"It's not lying...its looking at things another way"

The Scarecrow (Fiyero) walks on stage. He bends down & knocks on a trap door in the floor.
Fiyero: It worked!
He opens the door & Elphaba climbs out.
Elphaba: Fiyero! I thought you'd never get here.
She touches his straw face.
Fiyero: Go ahead, touch, I don't mind. You did the best you could. You saved my life.
Elphaba: You're still beautiful.
Fiyero: You don't have to lie to me.
Elphaba: It's not lying... its looking at things another way.

I guess this illustration is a massive spoiler if you haven't seen Wicked, sorry about that. Personally I think knowing Fiyero's fate of becoming the Scarecrow from the beginning helps you appreciate his character more.

I've always found this scene really sad. I feel like the fandom generally focuses on Glinda and Elphaba so much, that Fiyero's sacrifice gets completely overlooked. He loses absolutely everything, even his body, for Elphaba, which is a pretty huge deal anyway but especially when you consider how proud he is at the beginning of the musical. To go from being the popular guy at school whom everybody envies and wants to emulate, who can have his pick of anyone he wants to date, to become reduced to a scarecrow is major to him. But he's OK with it, because it means he gets to be with Elphaba and he’s finally happy.

Fiyero has always been one of my favourite characters, and I do find it kind of sad (although also understandable with time constraints) how much his role was reduced in the musical. Although Fiyero only properly features in one section of the book, his presence is felt throughout the rest of the novel as his fate affects Elphaba so much. In the book, he's a tribal prince from the Vinkus who the other students at Shiz are both intrigued and racist toward - they consider his culture "barbaric", his traditional tattoos "silly", and make detrimental comments about his dark 'ochre' skin. His 'otherness' is a big part of why he and Elphaba bond so strongly, and his section of the book is one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever read. I'm always adamant that Fiyero in the musical is much deeper than most give him credit for; Dancing Through Life is incredibly nihilistic, and his mask to hide his deep unhappiness is quickly seen through by Elphaba. But it's a shame that his character couldn't be explored more, so casual audiences don't just mistake him as a spoiled rich kid.

I spent a really long time working on this drawing - I started it last time I saw Wicked which was on 1st October, and have been working on it on and off ever since (more off to be fair, as I've had major surgery on my arm during that time too.) I'm mostly pleased with how it's come out, I'm still working on my style so there's a few elements that I'm still working on and ironing out. I stopped drawing this to work on my illustrations of Elphaba and Glinda that I posted yesterday, and all three of these drawings were done in Procreate. It's crazy how far I've come with the app, because I was struggling so much when I began drawing this, and finished it up today in a jiffy now I know what I'm doing!

I have a few more Wicked illustrations in the works, but I'm putting them on hold for now as I need to work on some other things. Although I'm seeing Wicked again next week, so I'm sure I'll come away with even more ideas!