#gengarlovesclefable

Oooh I like this question a lot! It took me a while to really figure out how to make Laura look like Laura, but with some trial and error I’ve developed some tips and tricks. 

One of the most helpful strategies for me has been looking at reference photos of Laura Hollis or Elise Bauman. Sometimes I even save photos and trace over them to practice. People tend to frown upon tracing but it’s helpful to really get to know the contours of faces. 

My Many Faces of Laura Hollis drawing series was especially beneficial for learning how to make my drawings of Laura more accurate because I was drawing copies of specific screenshots from the show. 

Here are some more specific characteristics I pay attention to...

Eyes

Eyes are one of the most recognizable features on a human’s face! Laura’s got big round doe eyes and long lashes that makes her extra adorable. Just look at her! 

Eyebrows

We all know Carm is the queen of eyebrows, but paying attention to the shape of Laura’s brows can really add character to her! Hers are kind of a rounded arch, and are thicker toward the nose and taper out toward the sides of her face. This is also where a lot of her expression comes from! Check out this slightly risque comic from a few years back.

Nose

I think the nose is very important in making characters recognizeable. It’s something people tend to hold back on when drawing, but varying nose shape and/or size can take your character drawings to another level. Laura’s nose is kind of narrow at the bridge but broadens out at the end. If you draw her from the side, make sure you’re rounding the tip of her nose. Here’s an example, as opposed to Carm’s pointier nose:

Mouth

I like to draw Laura’s bottom lip fuller than the top lip. She’s got a signature pout, after all! And then there’s her smile. I love to exaggerate her smile and make it extra wide (and occasionally with dimples), like this:

Jaw/Chin/General face shape

You can also see from the examples above that Laura’s cheekbones and chin are pretty prominent, but her face is also relatively round and soft. If you’re drawing Laura and Carmilla together, accentuating the angles in Carm’s face while making Laura’s softer/rounder will really play into their characters and also add some nice balance and harmony to the drawing overall!

Body

This is another one of those things that artists are hesitant to branch out on, especially when it comes to drawing women. It’s something I’m working on as well. But if you want to make your Laura drawings look less like a generic female character, it helps to show off her muscles. 

Continuing on with Weekly Wisdom. This next one was gifted to us by @gengarlovesclefable <3

Prompt: Laura doesn't like talking on the phone, but Carmilla always calls her instead of texting. Carmilla admits that it's because she wants to hear Laura's voice.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20106925

So, as part of #WisdomWednesdays with @mymindwandersonbrokenfeet​ we were challenged to write a paragraph without using the backspace!

Here are three responses from super talented human, @gengarlovesclefable​

1. Laura finds Carmilla’s stash of retro toys and games from decades past in the attic of the Dean’s place.

Laura hangs Carmilla’s childhood embroidery on the wall of their apartment. The old dolls on the other hand, all roughed-up, and with their blank stares—Laura finds them unsettling. As soon as she admits this to Carmilla, she wants to take her words back. She can see it plain on Carmilla’s face that the thought of Laura finding her beloved dolls off-putting hurts. However, when Carmilla comes home from work the next day, she’s met with the sight of her dolls inside a new little home. The newly bought doll house doesn’t go together with the antiques at all, and the size is off. But there it is on display, stood up against the same wall as her embroideries.

2. Laura was the record holder for Pac-Man at the arcade, now suddenly she’s lost her title to some new comer.

Arcade games was the only thing Laura felt like she excelled at. Sure, she got good grades in school, but there was always someone with much better grades. Her high score in Pac-man, that’s something that would never be topped. Or so she thought until one day she went to the arcade after class and found her name bumped down from the top of the scoreboard—replaced by the initials CMK. She gawked at the cabinet long enough for the girl playing the next one over to notice. Laura asked if she knew who this CMK person was, and the girl said, “Yes. But you can call me Carmilla, sweetheart.”

3. Laura convinces Carmilla and Mattie to sign up for a ping pong tournament, because if they’re going to have super speed, it’s at least going to be used for good, right?