The Mayor of Burnsland From Steve's Sketchbook
A Cast of Characters
To give the artwork in Steve’s Sketchbook a bit of a theme, I thought it would be fun to develop a cast of characters. After mulling over a few ideas, I came up with a question. What if Burnsland were a place? What sort of characters would occupy it? And with that, I was off and running to create the People of Burnsland. Not the real people of Burnsland, which would be Laura, Jaylin, and me. But rather just some imaginary people.
Of course, because it is a made-up question, I can answer it in any way that I want to. And as long as I can justify why those characters belong in Burnsland, then they fit. You will see what I mean as this project goes along.
But let’s get started…
The Mayor
Every place needs a mayor, someone to serve as a leader of sorts. The big cheese. The guy in charge. The one who does whatever it is that mayors do.
I started thinking of what the Mayor of Burnsland might look like, and I decided that the big cheese would be a big guy. I started out with a big oval and added some arms and legs. And of course a top hat, because it would be great if real mayors still wore those. The Mayor carries a walking stick more for show than for necessity, although it probably helps fend off chihuahua attacks. And because Burnsland isn’t really a real place, he doesn’t have real papers to keep up with, but a briefcase still makes him look more official. At least he is a happy guy, as all political figures should be.
Behind the Scenes
Here is an earlier look at the Mayor of Burnsland:
From this rough version, you can see a bit more of the original oval that I started with. I decided that was just a little too much and narrowed things down just a bit. You don’t want the big cheese to be too big, after all.
Also, I originally had him wearing some sort of flower with a ribbon on his coat. But later on, I decided to change the flower to a medal featuring the Burnsland “B”, which you might see later on other characters, too. That made a little more sense to me.
I liked this sketch when I drew it, and it looked even better with some gray-tone coloring. But then I ended up liking the final version even better.
Yes, the Mayor of Burnsland was a great place to start. Watch for more People of Burnsland coming soon!
By the way, this series was partly inspired by my friend Kyle, who is creating a cast of characters on his YouTube channel. Check it out!
Bible Verse
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval. - Romans 13:1-3
