This is a revised version of the original, which I posted on February 14 [link]

Nothing pains me more than a popular pic that I can't stand to look at. When I initially drew this, I didn't think much about the exposure it would have, but nothing seems to get attention quite like this one. Problem is, looking at it again, I didn't really like how it looked at all...sure, it was fine then, but I've improved significantly since then. That said, I made the following changes.

1) Fully digital lineart. I hadn't learned the pen tool at all when I drew the first one, but since my lines were getting more and more jagged and inaccurate, I decided to test it out in a few areas. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of only correcting some lines and not others...this gave the picture a rather awkward appearance, with some lines being clean but rigid, while others flowed but still looked ragged. Now more familiar with the pen tool, I went back and redrew all the lines, breaking them up more so that I could follow the original lines closely. Definitely has a more consistent effect.

2) Background effects. The original sky had a greenish tint and no variation...the buildings were flat and as clear as the foreground. The clouds were a bit puffy, but nothing I cared for. I went ahead and produced a sky gradient to replace the original, then used a smudge tool on the clouds and blurred everything in the background. Still simple, but far more effective.

3) Shading. With my trusty adjustment layer now in play, I was able to remove the flat look on Fox and Krystal, as well as the coin Krystal's standing on. While I'm fine with the flat coloring, the depth from an actual background kinda calls for something from the characters as well.

That's pretty much it. For those wanting to know about the picture itself, Krystal is obviously a trophy in Super Smash Bros. (certainly common knowledge by now), and Fox just can't pass up the opportunity to make a crack about the situation. It's not every day he gets to be taller than her, either, but he'd better watch himself in the next game.

Fox and Krystal belong to Nintendo. Art belongs to me.