The Apprentice

My goal was to simplify the original artwork I did last year.
In such detailed scenarios it is not convenient to show so many detailed elements in the scene, or it becomes impossible for the eye of the viewer to follow everything in the scene, many details in those elements generate "visual noise" and it is important that first to keep the order of hierarchy in the image, where we want the viewer to look first, then second and third, the less hierarchy a part of the image has, the less detail the brush strokes have. To lower the level of visual noise in the first image, I painted over them so that instead of showing them suggesting them and the viewer completes the element, this is key to making your image successful.
Also adjust the contrast level and black and white balance, you have to be careful to avoid the contrast being too high between the maximum black and white. I know that many novice painters are tempted to paint the dark parts absolute black and the lit parts pure white, it is a mistake to go so low on the scale of values.
Beyond this i felt quite limited by my client sugestions in first atemp