Ok, I admit, I'm on a roll here with the Grimmjy and Ulquiorra pics. I really should do some of my other favorite characters- because I feel like a heel just not paying homage to them too- but for some reason, these two are demanding ALL my attention!

And also in all honestly, this is one of those pics that you guys will "get" better AFTER I finish the one I am working on now. Than why did I post this one first? Because I finished this one first and just HAD to post.

About the image- Inspiration
I was thinking of the "birthing" process of the Arrancars... and I figured that if Aizen spewed out a batch of them at a time- and they were all "infantile" like the one we saw being born- he had to have some kind of way of keeping them and "raising" them to maturity. Now we know that Grimmjy was already "mature"... but until I see otherwise, I tend to believe that there HAD to be some kind of "healing process" or "growing process" until they "finalized" their forms (Ripping off a bone mask that's attached to you should cause SOME sort of damage).
So playing again on the whole Jaguar and Ocelot theme, I figured- what if I paralleled an "incubator" scenario (with under developed babies) and a "menagerie enclosure" .. giving the currently developing "animal" Arrancars a safe warm place to grow into their forms?
And Aizen can charge 2$ entry fee to his menagerie cover the food and electrical costs!

About the Image: Technical Skill Example
And now a little example of what I preach: Remember how I said we at the studio ALWAYS have ref for our work? I'll just show you what I reffed for this image so you guys can get a sense of how important it is NOT to draw form memory, but to use some sort of guide when you draw:
This is the Jaguar image that inspired the over-all setting and pose of the image.
This was the pose ref for Ulquiorra.
This was the angle ref for Ulquiorra.
This is why the picture comes out "believable". Drawing from your heads is an ameture mistake- even when creating an original character you will ALWAYS have some anatomy guide, reference and color wheel.
You can change things- like I changed the perspective of the original Jaguar shot- but the ref HAS to be there.

P.S I also beg forgiveness form my sweat Ulqui! I'm so SO sorry sweetheart! I didn't want to blur you, but your were foreground element... I promise to make an image where it's Grimmjy's turn to be blurred, and you will be in focus!