'Transfixion' in progress, wood-grain

I drew my own woodgrain pattern over the whole image in an attempt to create a more seamless transition between the figure, ground, and bubbles, and also to enhance the trompe l'oeil effect. The red bubbles show where I masked them and put each on it's own layer in PS so I could move them interdependently, which reminded me at the time of playing chess.

SEE THE FINISHED PIECE HERE: [link]

SEE ARE FLASH ANIMATION OF SEVERAL STAGES OF THE IMAGE HERE: [link]