This is the illustration I created of Darth Vader from Star Wars: Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back. Referencing the back cover of the storybook I had as a kid, I created the 24" x 17" illustration in pencil on drawing paper as a birthday gift for my sister (she’s a fan). I stroked the drawing lightly with twisted up toilet paper to de-emphasize the pencil lines (before I discovered blending stumps). The reference picture had Darth Vader surrounded in colored smoke and steam; the challenge was interpreting how to illustrate the surface detail on the character, while removing the environmental effects.