BIG post. There are going to be some final tweaks but this is the final version of this image. Went through a lot of changes over the two years I've been poking at this. I started it before I switched to Affinity Designer then, after a false start, let it sit for a really long time. I picked it up again a month or so ago deciding that I really wanted to get it done. Using the photo I'd taken on Mass Ave, I did indeed trace things on my iPad knowing that I was going to interpret and change what was there anyway, really making it my own. I could have made a grid and painstakingly copied it that way more or less freehand but what would be the point? The buildings might have felt a bit less cold but then I wouldn't have that contrast with the characters being far more organic. Speaking of the characters, I went through a few versions of them, too. One missing here is the original pair with the otter's original head. Didn't like it so drew him a new head and pasted atop the body, adding the hat. Then I decided the arm in arm pose felt forced. Going the other way, I tried out a lone coyote who looked rather downtrodden. My partner felt that the image was quite sad and, as I'm hoping to maybe sell some of these, it seemed a poor choice. So I changed his face, too, adding a lower jaw, tongue and squinting his eyes. Him alone felt hollow so I brought the otter back, walking at his side, licking at the snow. That felt right to me.

Speaking of the snow, I went through a lot of different attempts at that. All of them were using Procreate on the iPad, but none of the brushes were giving me the results I really wanted. There's no substitute for the 'real thing,' so I did four different versions of snow, each 'flake,' or dash drawn by hand, each version set at its own layer part way through the composition. That's one of the things I have to tweak a little, but just a little. I think I have a good balance of detail and obfuscation. I like the mood, the background's complex enough to feel real-ish and the colors, which I changed entirely from the photo feel harmonious. We'll see how it prints. For now, I can, more or less, put this one to bed.