Then And Now: Carmelita in the Morning

I think once in a while I will take one of my older pictures from my gallery and try to redraw them in my current style as sort of a progress check.
I do believe I have come very far since then; but there are still areas that need improving. Particularly when it comes to posing, anatomy and light placement. Still; it never hurts to revisit an old piece and give it an update.

For among my first pieces to do this; I chose a pic I did of Carmelita Fox years ago after having played Sly Cooper and The Thievious Raccoonus. Suffice to say; it totally changed me for years to come in terms of what I would be drawing. And like so many guys; I couldn't help but fall for the lovely and vivacious Ms. Fox. There was definitely a time during my fan art years where I drew characters on what I assumed their daily lives would be.

Among them is how Carmelita looked in the morning. The first pic shows it being a bright sunny day in Paris while she pours her morning coffee.
Years later when the comic prior to Sly 3 came out; I discovered that Carmelita doesn't drink cover. So part of the update was to have her instead pour herself a nice cup of tea.
Which is what she's doing.
Another update is in her apparel. The first pic shows her night shirt having a wavy stripe pattern; that cheap pattern stuff already in Photoshop. In the update I simply had it remain a solid blue.
In the old pic; she wore regular socks halfway up to her knees. In the recent pic, she is wearing those smaller socks you wear while either working out or just sleeping.

But I can definitely tell that despite how tired she looks in the first pic; the second pic she looks absolutely exhausted. What was she doing all night? XD Also look how bright it is in the first piece. The new update has the morning sun painting the sky with oranges and browns; giving Carmie and early "It's gonna be one of THOSE days" type feels. 
While the eyes were a little bloodshot in the first piece; the second piece I gave her eyebags and a bit of darkness underneath them. Must've been pulling an all nighter.
Her hair looks real messed up too even more so. I won't lie; she kinda looks like she either is coming or came down with something. (Poor girl.)

Both pics do retain one thing though: the note that clearly underlines her main goal on her 'Things to Do' list: CATCH SLY!!
I know the ending in Thieves in Time. Let's just say the update is prior to the events of that game; and prior to the events of Sly 3. It's essentially a retelling of my pic that was made during the time of Sly 1. the only major difference is she is drinking tea now and not coffee.

OK so I think I got a lot better at drawing her; particularly her face. The figure's a bit crooked though and the colors still look a little mish mashed. I won't lie; when you re-draw an old piece from scratch; it can be a bit trickier than one imagines. O.o

Still I kinda like her update a bit more. Carmelita is one of those girls who doesn't show any signs of fatigue or tire when out in the field. But like the rest of us on our off days; it seems time does catch up to use now and then.

Carmelita Montoya Fox belongs to Sanzuru Games