Illustration - Contemplative RJ

After completing Zenon submission, I indulged in an illustration of my favourite OC, my best friend; R.J. - Chilling on a beach after another successful mission. From my manga 'Drealms'. (Joey took the photo secretly, then she beat the crap out of him) X'D - I'm going to work on this gradually, updating this post as I go, the idea is to show you how I work. Don't quite know how exactly, but I hope it's useful...

Chronology:
'14.04.01 - first sketch
'14.04.02 - character inked
'14.04.03 - character screentoned (basic), some shading, blade inked and screentoned (basic)
'14.04.04 - added details to bodysuit & scratches w blood on shoulder and back, Ipod shuffle & headphones, shine to blade, started on background - tree
'14.04.08 - added shine details to bodysuit & blade handle, sand screentone (basic)
'14.04.11 - Inked more backgrounds, defined sand boundary
'14.04.12 - fixed shape of forehead & top of head, drawn in & added shadow screentone (basic)
'14.06.10 - (long break, I know X'D) edited backgrounds screentone to add more shades (still basic)
'14.09.27 - added the sky, water, fixed more shading work in tree trunk and bushes, fixed shadows, sand...
'14.11.11 - added textures to trees, bushes, tree barks, sand, edited all levels and saturation. Finish.
To view this chronology in a GIF animation: Contemplative RJ - Progression preview

I'm working on this incrementally on my breaks from other projects and and updating when I can. I won't be notifying those watching at every update. This might take awhile to finish, but am liking this slow process as each time I work on it, I'm looking at the picture with fresh eyes, and can spot previous mistakes I couldn't even see before.

More of R.J.: Drealms Character Design - R.J.