Once I have worked the scene up to a desired point I paste it back into my test page to evaluate the result.

Personally I am very happy with this test so far. It meets the requirements of a mood and atmosphere that are consistent with a dark fantasy comic.

I am also very confident I can produce a very professionally end product using this process. 

Once I have sketched out my scenes and taken them to a blocked in tonal phase I cut out the first panel and paste it into a new document The Render Window. From here I start to refine the forms and add suggestive details. I want to keep the artwork loose and suggestive of detail and form but the final product will be taken to a higher standard that what is seen here. 

Here I conducted a process experiment to test a workflow for the comic I had in mind.

Firstly I would reed my script and take note of key scenes I wish to depict, in this case Astora is taking on a band of mercenary orks and this series of panels depicts the events of the first ork to charge her.

Using aspects I liked from all the thumbnail images I began painting a being that reflected all of my design choices that were explored during my thumb-nailing stage.
I am very happy with how this design turned out. I especially like the sci-fi aspect of this character mixed in with a dark fantasy theme this could be the staple of my art style for the rest of the comic.

Dark Sci-Fantasy 

seems an appropriate title for this mixed genre 

 

I started by drawing quick random shapes largely using the lasso tool. This allowed me to very rapidly cut out vague and interesting shapes which I then filled in using my imagination.

I began seeing a type of techno mage appearing as I drew more thumbnail images and started to like the concept.

The mystics: my inspiration for these mysterious beings are the tails of druids and shamans mixed with an equally mysterious robed monks from Star Wars - The Silent http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Silent

The Silent started appearing in hospitals during the clone wars, the mere presence of these beings successfully increased recovery rates significantly and they never spoke hence the name.

I wanted to invoke a similar entity in Spawn of Darkness a group of strange robed sages that take up residence in the halls of Kings and Jarls offering their powers as a resident mage.
However their native language is poisonous to al living things and if heard even by mistake, can cast the listener into chaotic madness.

So far I am happy with these two the artwork could be taken to a higher standard in the future if necessary . However I like the dynamic these sisters bring to the story especially If indeed they are the true daughters of the Pale Witch another one of her disturbing experiments into dark occult magic.
Now I see them in their final design they remind me of the weird sisters from Gargoyles a cartoon series created back in 1994 by Disney they were of the children of Oberon and possessed immense magical power such as giving Demona and Makbeth immortality. I am planning on the witch perhaps possessing one of the sisters and turning her into a witch like her true mother.
This would create and interesting situation that Johna Astora has to deal with during the events of the story.

I wanted the aspect of symmetry happening between the sisters to invoke their otherworldly kinship and most importantly they be in some form of physical contact to help focus their power. This was inspired by Mas Y Menos two characters from the Teen Titans cartoon show, super fast twin brothers who need to remain in physical contact to access their super speed http://teentitans.wikia.com/wiki/M%C3%A1s_y_Menos

After sourcing some images of various wise women and oracles I started sketching some designs In the end I went with a style of medieval dress often worn by wealthy upper-classes.

The Twin sisters Helgha and Meldra were borne of an unknown mother who seduced the king and gave birth to them in a single night. This has led many to believe the twins are the offspring of the witch of Margaul forest.
Despite the fact the twins have been nothing but great and valuable assets to the settlement they are greatly mistrusted by the towns people and feared as being double agents of the witch. While this is not true the sisters are not beyond the corrupting power of the witch.
Time can only tell what will become of these sisters, will they stand steadfast in the face of purity or will they fall into darkness and corruption.

The sisters have no direct influence and are largely from my imagination they are however loosely derived from tales of immaculate conception and unnatural births such as the Solar messiahs including Jesus, Horus Krishna, Mithra and many others.   

Here is the final rendition of Johna Astora featured on a design sheet which includes her bio.
I feel this design overall is much more successful than previous not only design wise but also in her facial features and the sense of contempt she displays. Her personality is much more apparent in this piece and her design is much closer to my original vision of her.

Based upon my references I began sketching some thumbnails it was not long until I came upon design 3.
I decided I would use it as it matched my original envisioning of Johna Astora of a holey warrior seeking battle to cleanse the world of evil.
I blew up the thumbnail and jotted down a few notes about changes I wanted to make for the design to make it more dynamic.
I also took this opportunity to sketch out a design for her sword. At this point I gave her a generic sword of the order of the Bleak Dawn.

After gathering a few images I created a mood board featuring the characters from Claymore as well as reference of actual claymore swords and their scabbards.
This was primarily to aid me in the creation process of some new thumbnail images for the new Astora Design.

A first attempt at using my nature photos as textures. This scene depicts the settlement of Black Rock Hold in the summer spring time.

A concept created to envision the Jarls long house atop the peak of Black Rock and home to the fabled white ravens.

Margaul Forest once a beautiful and lush forest filled with benign spirits and friendlily pixies it has since been twisted into an abomination a horrid putrid husk of its former self. The trees twist and crack in pain and agony lashing out at anyone foolish enough to enter. 

A3 design sheets created for the project Design Document

Here are the initial designs for the Jarl of Black Rock Hold. I new from an early stage what I wanted from this character, an aged but stun warrior fixed in his ways and very protective of his family and close friends.
The Jarl is also very wary of outsiders and is naturally very distrusting, usually visitors were expected to pay a generous gift of valuables and trinkets to gain the favor of the Jarl to seek a comfortable refuge in his presence.
However recent events have changed his attitude out of desperation the Jarl new actively seeks and summons capable warriors to his hold hoping to enlist their aid in rescuing his abducted child from the demon witch of The dark foreboding forest of Morgaul. 

In preparation for the creation of Jarl Ulthrick I sourced various images of Jarls utilising Google's search engine and in game screenshots of Skyrim. The Jarl is second only to the King in Scandinavian social hierarchy they own vast land and wealth and govern over a town or city.
The Jarls of the kingdom are also expected to raise an army for the king when called upon during war if a Jarl refuses they are ostracized from the alliance and deemed an enemy of the Kingdom.

During my research looking for the type of weaponry used by warriors in 900 AD I stumbled across an image that caught my attention.
While searching for Claymore swords an interesting sculpted figure caught my eye that in part encapsulated what I was looking for in my main character.

http://s6.postimage.org/oyd4um95t/Claymore_Clare_2.jpg

This character turned out to be Clare form the Manga series Claymore, so I decided to take a look at more examples of this character and see if I can draw any more inspiration form the manga series.

After choosing design aspects of the thumbnails I liked I drew up a polished piece that represented my design choices so far.
I feel I need to further refine my design as I am not currently satisfied with my main character  I want to further emphasis her connection to the divine to visually emphasis to the viewer her Nephilim bloodline.
I also want to revamp her design to make her visually more interesting and engaging to look at. As of right new I feel the design is too boring and sterile to hold the attention of any potential readers.

Originally I wanted to have two demon hunters (who appeared somewhat like witch hunters) to sent by the order of The Bleak Dawn to rid the town of the witch. These two characters would share a master and apprentice style of relationship with the young woman studying under under an experienced hunter.

 However over time I began to like this idea less and less and found my self drawn more toward a strong singular female warrior monk style of character. I wanted to keep the her affiliation with the bleak dawn and the reason she has been dispatched there but I realized I had not given much thought to who the Bleak Dawn were.

In my research I looked at giving her a Latin name but found it did not suit the character I had in mind however I originally planned to call her Angelus Lumine meaning Angel of Light in Latin (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_angel_of_light_in_latin)

Even though I did not like it as a name for the character this did however give me a bolt of inspiration as to her background and the role of the mysterious order of The Bleak Dawn.

Jhona Astora is a Nephilim a half angel dedicated to battling evil were ever it lurks and threatens the souls of humanity. This lead me into the idea that The Bleak Dawn is a secret order of Nephilim trying to regain their full angel status by aiding mankind and coming closer to the divine or godly realm the dimension of the gods and the centre of reality.
Of course there is always the possibility that a Nephilim could descend into darkness and become a dark angel or if given the right opportunity a Demon God or Dark God.