Coffee beans
I was reading about slide mounting in Freeman Patterson and Andre Gallant book last week, and I was thinking that this effect should be achievable in Photoshop. I was thinking about layer overlay and some texture slide. I had this photographs of coffee beans and when I was looking on the Internet for something to match it with, Pink Ink studios and its Texture Tuesdays were just what I needed. This wood texture was my first choice, I can say I pre-visualized this illustration before I even sat down to make it.