'Nuther Frazetta copy (now x 2) - playing with gouache

The above was sketched loosely (too) in fountain pen and then painted using FW acrylic ink. As usual, my proportions are atrocious - I can see I need to do some long figure drawings with lots of measuring involved. Should also have started in pencil - lightly - and fixed whatever needed it. Directly in fountain pen is ok for simple stuff I know pretty well but not something like this. I stupidly started with the background shape and then tried to squeeze the demon into it! So many things I did wrong..

Took it upstairs and put some gouache on it. Ran into issues because I couldn't find a paper version I was willing to have in the studio while painting and it wasn't worth printing up, so I just winged it entirely on the gouache part. I really really need to work from an image next time.

And measure.

I can also see that it would work better if all the lights are done in gouache, rather than trying (and failing inevitably) to match an existing color.

It didn't work the way it does when I watch Jeff Watts or Ron Lemen do it - when I re-wet a color to try to blend it all it did was smear the color around - doubtless because there's no underlayer of gouache, just water-resistant acrylic ink. I suppose I need to do it the same way they do and I'll begin to get closer results. But it was fun messing with gouache - first time in many years.

You know - I just got a crazy idea - how about I do it again, and approach it right this time..

EDIT:

All gouache this time - traced and transferred to reduce variables and make it about learning to paint rather than wrestling with drawing. I'll probably work on it some more tomorrow, gotta sleep now. I'm really liking this.

EDIT 2:

Levels adjustment and a color layer slapped on to unify the ugly dull colors..

must. sleep. now.

EDIT 3:

Monkeyed around a little more today with color, saturation and levels - found I had to mask off the foreground elements so only the fiery background got intense.

One thing that really surprised me - even after I did my original levels and saturation boost in photoshop, I held up the sketchbook next to the monitor and the sketchbook version was actually a bit brighter and had better contrast. Somehow scanning had grayed it down and dimmed it considerably - I never realized it does that. Now I've pushed it beyond what the SB version looks like though.

EDIT 4:

WTF!!!?! I just checked again, and the sketchbook version actually still had more color and vibrancy to it! Why is it so hard for me to see it? Anyway, - this one seems to be slightly more colorful and vibrant than the sb version at last:

Nice and hellfire-y!!