Steps and references for: Resting ever so Vigilant

1. Based on my idea in my head, i posed and starved a base model in Daz3D.
2. With using a lot of reference I started building up the skeletal anatomy on top of the 3D model screenshot.
3. Without reference I stared to play around with dressing up the skeleton, noticing my plants were absolutely garbage and the axe was boring.
4. Now working with a lot of references, jewelry and plants started to emerge, the axe was still boring. so stared to come up with a new design by making a flat vector version of the blade. I also received feedback from my peers regarding the lighting, color tones and some minor anatomy fixes.
5. The finished result.

Let me know if you have any questions! I advice every one to use as much reference as they can with their work. Here is a journal about it:  Are you a cheat or the real deal?Let’s talk a bit about using references and other media for your (digital) paintings. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, however there are some assumptions that people make that we are better off clearing up.
Often during my Twitch streams people ask me:
‘I want to paint characters from imagination, how do I do it without copying from a reference?’
You have to train yourself with reference before you get the information memorized in your brain. That's why we do anatomy studies with live models, 3D models, photos of naked people etc. When doing these studies you must try and understand the thing you are studying and not just blindly copy what you see. If you understand how the body moves, what muscles are used, proportions, curves etc, you will have a much easier time sketching out the human figure without reference. But even then, depending on the purpose of your work, you do well with checking your sketch for mistakes
The artwork for Caldyra: