While working on the image "Torn" I managed to remember to save periodically so I could put together a step by step progression for you. The base figure and platform were rendered in Poser 8 pose from scratch. Posing, setup and render done in one evening, around 5 hours including the 2 hour render time (2500 x 2200 300dpi image using Ambient Occlusion, Image Based Lighting and Indirect lighting for you Poser geeks)The rest of the image was painted in Photoshop CS3. Total work time for this piece is around 13 hours, the bulk of which being the painting done in one sitting of around 8 hours.

 As always, click on the thumbnail image to open up the full sized one.

This is the base image straight out of Poser 8. If you've seen the finished piece you'll notice a very big difference.

 Here you'll see I've added a nice angry red gradient as the background. The colors have already started to set the mood and tone for the piece. The brightest point behind her head draws the eye and creates a focal point.

 Next I add clouds. I use a set of cloud brushes for Photoshop to do this. There are probably close to 13 l ayers of clouds here. Some layers are set to different layer modes such as Multiply or Screen. This is something you have to play with in order to get the desired effect you want. As with anything Ctrl+Z (Undo) is your friend. So now that we have a background that suits the general mood and tone let's move on.

 Here you can see that I've started painting in the barbed wire on her arm. I started with a flat gray (which you can see in the next image) and used the dodge and burn brushes to paint in shadows and highlights to give it depth. Liberal use of the Liquify tool to make it conform to the contours of her arm both before and after starting to paint the highlights and shadows.

 Here on the left you can see the flat gray tone I started out with on the barbed wire. That's what it looks like without shadows and highlights. Rule of thumb is that shadows add depth and highlights make something pop. Also you can see here I've started sketching in the basic shape for her hair, which I will paint last.

 Okay, now we can see the difference between the flat gray and the final shaded barbed wire .

 Details make all the difference. It wouldn't make much sense to have her arms wrapped in barbed wire, pulling at her and not have her bleeding now would it? Likewise if she was bleeding it wouldn't make sense  if she were bleeding to not have blood on the floor beneath her arms. Details.

You'll also notice between image 6 and 7 that the tone has deepened.  I've duplicated the figure layer and used a Smart Blur filter on it then set the layer mode to Overlay and reduced the opacity to 50%. This gives it a slightly softer look and deepens the tone.

 Blood added to the left side arm and floor and some to her shoulders, legs and face for effect.

 Now we start on the hair. Here you see I've filled in around the outline I originally sketched. Over on the right you'll see the color pallet I am using for her hair color. I started with a flat base color and used a smudge brush to pull out the shape giving it individual strands.

 Using a lighter color from the pallet and on a separate layer I start painting in lighter strands and highlights.

 New layer, more strands in a still lighter color. Same brush.

 Lighter color and smaller brush, I select "lock transparency" in the layer pallet and paint in brighter highlights.

 OK several things have happened here. First I select all my hair layers and duplicate (saving all your work in case something gets screwed up later). Then merge the duplicated layers and hide the individual ones. After that I take the burn tool, use a small sized soft round brush, set the exposure low, around 10%, and start to paint in shadows. I start at the part line and then the underside. Next, use the dodge brush and paint in highlights. Check where your light is coming from so that your highlights occur in a natural spot. Once you have some shadows and highlights painted in take a small round smudge brush set to about 60% and start pulling the shadows down from the part line and into the hair. Now, I use the smudge brush to pull out some of the individual strands to give it a more painted feel. Be careful here though because you don't want to over smudge and lose all of the detail.  I continue to use the dodge and burn brushes for more shadow and highlights. Again, be careful here not to go too far.

Once you are satisfied, duplicate the merged hair layer, select lock transparency on the copy, move it underneath the painted hair and use a large round brush and black and fill it in. Uncheck lock transparency and use a gaussian bllur filter, shift the layer slightly in the direction your shadows fall in the image, reduce the opacity of the layer to around 40 or 50 percent and then erase anywhere shadows don't need to fall.

Here is the finished image. A couple of final details. I added the shadow for the barbed wire on the ground on the left, and using the same technique I used for the hair shadow added the shadow for the barbed wire against her skin on both sides. I've also added both a Curves adjustment layer and a Color Balance adjustment layer over the top of everything. This both deepens and balances out the tone and color.

Signed and finished!