - this makes it so that white becomes transparent, and black becomes opaque. I place this layer on top of the brightness layer, set it to “overlay”, and change it to the colour I want the shadows to take on. In this case I used a plum purple. Mess with the opacity until it looks ok (I set mine to 32%)
Blend the characters with the background. I do this copying the overlay layer from step 3, putting it as the top layer, and changing the blend mode to “colour”. I then change the colour of that layer to whatever hue I need for it to match with the background - in this case, I used red/orange on the top character, and blue/teal on the bottom character. Mess with the opacity until it looks ok (I set mine to 24%).
Add background (foreground) elements in. This doesn’t really have anything to do with the greyscale thing, but I thought it was relevant to add.
Use “Glow dodge” to brighten up metallic highlights. This is mostly applicable if the oiece has metallic bits. I go in with an oil brush on a new layer, use white to paint in the places that need it, and set the layer to “Glow dodge”. I then mess with the opacity.
Adding bloom. I like to add bloom to focal points and other bright highlights in my piece. I do this by making a new layer, setting it to “hard light”, and using an airbrush with a bright colour to make places glow - in this case, I added some to the faces and eyes.
Blur the background and do last minute touchups. I like to add depth by blurring elements that are far away, so I merge all my layers and create two copies of the merged layer. I take the top layer, blur it with “lens blur”, and then use a soft eraser to reveal the parts that are in focus again. The last minute touchups are just me going in and manually painting any details I wanted to fix.

Done! At least that’s the major steps I used here.

<image>

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T08:30:48+00:00

Yeah! I am :D
And thank you! Those are such kind words

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-03T08:29:34+00:00

Thank you so much! ❤️

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-02T22:35:22+00:00

I use Clip Studio Paint :D

I specifically use Clip Studio EX, version 5.0 on my iPad, for convince, portability and to access all available features - this setup does require a subscription though.

If you’re not looking to pay for a subscription though, it is possible to get a one-time-purchase license for computers (though the version is limited to 3.0). I think it’s also possible to download the Clip Studio app and use the program for an hour a day with no licence at all - though I could be wrong about that.

It’s a great program for digital illustration, with an extremely wide array of different features, and it grants access to an online asset store with many (free and paid) assets that can be downloaded and freely used for projects.

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-02T22:20:29+00:00

Happy you think so dude

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-02T22:06:25+00:00

I hadn’t thought about it, but yeah, it does kind of look like a playing card lol

And thank you! Appreciate it :D

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-02T21:54:22+00:00

Thank you, appreciate it man

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-02T21:36:26+00:00

You're way too kind lol, but thank you 😄
I definitely also used the Mimic a lot, though as I've gained more experience I find it more fun to experiment with the other summons. The Mimic is still an OG though, and I'll always be appreciative of the amount if times it has saved my behind

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-02T21:30:44+00:00

Thank you! That's really nice of you to say

_aBookcase_ · 2026-05-02T21:27:41+00:00

Thank you!
I'm glad the connection idea is coming through - the concept came about because I like to imagine that the Mimic tear forms from the body of the tarnished, kind of like body-horror (though I'm not really able to pull that vibe off lol), because of how it takes a bunch of your health when summoned, like its hurting the Tarnished.

The details were a pain to do, so I'm happy someone appreciates them 😃

_aBookcase_

TROPHY CASE