188: A Tale Of Theatrics

There's a long-ish story behind this fellow; and, to be entirely honest, his story began well in advance of this week's Illustration Friday theme of theater. But along the way he struck and overcame obstacles, had a near-death experience and then, earned a shot at redemption. What started as an honest attempt at drawing something – anything, really – without using my fine-nib Pigma Microns, was shunted to the wayside following a misguided stab at adding charcoal to the mix of übersoft pencil shading.

I wrecked it. I was mad. I almost tossed it in a theatrical fit of frustration.

Instead I let the drawing sit for days before eventually deciding to scan it anyways and use it for an attempt at some loose-and-dirty Photoshop colouring. Truthfully I didn't know where it was going to go. I tinkered with various ideas before Illustration Friday came along with its curious theme and I set to work honing this final piece. All told, from start to finish, it simmered for almost three weeks. The final illustration is concocted from a few different soft-lead pencils, charcoal, Photoshop colour layers and washes, an overlay of wood grain and a few other miscellaneous photographic offerings. You can garner a more detailed look right here, in my Flickr stream.