The concept was based on the two animals sitting in front of a log fire and drinking. I suggested to the client that instead of totally symmetrical, the image should have one of the animals slightly titled at a different angle. The image below shows the three main steps I take. The “construction” rough, the render candidate and the render artwork.

The sketch was sent to the client and necessary adjustments were made, based on the client feedback. The image below shows the evolution the sketch went through from start to finish.

Once the sketch had been successfully accepted by the client it was scanned into Photoshop and the rendering stage took part. Typically I start with the foreground characters to get the look and feel right of their character and pose and gestures, as well as expression. But as this image was heavily centred around the mood of the room, I thought it wise to render out the background and get the lighting and tones correct before attempting to add the animals into the mix.