Channeling Mr. Poe Part 2

Once I was sure the Vincent Price caricature was working to my satisfaction, I began to address the background tones and the "ghost" of the dark poet. With Poe placed in the right spot, what remained was "pushing" and "pulling" the middle tones (the ones that create the most depth in a drawing) to acheive the maximum illusion of dimension.

Oh, and the moustache. Almost forgot the moustache.

Finally, the last details are added, including the very lightest and very darkest tones. This provides the extra "punch" needed to really bring Prince Prospero to life. By the way, the image of Price here is from THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, one of the best of Roger Corman's Poe films. Below is the final piece, ready to be matted and framed for display at the gallery show.

Channeling Mr. Poe Part 1

After a long absence from blogging (mostly due to a heavy workload and several convention appearances), I am back!

I recently participated in a group gallery show at Halloweentown in Burbank. The theme of this show was Edgar Allan Poe, and since I had already done a Poe portrait, I decided to do something a little different.

Here a step-by-step look at the creation of my pencil piece, a nod to both Mr. Poe and Mr. Price, who starred in many Poe-inspired movies for producer Roger Corman.

Starting with a simple sketch, the task is about building up tones, little by little: