Medusa Concept

This was an assignment for my intermediate photoshop class. I never finished it while the course was running, but the teacher was very happy with what I showed him at the time. I finally found the time to complete it. 

I wanted to do a different version of Medusa than one normally sees. Ancient records portray her as a great beauty with bird wings and snake hair. This is why I didn't portray her with a serpentine lower half. I wanted her sensual female form to be the focus of the piece. I didn't do the wings, however, because they would have obscured the soldier. In their place I added the glowing cobra hood pattern to show that she is still a monster. In place of a mop of snakes, I gave her dreadlocks with serpents issuing forth from the tips. Dreads obviously have a snake-like quality. 

I originally wanted to add aged pillars and torches to the walls, but I'm a lazy artist. I may get around to this in the future. The cave seems kind of bland.