[CLICK FOR FULL SIZE PLEASE!]

...aka Indio and his gang from Sergio Leone's For a few dollars more.

Okay, I'm posting this thing XD I started painting it some time ago as a side project while working, which is a bit uncharacteristic for me since I tend to focus on a project, finish it and post it straight away. This one I've been sketching the thumbnails one day, made the rough lineart the day after, and so on... All the while taking screencaps and notes about the process since people ask me about tutorials from time to time. Then I dropped it for a while and got back the other day - at that point I was like, "screw taking caps and all, I have to finish this", so I did it. Actually I got to the breaking point where I said "I'm done with this whether it's finished or not", and probably Indio's leg is too long (it sort of worked with the flat background but not so much with the added perspective I guess...), but I'd rather save the experience for next time rather than tweak this pic any further XD

From left to right: Groggy (Luigi Pistilli), Nino (Mario Brega), Indio (Gian Maria Volonté *swoons*), Wild the Hunchback (Klaus Kinski). It was only when I was happily working on the final sketch that it occurred to me - all these actors died around the early 90's (Sergio Leone died in 1989). Pistilli had the saddest story: he committed suicide, apparently due to the bad reviews his latest theatre work was getting, and to the failure of his relationship with the singer Milva. I also read that he had a son who died not long before, and he never got to cope with the fact. :C

Okay, enough with the sadface. Because this movie rocks my socks. It's emotionally gripping in a way you wouldn't expect. And I just love the final duel [link] (obviously spoilerific if you haven't seen it).

Pencil sketch, Photoshop CS2

Closeup: [link]
Process file: [link] [link]
"old photo" version: [link]