studies for painting

Hi, I've been fortunate to have been quite busy lately working between moving, my birthday, and working at Ubisoft at the moment on some fun unannounced projects!

The above are some quick studies I had done for a concept painting for a client awhile back. I did these from the reference as a kind of prep for the final painting. The image on the right's shadows are a bit dark then they'd probably actually be, but that's do due to the photo ref. Normally that wouldn't be an excuse, but I changed it a bit on the finish painting.

Basically, by doing studies of the references individually as is, I bring that knowledge into the final painting to enhance it significantly. I try not to spend too much time on them, just focusing on getting good value and color. I think by doing this it allows me use the reference more effectively and prevents internalizing/drawing out of my head and stylizing too quickly.