Hi All! 

I have a half sleeve started right now with an artist that I’m really excited about. Pls keep in mind this is after our first session, so we have chainmail to add and a lot of detail as well. He said it was gonna start out “more hazy” and become “more clear as we add detail. I am really happy with where we started!! He asked me at our first appt if I will want to eventually go for gray wash (just diluted black ink right?) or shade in with opaque grays. The piece is an armor sleeve, but Imm really torn about what I want to end result to look like. My impression of some opaque gray pieces is that they have the potential to come out a bit comic-y, or in general more leaning toward the suggestion of synthetic textures. One thing I do not want for the sleeve is a “sci-fi” look. I want it to look like metal, but I don’t know if a hyper realistic metal will look good. Gray wash would be more incorporated into my arm, I’m guessing, almost giving more of a “part of my arm” effect than “sitting on top of it”. Lastly, the render he showed me for a first draft of opaque gray looked very flat to me, with almost no impression of light. Obviously I can ask him for another draft, but he is really busy and I want to ask for a sort of general opinion first. Can shine be achieved with opaque grays? If anyone has any advice or can help me ask the right questions, let me know! 

GRAY WASH vs OPAQUE GRAY?