Nice character design. I like the simple backdrop. It makes the gladiator stand out more.

Thanks - I placed it on his shadowed side and broke the edges of the figure's lit side to try to give the image a greater sense of depth.

Sweet image. May I ask where that quote came from, if it isn't one of your own that is?

“A Maximus, the Gladiator lies in every human being. When the time comes, your Maximus within you will come out. It is not called destiny, it is an extended automatic self reflex” ― Anoop Raghav (I don't know who Anoop Raghav is. I just think it's a dramatic gladiator quote)

awesome well done

Thank you!

a very sharp and clean looking illustration, like the way the light accentuates the figure

Thanks - it was my second try. The first version was very flat.

Gosh, this is interesting! It has the feel of 2D art but a lot of the shading I associate with 3D rendering. Very crisp detail. Are you using Poser?

Yes. I use Poser to create the scene, lighting, and rendering. I export the render as a PNG file. I enlarge the PNG using Topaz' Gigapixal AI I open the PNG in Photoshop and run it through a series of Actions designed to create another image of illustrated edge I take that image and composite it with the PNG. Finally I mask, adjust, and anything else (in this instance the painted background) as desired.