Go Kill Everybody and Come Back Alone

An actual title of a spaghetti western directed by Enzo Castellari.  Thought it would be a good post title...  Although I dont know who's going home in this picture.

Could  have worked on this one for a lot longer but finally I had to just let go and declare it finished.  I wanted to do a single figure that that implied all the action leading up to this pose. The empty bandoliers, the bullet holes in his hat, and the blood trail left behind imply all the action leading up to this.  The vultures, the posse of guns surrounding him and the lit stick of dynamite clue you in to what's coming next... if you could only imagine!

"¡Diga hola a mi amigo pequeño!"

Heres some close ups of the piece. I did it in a giant format (too giant) but I'm always unsure what scale to do these things at.  As soon as I put the revolvers in I couldn't stop laughing. This guy is so screwed!  Adding texture to this really made it feel like a western to me.  Those Italians use some cheap film stock!  Anyway, you can click on the closeups to appreciate the texture.

I needed a reference for for this kind of Spanish-Mexican village.  Looking around the internet I couldn't quite find what I wanted but it turns out my best reference was the game Red Dead Redemption!  A treasure trove of 3D modeled western style villages.  I could walk around and get any perspective I wanted on any building.  In the end all I needed was a quick sketch to have faded in the background layer but it was nice to know I had such an extensive reference. 

I love drawing worn out, leathered faces and this guys was no exception!  Irises are always one of the last and most difficult things I add.  I would give everyone batman eyes if I could but when done right irises can breath a soul into a face.  Also, I like really big, gaudy hats on a character. They can give added presence to the face and an extra dimension to their head.

Cowboys are cool but as a kid I thought Don Diego de la Vega always dressed the best. Whatever those stylish Spanish sashes  that you see in colonial California were I wanted to add one here.  Guy Williams will always be my favorite Zorro!