Arch WIP1

So I'm working on a drawing for a friend of a friend, as a Christmas gift actually. It's not really a Christmas themed picture, but it's a Christmas gift nonetheless, and I'm happy to do it. A mutual friend of this person, actually thought up the idea, and I'm simply executing.

This character, named Arch, is part of the story that a friend of mine writes. In this story, Arch is the alpha of a pack called The Half Moon Tribe.

So right off the bat, with "alpha" in mind, I knew I wanted to draw a very mature looking wolf, who was a great balance between muscular for strength, but not TOO muscular for agility. This is my own interpretation and take on this character, as far as physique goes.

It may seem like a simple picture, but I know from personal experience that for me personally, crossed-arms can be a difficult thing to draw... and from a few friends, I've heard them exclaim the same. I think they're difficult, because you're working with multiple joints, that have to match up well, to fit together like a puzzle piece, or else it looks awkward and unnatural.

On TOP of that, I honestly don't draw too many really muscular figures, so this piece for me was a big double whammy.

I tried to form his muscles organic, yet also a bit edgy to further emphasize an almost "chizzled" appearance, as well as to denote a bit of toughness to his figure and personality.... basically to let you KNOW he's a badass.

Excuse my french!

He's a black wolf, a fire elementist at that too. The background to be honest is a bit in the balance still. I would USUALLY have everything sketched out and ready, but due to time restraints, with Christmas almost being here, I gotta do things in a bit of a different fashion, as far as my usual processes go.