This is an entry for *emme's contest. This is her character named Adelina from her online comic, Firebrand. I enjoyed drawing her very much.

I really pushed myself on this picture, which took about 22 hours to complete. I have never worked on a pic for that long. But I really learned alot while creating this piece. Basically, I learned what my limitations are as an artist and I think that's a good thing. When you realize those limits, you can start to overcome those challenges.

The hardest thing about this picture was the skintone. I chose moonlight as the main light source without realizing how moonlight effects the skin. I re-did the skin about seven times and still am not sure if I have the color right according to a night time environment. But it's done and I'll leave it at that. Another thing is the background. I feel that it looks a bit flat and the dark contrast against the more vibrant character makes the character seem out of place.

The best part was making the clouds. They were the easiest thing to do and took the least amount of stress to complete, haha. I don't know if clouds can form like that around the moon, but it's fantasy, so anything can happen! I also liked making the dress sparkle. It was cool and really added more dimension to the dress.

I would like to give a special thanks to . He makes wonderful and beautiful art and is really a great insipiration to me. His dedication to his art taught me that if I want better results from my pics, I need to take time with them. Thanks, Mario, for making me realize this important lesson.