[Steps] - Sky-High (free .PSD files!)

 ~Free~ Photoshop steps/final files (and high-res steps/final images) of this artwork are up on my Patreon, where I regularly upload big freebie packages that I hope you enjoy!!
  

If this image is too blurry, the high-res process steps in the free Patreon bundle are much crisper and bigger!  

Closeup (of our digital girl, Charit [original character]) - and really blobby birds (birbs? borbs?) and high-resolution final piece:
    

I originally drew the very first artwork, which is this old piece --

 

-- intending to give it as a gift to preciously kind people, but felt that the final result that I uploaded really wasn’t good enough; there are so many areas that need improvement (like anatomy) and the values (lights/darks) are all very, very light (the old piece definitely needs more contrast! Details are difficult to make out.) -- I'm still awfully worried that the old artwork is making your eyes hurt (or that prolonged staring will result in sore eyeballs...!) Please do not allow yourself to suffer, if so! m(_ _)m;;;

I decided to take the background of the old artwork and try to improve it as much as I could! This was the impetus behind the final Charit + birds + clouds + skyscape piece.