#lawdraw

Sometimes, our own drawings can surprise us.

I've been trying to draw more, and in those times drawing more. By that I mean more than just heads, faces or clothes.

I've mused on this before, but last week I finally saw it pay off.

I was drawing a girl character from a story I've been brewing, and trying to have a character moment. I drew her in a moment of indecision, and got this:

Now is this the best drawing ever? Nope. Is it even accurate or on-model? Negative. Does it still have a massive journey to full clarity for a viewer as opposed to the author's fully informed eye? Oh my, yes. She could be confused here, or angry, rather than just indecisive.

Here's the wider sketch page for a little more context:

And a super quick draw-over for line clarity:

However: this little moment right here is Lily's character, not her look.

And as such this one little pen doodle -- one amongst a 15 min session last week -- will prove infinitely valuable moving forward into her development.

This isn't a model sheet for how she looks but rather who she is, even if it's just a teeny-tiny bit.

So, let me beat the drum one more time with greater passion: keep drawing moments, ladies and gents, and your characters will show up and surprise you.

Time to move over.

First off! Denki remains as vibrant and exciting as ever, and I encourage you to keep an eye on big things happening very soon.

I, however, am adventuring in another galaxy now, and am no longer working at Denki. I will always treasure my time at this company, and carry a great deal of excellent learning, amazing culture and simple good memories forward into life. A massive thanks to all of you.

So what of Denki Doodles?

This blog has been a joy to me. The journey from concept to finish is an often terrifying one, though always rewarding. Being able to share my tribulations and hard won solutions has been a great honour, and I have been blessed with tales of how some of you have been able to sidestep the quicksand I so often floundered in because of the lessons within.

So!

I shall carry on doing just that -- learning, sharing, teaching and trying: to be a better artist, storyteller and creator, and share every broken bone and great hurrah along the way.

You can follow my new blog here: jameslawdraw.tumblr.com

Denki Doodles shall remain as twas, and indeed, with full permission, I shall be linking to past musings, and I am sure moving forward Doodles will author much more, and better content than it has now.

So thank you all for following, reading and dissecting: and I’ll see you over at Lawdraw.

Keep on drawing.