I used pastels for this, but it's not, like, *pastel*, you know?

Hello, Internet.

Today, I wanted to make a simple drawing. It's been snowing lately, and though I'm not the biggest fan of winter, I've always liked how quiet it gets when it rains sky dandruff.

So, playing my ~emo trash~ playlist (don't judge me), I set off to capture the silent, introspective air that winter brings.

Starting off with a rough sketch, of course, I went with a theme of solitude and isolation for my character here. 

As I went along, I added lineart to the initial sketch to sharpen the edges. Normally, I would get rid of the sketch altogether, but since I chose a textured canvas and pastels to draw with, it wasn't that important to keep things polished.

I coloured her in using the same swatches I used to draw Kai'sa, with the exception of the base toque colour and (obviously) her shoe. I really love those muted grey-purples. Very post-apocalyptic, or at least melancholic.

Remember that MCR baseball cap I decorated? Same idea here, except in blackish-green. After I scribbled in the trees, I blocked out the grass in pale green and used tan, brown, and darker greens to add texture to the foreground.

After that, the sky. I only needed two colours and an airbrush for this, sticking to cool periwinkle-greys.

So, a few things: 

1. I copied the tree layer, shifted it slightly to the side, and set the blend mode to Highlight. The change in colour allowed it to feel more natural in the silver light.

2. I shaded the top corners of the sky with the same colour as her hoodie.

3. I shaded the lower corners of the grass (which looks good up close, I swear!!1)

And now, the snow itself. I liked the idea of having barely any snow in the image. It's just starting to fall, soft and light.

(Protip: dot a few snowflakes, duplicate the layer, and flip it both vertically and horizontally. It fills the frame nicely, and they're about as evenly spaced as you can get this way.)

So, I just went and erased the green shadow with a 500px cursor, airbrushing it again with another 500px brush. This really balanced out the tone of the grass. Is it just me, or does it make the sky look a bit more illuminated?

Boom-shakalaka! It's a modern masterpiece! Truly a work of art!

(I actually love it though. It's my baby. *buffs nails on shirt*)

Aight, well, I personally think I succeeded with my original goal. This picture feels simple and quiet. No need for fancy details or hardcore talent, amiright?

Anyway, I'm done here. Sayonara *finger guns*

-nessa