Over at SHANE GLINES’s DRAWING BOARD forum there’s a new “jam thread” with a different subject matter in the SUPERHERO forum each month– this month’s theme is LITERARY CHARACTERS. Brings to mind Alan Moore’s LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN. There’s always many wonderful contributions to each subject– and I thought I’d use this month’s theme to springboard off of for a fun sketch for today. I chose Cervantes’ tragicomic hero DON QUIXOTE. He’s fun ’cause he’s MAD, I TELL’S YA…! So, here’s the sketch….

I’ve been using Blue SANFORD COLERASE pencils for years to do my sketches and layouts. I’ll lay out my figures and perspective, props, etc. roughly and (hopefully) lightly with the blue pencil, and then tighten it all up with graphite before enlarging the sketch or layout to transfer onto the art board using my light box. It’s become a crutch for me– I could just as easily just do it all in graphite, but I’ve become so used to using the blue pencil that I can’t stop. It’s like an athelete’s superstitious rituals. The particular blue pencil I’m using now is so short that I can barely hold it. I can’t even remember when I started using it, it’s been so long. But I’ve had so many successful sketches and layouts with it, that I’m feeling “superstitiously” reluctant to start using a new one. It’s really weird how I feel about this pencil… I know I’m going to have to replace it eventually…. Sigh.

OK– see you tomorrow.

Mike