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 Finally Got Some Sketches Uploaded     I've been trying to incorporate foreshortening into my character sketches. It took a while but I finally made one of Spiral that I like:   Noticeably her arms protrude into the foreground and background. The face turned out really well. To explain my process...     I start with a perfect circle then extend it out into an egg shape. From there I draw a stick figure of the pose. This is a very important step as it captures not only the flow of the drawing but the proportions as well. You want to get everything right on this step. I often plan this out but find it looks awkward then start over but use the first sketch as reference to get the next one right. You can see how I planned Spiral out below.     Draw a strong pose. Action poses are hard but worth it. Make it interesting. Have in mind what they're doing. Don't just draw them standing there.       Here's the stick figur...

 Character Bios      I'm considering making a label for character biographies and adding concept art to each one. This way people can find new insight and description for my characters when reading my book.      It took several failed attempts but I finally got a good sketch of Spiral. Drawing women is hard. I have massive respect for comic book artists. There's a formula for drawing the face: first I draw a circle and extend it into an egg shape. Then I draw a line halfway down the head and divide it into fifths; this will become the eyes. The head is five eyes wide with a single width in between the actual eyes. Then I draw an equilateral triangle from the outside corners of the eyes down the face. Where this ends marks the mouth. One third of the way up from the mouth is the bottom of the nose. Even with these guidelines, my faces often go awry. It's hard to get the eyes to mirror each other but practice makes... well better anyway.  ...

 The Journey of Personal Growth      Remember that rough draft sketch (March 16, 2021)? Here it is filled out:     This is Spiral, another guardian dragon. By posting these images I hope to track my growth as an artist. I've come a long way but still feel there is much that can be improved.     I'm always growing as a writer too. My book went through two rewrites; each with significant changes. Originally Sayth was not the main character but I found him to be the focus of all the action and changed that. In the second draft he and Spiral had a son but that character did nothing but muddy the water by getting in the way while serving no plot purpose. He was removed but the entire book had to be rewritten. Now Sayth and Spiral are sharing an early romance.     It's just as well. My writing has improved significantly since I began in my high school days. I don't know how people can write a novel in a month; mine took ye...