Sunday, January 11, 2009

Illustration Friday - Contained


This sneaky snake-oil salesman tried his best to convince his customers that the bottle he held contained the Elixir of Life (when in fact his bottle contained the "Exlixer" of Life - a cheap knock-off he made from the grease left in the bottom of the pot he used to cook his dinner the previous night).

I tried something a little different in this illo. I didn't ink it, and painted over pencil. The pencil got kind of smeary, and I think I'll stick to inking in the future, but it was a fun experiment.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's great to experiment! Could you still ink it to see the difference? I love his facial expression and the splash of color with the background, plain.

Anonymous said...

this guy looks great! i like the 18th century brillantined parting of his hair ;-)

Vanessa Brantley Newton said...

Hey Michelle, I think I brought some cold medicine from him once. The dirty rat made of with my money and I finally find him over at your place!!! he he he
This is super! The illustration is brilliant! Great, great job on this one. He is such a character too.

Lynne the Pencil said...

Great character. You've really captured him with the grin and the oiled hair!

Anonymous said...

I really like your technique. Never trust that salesman though. You've captured the character perfectly.

Heather said...

I think the effect adds to the character of this guy. But your inked then painted pieces do have clearer color which is also nice.