Crimson Butterfly

IF (Illustration Friday) 8/29/14, the topic was Metamorphosis.  For this topic I already had a piece that was almost complete, I just haven't had any time to work on it as I like to generate original content for IF, but occasionally I'll dust off an old project if I feel it fits the topic nicely.  This piece is part of a series of four, that I intend to do the depict a lifeform of some some kind, created from an element that would be foreign to them.  In this particular piece I chose to depict a hand (which I used photo reference for), creating a butterfly out of fire.  The background and hand for this piece were the easiest elements, it was the butterfly itself that proved to be the most challenging. After several attempts I was finally able to capture the 'action' I was looking for in the generation of the flames swirling to create the insect. I often have difficulty in capturing the action from the original sketches I have done for works, and when I attempt to finish them they look stagnant.  I would have liked to create a stronger contrast for this piece, but ultimately I am happy with it. The work is entirely digital done in Painter, with some layout adjustments done in Photoshop.

UPDATE 3/26/18:
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Crimson Butterfly