dark me

This idea came to me while i was sitting at my computer, waiting for it to load. Before it loads, the screen is, unsurprizingly, blank. Therefore i am able to see my reflection in it, with the aide of my lamp (which i keep on the shelf above my monitor). So, i was staring into the blackness of my screen, and watching me stare back, and noticing how striking and dramatic the lighting on my face was there. So i decided to try to 'trace' it.

this is where the fun part began, because i really had no idea how this would turn out. I grabbed my tablet and a large fuzzy brush, and closed one eye and followed the light spots on my face with the tablet. next layer... i do the same, with a slightly smaller brush. eventually i'm left with only a tiny brush, and then i get to open my eye, and blend the layers together.

the result was quite nifty, but a little on the... abstract side. nothing wrong with that, really, and so i saved a copy. but then i thought, what if i just touched it up with some smudging... or some selective dodging/burning, or perhaps if i just took my paintbrush, and dabbed here and there....
and before i knew it, i was obsessed, filling in individual strands of hair in my beard, strengthening this bit of contrast, lessening that... and eventually i got to the point where if i did ANYTHING to the picture, it would not be an improvement.

So i ran a Colorize on it.

and declared myself done.