revised drawing with added background

[masque]

What is the significance of the standing figures behind the main subject?

Boringly or disappointingly they have no conscious significance at all.
It started as a wet afternoon doodle of a figure on a dark background. I added a landscape backdrop which gave background and foreground interest with a gap in the middle so I drew a very rough figure in the grass; no meaning, this isn't art, just filling space in a composition. Musicians do it all the time adding little twiddly bits during the final mixing.
Derek

[pauland]

They certainly add to the atmosphere. You have moody down to a fine art.

[Rik]

You better frame this as quickly as you can, Derek.
Before any more mushrooms sprout!
I see one has popped up in the bottom left corner.

Brilliant work, Derek.

[gray]

Framed it should be, Derek.

[ACE]

Just making a wet afternoon doodle a little more complete. Obligatory thorny, leafless trees, birds and most important toadstools. All the necessary elements of a nonexistent story waiting to be a childrens classic.

How did you create the background? Wacom pen tablet? I'd be very interested in any info, as this to me seems like it would take FOREVER with what I know. Thanks.... And nice drawing!

[masque]

How did you create the background? Wacom pen tablet? I'd be very interested in any info, as this to me seems like it would take FOREVER with what I know. Thanks.... And nice drawing!

By the background do you mean the trees, which is actually one tree cloned and resized many times, or do you mean the grass on the hill side which is a bitmap from the fill gallery - MOSS - this is faded in the distance overlaid with the clouds as mist. Again only one cloud cloned and reused in various places with varying degrees of transparency and feathering.
And yes, all the drawing is done very freely and loosely using a Wacom. It would be very laborious to do much in the way of cross hatching using a mouse as the drawing tool. Even with a tablet its still not particularly natural, as with a pen on paper, as you can't rotate the drawing on screen so the angle you are drawing at is sometimes very uncomfortable, which leads to scribbly marks rather than neat cross hatching unless you devote hours to do it very carefully - which I don't. (that would be on my wish list for future versions) It's not photo realistic I'm after generally speaking, I've got a nice little camera for that.
I've attached the .xar file for you, or anyone else, to pull apart if interested.

[Rik]

Your Xara file is a great gift, Derek.

[masque]

Your Xara file is a great gift, Derek.

You, and anyone else interested, are welcome. Happy Saturnalia.

[ACE]

You, and anyone else interested, are welcome. Happy Saturnalia.

Awesome ! I appreciate that!... I just received my Wacom a week ago and am afraid to use it (Can't seem to break my habit of using pen tool and mouse).

I normally draw technical, perspective drawings so I wonder - was the Wacom worth the money I spent? I guess time will tell.

Nice drawing Masque!