Generally all of my art pieces start with a rough draft sketch of whatever I am trying to make. I thought it might be interesting for you to actually see one of those sketches.
Great sketch Zeus. tis a shame the client doesnt know what it wants. "Steampunk but more goth with modern elements." Hats are part of the steampunk ethos.
An interesting additional piece of information on this piece is that it was rejected by the client. Both of the reference photos they sent me has a hat in them and there was never a mention of anything else. When I got the client on the phone after sending this they said "Yeah I really don't want a hat on it."