Photoshop (final and progress) files of the full-sized artwork (and "thank you" gifts) are here on my Patreon; my free Photoshop files are here! 
  
(My Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter are here; I'd be very honored to connect with you! 💖) 

Here are progress/step snapshots from the beginning to the "end*" of Raphtalia's fan art! (Raph' stars in the unique fantasy series, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari ["The Rising of the Shield Hero!"] More info on the full-sized piece!) 

*Art is never finished, only abandoned. 
- Leonardo da Vinci(?)

(This is a crop of the full-sized* artwork!)  Photoshop (final and progress) files of the full-sized artwork (and "thank you" gifts) are here on my Patreon; my free Photoshop files are here!

(My Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter are here; I'd be very honored to connect with you! 💖)  

*Dear you, thank you so much for looking!! This is a close-up of a much bigger artwork of Raphtalia (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari ["The Rising of the Shield Hero!"] More info about this artwork in the description of the full-sized piece below!)   
 

  
^ A close-up and steps for you darling folk!  (My Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter are here; I'd be very honored to connect with you! 💖)

m(_ _)m  Huge Photoshop (final and progress) files of this piece (and "thank you" gifts) are here on my Patreon; my free Photoshop files are here! 

After a super long time of me not posting (thank you so much for being super patient with me,) here is a piece of the very warm-hearted demi-human Raphtalia (from the fantastical web novel/light novel/manga series, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari [“The Rising of the Shield Hero!”] She has the cutest round tanuki ears (that resemble a cat's!) and bushy tail, which I hope to draw better next time!! The ring-thing in Raphtalia’s right hand is one of her metal slave cuffs. (As a young slave, Raphtalia had suffered horribly for years at the hands of her previous owner, but feels real pride in being a capable slave to her new master, the grumpy-but-kind-hearted Naofumi. Her many lovely outfit redesigns always include her slave cuffs that she wears proudly.) 
 
I find myself typing and re-typing spoilers as I try to spin up a character description of the graciously kind (and badass) Raph’ and the series! I’m forever bubbling over with spoilers...
  
I think the best way to describe this uniquely interesting series would be [to use my shoddy memory to paraphrase] in the words of my beloved younger sis’, who recommended it to me:
 

• Tate no Yuusha vividly chronicles the innovative solutions of an ordinary Japanese university student (a young man named Naofumi) thrust into a sprawling and socially complex fantasy MMO-esque world -- where he learns he’s been summoned to be the Hero of the Shield. 
  
• The drawbacks of Naofumi's incredible new life situation include (1) royalty conspiring against him (inducing the whole kingdom to unfairly despise him,) and (2) he cannot equip/hold any weapon - except for his shield (firmly attached to his wrist.) He's almost immediately badly betrayed! 
• Being forced to use only a shield (that cannot be thrown like a boomerang/Captain America's shield) leads to fascinating inventiveness in the face of formidable enemies and surviving a hostile fantasy land. 
• Even with his innovations, Naofumi still needs someone to join his 1-man team who can fight... After Naofumi uses his few hard-earned funds to purchase the heavily-abused Raphtalia from a slave trader, the generally-cold-but-good-hearted Naofumi (grumpily) feeds, nurtures, trains, clothes, and medicates a grateful Raphtalia, who swears she’ll be his sword and to fight for him.
  
• Naofumi continues to be grumpy/cold for some time. 
• Understandably, it takes a lot for this guy to trust a fellow.

 This GIF is of the steps for this batty artwork: 
 

Dear y'all! As promised, here is another free batch of high-res Photoshop files (of this artwork) on my Patreon  (including step-by-step .PSDs, final .PSD + images, and step-by-step image files!) 

Thank you so much for looking, dear and patient y'all (many of whom I owe a response to!!) 

Alternative depiction of the little bat family: 
   (aahhhhh that tiny animated flappy bat!! Such endearing pixel artwork, dear y'all!!) 

  

As promised, here is another free batch of high-res Photoshop files on my Patreon  (including step-by-step .PSDs, final .PSD + images, and step-by-step image files!)  I hope everything is to your liking, dear y'all; please let me know if you can't open any files! Thank you all so much for your gracious support and patience with my slow replies...  The cause behind this artwork is near and dear to my sisters and me, so I have waxed verbose in writing about it to y'all... 

I drew this artwork of a loving batty family for a hard-working friend and animator, Justin Gorski, who'll use this piece to promote his upcoming 3-D short film titled "Lil Bat!" Lil Bat's story strives to raise awareness of the dreadful "white-nose syndrome" disease that has been wiping out dwindling bat populations with frightful rapacity! Imagine being unable to sleep night after night because your skin and mucosal membranes are extraordinarily itchy/scratched raw, and there's nothing in your fridge and no running water... nor is there anything you can do to rid yourself of the fungi attacking your skin, nose, lips, arms. And you feel super sick. This rather sounds like the nightmarish I Must Scream and I Have No Mouth...! 

Bats affected by white-nose syndrome are reeling from all of these experiences (and more) during their wintry hibernation season, when there are no insects and unfrozen water to consume... and when uninterrupted rest is a must. Suffering from illness, exhaustion, and dehydration, millions upon millions of benevolent, insect-nomming bats died from white-nose disease in droves over the past ten years. The italicized bit hit us hard when I was drawing this piece: 

Current estimates of bat population declines in the northeastern US since the emergence of white-nose syndrome are approximately 80%. [...] It is unlikely that species of bats affected by white-nose syndrome will recover quickly because most are long-lived and have only a single pup per year. 
-- www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_info…  

Diligent (and highly concerned) scientists have rolled out promising cures (bacteria VS fungi battles, aww yiss) over the years!! In summery Georgia, where my sisters and I live, we can see tiny and curious bats very softly chittering around street lamps, where they munch on the entranced insects drawn to the light.   These tiny (and sometimes humongous!) mammals are incredibly wondrous in anatomy and lifestyle... 

Thank you so very much for reading all of this.  _(:3」∠)_ 

(Here's a list of all free files from me!)