Simikiel, Sword of Absolution - (Color Phase) (Patreon)

Before I got started on this piece, I made a sticky note that read "WHITE SIMIKIEL".

In my head, this color palette is an extension from that initial idea. Once I inverted the main color of the figure, I needed to set it in a darkened environment to create contrast. That lead to me needing to use cool hues to describe the darkness without pushing to black. It's strange the way such specific things seem obvious to us in first person. 

Over and over I've seen people given the advice of "just be yourself". It's good advice, but not one with an apparent path to progress. Whenever I've mentored artists, I try to give a slightly more clear piece of advice. I say "make dumb and obvious choices". The reason being that we don't exactly know how to be ourselves, but we do know how to recognize what seems dumb and obvious to us personally. 

Authenticity becomes the path of least resistance when you take a moment to stop criticizing yourself.