A Candid Prelimpse: My Work in Progress

Have you ever wondered what one of my pictures looks like before it's mightily painted (in the digital sense)? Well, I'm deeply flattered—assuming you said yes. (If you didn't, I feel more sadness than anger, and I'd like a word with you in private. Especially if you're a girl.)

This one's of Modern Lover and all-round cool guy Jonathan Richman... on the Astral Plane. (Hey, he sang about it—not me.) First I penciled it in, then I got my ink on with some Micron drafting pens, and—though I haven't done it in this case—sometimes I'll fill in large areas with black gouache and come back into them with white line work. (I like to do this for people's hair.)

So then I scan the whole thing, clean it up, and put the ink on its own layer—"comic book style." I devote another layer to the dot patterns I'd like to see. Then, finally, I commit to a color palette and begin my wondrous painting adventure.

Stay tuned for the finished image!