Da Big Secret ...

No. You're not hallucinating. You have seen this image before, lower on this page.

I found the original photo while doing some cleaning up. It's amazing what you can find in your underwear drawer! I found this thing that ... uhhh, never mind. The important thing is I found this pic of Kirstie Ally as Lieutenant Saavik in one of the Star Trek movies (and I think she looks great whatever size she is ... so there!).

The point is that some folk wrote to me saying, "Oh, you worked from a still picture. It must have been much easier". *BUZZ* Wrong! Granted, a picture doesn't jitter or twitch like a model would. However, a still picture makes more details available to the artist's eye and capturing as much of that detail as possible is almost irresistible. Oh, an artist will add an original element or two just for originality. But trying to capture the expression or the overall look is a challenge.

There's no rule written in stone that says that this has to be so. Usually it's just the artist's particular preference. I did the basic sketch - where the eyes, nose, mouth go - within minutes. But to finish the art as you see it took me several days. It can be a blessing but usually it can become a curse. The more detail I put in, the more mistakes I notice. This seems to be some kind of super power or something because no one else seems to notice them. And this applies to Lieutenant Saavik as much as it does to the USS Enterprise. (Speaking of which I'm working on a sketch of the old ship except she's all screwed up, with big chunks missing and plasma spilling ... muahahaha!). By the way, a drawing of a live model is usually full of errors and looks kind of messy. But it also looks very natural.

But I digress.

Let's say I were to do a drawing of Cindy Crawford. I would, naturally, include her famous mole. But I would obsess forever over whether the mole was too big or too small, if it was too dark or too light. Oi! That's why many artists are such tortured souls.

So now you know the "secret" which is really no secret at all, I guess. Finally, I've always said that anyone with at least one eye and one hand can draw. It's just a question of taking the time to get your spirit into it. In the end, it doesn't really matter what it looks like. What's important is that you feel good doing it. Now that's the secret!