After playing around somewhat with the rough sketch I felt like some parts of my composition weren't working and decided to change things up a bit before getting to this stage. In the final sketch I pay a lot more focus on details and clean line work. I have an obsession with making my lines as neat as possible, which is pretty redundant considering they very rarely show in my final painting. I guess I have a love for clean line work, and even if it doesn't stay around forever, I enjoy doing it!

Always use proper reference

Just a side note at this stage. I don't always use reference, although I probably should. I do however always reference my characters and the anatomy, but for this I figured I've drawn enough rocks in my time that I didn't need to. I was wrong. In the rough sketch the rock's shape just wasn't working and I didn't know why. It actually got to the point where I had to give up for that evening and come back to it the next day because I was so frustrated. However, I decided I should use proper reference and then threw this rock together in a matter of minutes. So always reference when able!

Rough Values