My entry for the NG Rumble Character Reveal Art Contest! @Jouste makes some fantastic characters, and The Magnificent Mindables is one of my faves of his. I also wanted to try weaving a story into the image, so I designed a few mechs inspired by @KeepWalking 's Drone 42 series. With such a big brain, it's no wonder that Mindables can control the titans with his mind alone (and maybe a few radio towers to boost his psychic signals), but for what nefarious purpose?!

Here's the OG Magnificent Mindables: https://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/jouste/the-magnificent-mindables

And one of the biggest inspirations for the titans: https://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/keepwalking/this-way

Paying homage to some of my favorite artists on NG and one of my favorite NG games was a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy the result! Process / additional images below.

Minus banner, elements slightly re-arranged

Pre-color swap of sky and ocean (one of those last-minute changes after experimenting a bit - there's the beauty of gradient maps)

Process in reverse chronological order

Step 3: Shading, details

There are sometimes exceptions, but I generally hold off on adding color until the grayscale is complete. On top of helping me make an image with a clear focus, it's a lot of fun to see color splashed in after all that time!

Step 2: Values, sketching

After figuring out a general flow for the piece, I like to work in grayscale first, and then zero in on hues and saturation later - this helps me design an image with a clear focus.

Step 1: Comp, rough form

Early on, I'll conduct some quick studies on the subject (in this case, Jouste's character), searching for a fitting pose, and getting a handle for the character's size, proportion, and how I want to situate them on the page.