Soul-searching

I'm still wandering across The Emerald Isle avec my lovely wife, but here's my latest finished project, thanks to the magic of the Interwebs.

A friend once told me about a guy they had met while travelling in the south of Asia; apparently, he'd sold his house, packed his bags and set out to do some travelling...which he was still doing, four years later. I suppose this piece is a little inspired by him.

Pencilled and inked versions:

      

Near the end of the colouring stage, the image looked like this, but it just seemed boring and lifeless to me:



My problem was solved when I accidentally applied a brown colour to all of the black, which immediately gave it a different feeling, and, with a bit more work, I eventually ended up with this: