Yeah, I know. . . this is something totally different for me here. I've had a lot on my mind lately and decided that it was time to shake off the toons for just a moment (as much as I love them) and take a long, hard look at myself.

This whole deletions thing from my gallery has drudged up some bad stuff from my past (see comments from latest journal entry [link] ). I'm sure most of you can relate to the idea that art can be one hell of an outlet, and I'm fully aware of why I do what I do. Well, at least I think I'm aware, which is why I think it's so important to step back like this once in a while and try something new.

Anyway. . .

Using a photo for reference (and later for color swatches) I made a pencil sketch and scanned it in. From there I tried various things to color it with Corel, starting with the art media layer, eventually getting frustrated and converting it to a raster (which I'm much more familiar with). Keeping the glasses on a separate level, I used the smudge tool, the paint brush, the airbrush, various filters inbetween steps, the warp tool, the burn and dodge tools, and just about everything inbetween.

So in other words, this is an original work, not a manipulation or edit of a photograph.

Oh, and as with all my digital work, I use the touchpad of my laptop (I've grown quite fond of it). One of these days I'm gonna have to splurge and get a tablet.