Vanguard: Kiss of Nemain

Nemain is a very difficult subject to make art for, but I think you've done a good job. The light levels and color palette are complex and multilayered, her armor is illustrated with a sense of grandeur and occult beauty, and the witch's expression is appropriately cold for a subject so persecuted. Like the original designer, you've drawn her armor to enhance her silhouette--take it away and Nemain would be a very frail woman. This is all good.

But looking at her, it seems that your artwork has fallen to the same pitfalls as the original artists. The difficulty with Nemain is that even in the source material, her feminine traits are grossly exaggerated to the point where any real woman with said traits would be enduring constant pain. Unlike the source material, your Nemain appears to have more filled out thighs and doesn't seem to be lacking (as many) internal organs in the waist, which alleviates these problems somewhat. The issues are still there, but you've managed to work around them a bit, and that is commendable.

In the process though, her proportions appear off. If Nemain were moved to face the viewer directly, her hips and bust would still be too wide when compared to her waist. Stylistically, your Nemain contains all of the same elements that make the original appealing, but this depiction is sadly not immune to the original's flaws.

The technique is impeccable in spite of this, and while the background may be simple, it contains enough elements of complex lighting and colors that invade the centerpiece that the image becomes very strong. Nemain is affected by her background, which has the dual effect of making her beauty both marvelous and mystifying.