Dusty

This is my submission for Illustration Friday. The word this week was "Dusty." I did a few different versions and I'd really like your feedback. Which do you like best and why? The problem I'm facing now is that because I'm fairly new to Photoshop and all its nifty tricks, I sometimes have problems differentiating between what's cool and what's cheesy. This means that I run a very real risk of making perfectly acceptable drawings and photos look like stills from 1980s MTV music videos, if you know what I mean.

Ah Springfield, you Dusty minx! During the sixties you made them swoon when you dressed up in glittering evening gowns and sang about sexy sons of preachermen. As you swayed back and forth, your tall hair swayed with you, every strand firmly shellacked in proper position. Might there have been little animals trapped inside? Perhaps. Could you have wallpapered a small bathroom with all the product used to keep it all in place? Most definitely.

But what really matters is that you were great. Just five years before you died, it became time to dust off the old beehive and be a star once again when Quentin Tarantino chose to include you in the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.

These were the thoughts bouncing around in my brain as I drew "Dusty."

Here is the original pencil drawing. The wig isn't as crooked as in latter versions.

And here is a version where I used my bathroom wall as a background. It seemed deserty to me and just looking at it made me want to cough which I thought was a good sign.

 

Comments

[Cassie]

Wow what a great illustration!! And such a great idea for the topic too!! Very cool!!

[Marcela]

¡¡¡Número uno y tres!!! Sola o perdida entre las arrugas -o dunas- del baño. Maravillosos ojos. Bravo, Johanna!!

[Johanna]

Thanks for all your feedback! As for that bathroom wall, I know it needs spackle but we currently use that bathroom to store the bike in so it hasn't been a priority!

[Liquidbrick.blogspot.com]

Definitely No.1 for me! She seems more of a unity having similarities between face and background, and the darker colour is more classy to me than No.2. Btw... I would not immediately dislike anything looking like a 1980s MTV still... I'm keeping that in mind as a challenge.
Well done!!

[Indigene]

They are all beautiful in different ways! You're a wonderful talent!

[heidi aldin monteleone]

This is great! I vote for the first Dusty. The details are more clear in #2, but I like the dustier appearance of 1.
I think you need to invest in some spackle, for the wall.. and Dusty.

[Johanna]

Thanks ladies! I guess the reason I submitted Dusty I was because it looked as though the whole thing was completely coated in dust and so was therefore Double Dusty!

[Lauren]

Wow! I'd like to swear but that may be inappropriate behaviour.... Definitely Dusty 2. It's the eyes. Dusty 3 makes me want to send the plasterer round. How about a dusty that's a bit crumpled, maybe even torn a little on the floor under a bed, or behind a wardrobe, somewhere the hoover doesn't reach.....