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Description
*scratches temple* Lately, I found myself getting increasingly dependent on the XNALara poser (the one able to open LoS models), and how ridiculously easy it was just to... trace the contours of the model as a sketch and proceed from that. Sure, the end product could boast of extreme seemliness and how accurate it could stay to the true in-game models, but I found it to be... cheap, I guess. No challenge, at all. So I decided to bury that instinct-to-trace-shamelessly deep, deep down and return to the roots, i.e. start referencing screenshots, concept art and other supplemental material. It is better to take a right, more complex route, that an easy/lazy one in my opinion.

And now I sound like Mary Margaret. Darn you, OUAT.

Okay, back on topic. Holy Technicolor batman!

I honestly did not expect for this picture to end up... as grandiose as it is now. If not for the lineart (which suits Lords of Shadow damn well, I might add), this picture could easily rival my other one in terms of detail. Honestly, this started out as a simple scar/wound chart for Gabe a.k.a. as in-no-diddly-dang-way his skin is as unblemished as it appears in LoS2. The man got skewered into a barbecue by Satan and nearly got charbroiled by Laura's lightning for Christ's sake! Blood magic or some other equivalent is at work here, and you cannot tell me otherwise.

And you can't even imagine through how many redesigns this whole pic went through-- no wonder it took me well over a week of everyday contribution to finish it, oomph. And it was particularly... challenging to avoid adding dragons motifs here (because, hell, overused/overdosed much, sir) and settled on something more inconspicuous. Like a rotting human heart, well done, Aliya! *insert sarcastic remark here*

And I admit, Once Upon the Time and its "heart-ripping" inspired me here. Because if we take into account that Gabriel's soul's cursed (his LoS2 lore entry), and that the heart is the only organ which cannot be corrupted, (Toy Maker's lore entry) it would make sense for him to try to remove it PoC!Davy-Jones-style to either a) cut himself from humanity completely or b) preserve it so it doesn't succumb to the corruption. In any case, I like heart symbolism, can't you tell.

And as far as the Satan and Zobek duet in the background goes... it more or less to raise the point of what Gabe tries to prove in LoS2: a) what is the reward for defeating the prime evils, and b) how he turned out to be an impromptu floodgate against these two, hence the title. Sadness in both cases, despite the pretty colors.

Anyway, credits!
Blood Marks brushes: env1ro
Stitches/Suture brushes: redheadstock
Textures: WingsOfAHero
The human heart reference.
And, of course, posemaniacs.com for the marvelous hand/wrist turnarounds!

And I also have to thank mon-amie Chel for allowing me to use a line from her ficlet as the title. Also, a possible print? Idk.

Photoshop CS6 and ~25 hours in total. I need to give my hand a rest.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (c) Konami; MercurySteam

Description
*scratches temple* Lately, I found myself getting increasingly dependent on the XNALara poser (the one able to open LoS models), and how ridiculously easy it was just to... trace the contours of the model as a sketch and proceed from that. Sure, the end product could boast of extreme seemliness and how accurate it could stay to the true in-game models, but I found it to be... cheap, I guess. No challenge, at all. So I decided to bury that instinct-to-trace-shamelessly deep, deep down and return to the roots, i.e. start referencing screenshots, concept art and other supplemental material. It is better to take a right, more complex route, that an easy/lazy one in my opinion.

And now I sound like Mary Margaret. Darn you, OUAT.

Okay, back on topic. Holy Technicolor batman!

I honestly did not expect for this picture to end up... as grandiose as it is now. If not for the lineart (which suits Lords of Shadow damn well, I might add), this picture could easily rival my other one in terms of detail. Honestly, this started out as a simple scar/wound chart for Gabe a.k.a. as in-no-diddly-dang-way his skin is as unblemished as it appears in LoS2. The man got skewered into a barbecue by Satan and nearly got charbroiled by Laura's lightning for Christ's sake! Blood magic or some other equivalent is at work here, and you cannot tell me otherwise.

And you can't even imagine through how many redesigns this whole pic went through-- no wonder it took me well over a week of everyday contribution to finish it, oomph. And it was particularly... challenging to avoid adding dragons motifs here (because, hell, overused/overdosed much, sir) and settled on something more inconspicuous. Like a rotting human heart, well done, Aliya! *insert sarcastic remark here*

And I admit, Once Upon the Time and its "heart-ripping" inspired me here. Because if we take into account that Gabriel's soul's cursed (his LoS2 lore entry), and that the heart is the only organ which cannot be corrupted, (Toy Maker's lore entry) it would make sense for him to try to remove it PoC!Davy-Jones-style to either a) cut himself from humanity completely or b) preserve it so it doesn't succumb to the corruption. In any case, I like heart symbolism, can't you tell.

And as far as the Satan and Zobek duet in the background goes... it more or less to raise the point of what Gabe tries to prove in LoS2: a) what is the reward for defeating the prime evils, and b) how he turned out to be an impromptu floodgate against these two, hence the title. Sadness in both cases, despite the pretty colors.

Anyway, credits!
Blood Marks brushes: env1ro
Stitches/Suture brushes: redheadstock
Textures: WingsOfAHero
The human heart reference.
And, of course, posemaniacs.com for the marvelous hand/wrist turnarounds!

And I also have to thank mon-amie Chel for allowing me to use a line from her ficlet as the title. Also, a possible print? Idk.

Photoshop CS6 and ~25 hours in total. I need to give my hand a rest.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (c) Konami; MercurySteam