BIG sketchdump right here. I've been working on a character design for my crow, Silas for the past few days. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps he's trying to tell me something. I might want to do a comic or at least some images with him in it. In any case, I don't really want to stick with the style of Tamino, where he appears, I want something more advanced, a bit more detailed. I think the cityscapes I've been working on have influenced this, as well as some images I've seen of places like Tokyo and Hong Kong. Those places really really call to me; I get lost in their detail and it makes me want to do SOMEthing with all of this. Silas is my messenger, my graffiti writer, the most urban of my characters besides the mice. And I've done things with them lately.

So I draw crows. There are some decent designs in here, but so many of them lack that elusive -something- that makes them more than just a drawing, that makes them a character. The top image is the closet I've come so far. I wanted to keep his short, somewhat stocky appearance, long arms, tail, but I wanted him to be a bit more detailed as well so that he wouldn't contrast so starkly against more 'realistic' city details I might draw. So, lots and lots of crows. There are some mistakes here, missteps and that's fine. That's what sketchbooks are for. I think a lot of artists hide these mistakes, and some make fewer than others. But here are mine for all (Vince) to see. I think it's important to show those mistakes so others know it don't all come out right the first time. Also, one never knows where a mistake here might lead to a success further down the road. I check my old sketchbooks all the time and every once in awhile, there's a nugget in the mud.