There's a Lion in my Bathroom - sketches 10

Double figures with the sketches! I'm sure this next could be fodder for a country song, "The tale of Tex, the slowest gun in the west". Short and sweet, that's all you need to know about the "Tex" text. Now I know which one of these sketches I like the best, but I think it might be going a little too far for younger readers...? I recall having pages in books from my childhood that stay with me till now (the head on photograph of a great white shark swimming straight at me in my "Dangerous Sea Creatures" book for one...the other Great White eating a horses leg makes 2... both were scary and fascinating in equal measure) but maybe a corpse cowboy in his coffin is too intense...? I hope not though.

I like the fact that Robin Hood's arrow is sticking out of Tex's hat. Bit of an in joke for me alone as I'm pretty sure Robin didn't operate much farther west than Derby :) I'm really happy with the portrait shot of Tex in his tall 'swiss cheese' hat but I think it has something to do with the sepia "Wanted poster" feel to it. As with all these sketches the final illustrations will be in greyscale. I've only left my '3 colour pencil' sketches as they appear straight from the sketch book to show how I like to plan things (OK some digital tone as I cannot help myself tinkering, even at this early stage). Hopefully the differentiation of elements in the sketches by pencil colour will be born through to the final illustrations using contrast alone (that's the plan!).

Sketch sheet 3 has the old hat 'cowboy full of bullet holes leaks whiskey in the saloon' gag. I think this is a bit tired and can be difficult to read clearly but I had to get it down in a thumbnail to clear my head.