I believe that impulsion and spontaneity are what make art what it is. You can replicate a reference perfectly, but if you don't add your own flair to it, what differentiates it from a photo? For me, those creative liberties come from impulsive decisions. If I am doing my craft and suddenly realize that I could add an element that would enhance or greatly modify my work, I will not hesitate to do it. By letting my spontaneity guide me, I am able to improve my main idea and end up with a completely different result than what I anticipated.
That is why the first brushstrokes I laid on my huge canvas were wide and spontaneous strokes, that I ended up keeping as a background, loving the movement it added to the composition. Then, all I had to do was to paint all the layers of shading with colours that emphasized the contrast between both characters,
In the end, I learned so much while doing this painting and, most importantly, had a lot of fun. I could not be more proud of the final result and I hope you like it too!