Tentatively done with this... I'll likely let it sit for a few days, but even I can tell this still needs something. I think I may apply tones to it, since Manga Studio has such a rich library of 'em. We'll see what I do with that when and if I get to it.
Done in my spare time, probably took about 12 hours, all in Manga Studio EX with an Intuos. There's a ton of things I did wrong, but you can have the fun of finding 'em for yourself. There's some WIP versions in the Scraps, too, if you want to see some progressive shots.
Updates and revisions may occur, but if anyone feels like tackling it for color then have at it. Note that there's some interesting challenges to have fun with... two light sources, candles no less, a spinning steel blade, a whole bunch of fiddly gears to catch light and throw shadows, and some creative potential for textures and additional light sources from all the odd runes and such.
If you resize the aspect ratio, though, it makes a halfway nice wallpaper.
It deserves a spot in the coloring book of the Gods.
To find a male artist that does that is mind-blowing to me
Sure makes mine wobbly, anyhow.