Masks 2

I've written a number of times about how emotionally, people wear masks in place of their actual faces. Sometimes the face is more horrifying than the mask, because the face tells the truth when people seem to want to hear "pretty lies", to quote Joni Mitchell.


I've also written about how I sometimes feel chained at the bottom of an ocean or lake, cut off from the life and light that hovers above me. I can only talk about that sort of thing here, but I do have a vision of what that forlorn, sunken figure looks like. I'm just beginning to sketch him out and give him form. He's reminiscent of the old Invisible Man movies and the image evoked by the H.G. Wells novel...but only a bit.


I'm introducing him here for the first time. He's rough and unpolished, but I have to start somewhere. I don't have a lot of time for actual drawing, so I have to take what I can get. Here he is, rendered in stages.

The first image will probably not have enough contrast to see very well on your computer screen but after all, it is just lightly sketched out on paper. The next version should be a bit more robust.



The third version was rendered with a sharpie. I wanted the thick lines and dark blacks in contrast to the white surface of the paper. It looks kind of cartoon-like, which is an effect I can appreciate. It still lacks depth, though.

The final version of this image is the blackened in shadow areas with texture added using a smaller ink pen plus an ordinary number 2 pencil. The only color I allowed was the green tint for the goggle lenses. This didn't turn out as I wanted, but it gives at least the general idea of what I have in mind for my masked, mute alter ego.



I haven't done anything of this sort in quite awhile so it feels as awkward to me as it probably appears to you. As time permits, I'll continue to develop this character; this other side of my soul, and eventually be able show you (if you're interested and willing) what lurks in my imagination.