At last year's Chicago Wizard World, I had the pleasure of meeting a fan of mine who had already collected a large number of my sketch covers and was very excited about the idea of commissioning a custom piece from me! He requested a nude rendition of Jean Grey from the Xmen, in all her wild glory as the Phoenix. I've been dying to draw this character, so I jumped at the chance!
I'm so very pleased with the finished product on this one. More often than not, when I'm working on a new illustration, it's a struggle. Unforeseen problems come up and you've got to improvise, maybe the materials don't behave the way you expect them to or a layout that looked okay in the early stages just isn't going to work in the final... So when a piece like this one comes along, where everything just falls into place effortlessly, it's such a joy. I'm especially proud of the reflected light underneath her breasts.
This was my first time experimenting with watercolor pencils and it was definitely a success. I look forward to incorporating them into future works.
I put some clothes on her after it was all finished so that I can sell prints to a wider audience when I'm on the road. Even the PG-13 version looks great.
I am SO happy with how this turned out.
