A small but ferocious mouse warrior in the shadow of a curb, surrounded by weeds. Lots...and lots...of weeds--based on a slew of photos I took in my alley last week. (You want the neighbors to look at you funny, hang out behind a dumpster photographing weeds. Hours of fun and confusion for all.) Five days later, my tablet hand is a cramped claw, but it was worth it.

Painter, Photoshop, and I must mention that this was inspired in part by the lovely stuff of Amara Telgemeier--if you've never seen it, go check it out. I'd done complex lighting, and complicated scenes, and realism with heavy outlines, but for some reason, I never put all three together until I saw her magnificent work and went "Damn! That's a great idea!"