A detailed sketch was done using black ink pens. It was then imported into photoshop to lay in the background gradation. This is just a time saving step so I don't have to break out paints to get a nice gradation. Ultimately the sketch has to get into digital format anyway so it can be emailed to the client. This sketch originally had more of the body showing but the client wanted to focus on just the head for impact. It was a good call because at the size I painted this, it really grabbed your attention.