May the 4th be with you (better late than never)

I’m going on record here with this shameful truth: I’m not really a Star Wars person. Yes, I grew up in the 70s and 80s when all things Skywalker, Force, and Lightsaber were all the rage, but it just wasn’t my thing. I have watched all of the movies multiple times, and I can’t tell you I remember a single plot point save that Darth Vader is Luke’s father, Princess Leah with the cinnamon bun ears is his sister, R2 is adorable, and C3PO is probably on the spectrum, if there is such a thing for robots.

HOWEVER, I don’t shy away from challenges. So when this week’s I am the diva challenge was for the tangle “Brella” PLUS (optional) take on the Star Wars theme, I couldn’t help myself. Hence, Yoda. I keep wanting to call this Yo-Da-Man, because when my kids were little, my brother, the esteemed Uncle Michael, used to say “You da man!” to them and they would answer, “No, YOU da man!” and they’d go on like that for an exceedingly long time, all enjoying the game.

Yo-Da-Man

So, meet Yo-Da-Man. I like using grid patterns like Brella as backdrops so that whatever’s on top really pops, but I probably over-shaded around Yoda since I was working with my bedroom lights at half power and couldn’t really see what I was doing. I used Vano inside Yoda to give the sense of the “light side” as opposed to the “dark side” of Star Wars lore. Then I shaded inside of him to make it look as though light was radiating through him, but still preserving his primarily green complexion. I’m pleased with that, although I really need a broader range of colored pencils to accomplish the fade I was attempting.