This is an experiment I started a couple months ago and finally found the time to wrap up. I'm playing with improvisational design here, starting with a very loose plan and then rendering little by little to a finish. Working with a deer skull on one side and a photo of a jelly fish on the other as reference (and the girl, obviously). It's really fun getting lost in there.
For the past few years, I've used my sketchbooks almost exclusively for working out roughs, thumbnails, and generally sloppy idea development and occasional life studies. I've never been the sort of person who's sketchbook was full of rendered, beautiful drawings. Getting to painting was always more exciting. The specific drawing time I've set aside has mostly been quick figure studies and pen practice. As a result, its been a long time since I did any drawing just for the sake of making a "finished" drawing. Well, with the time spent sitting behind convention tables in the past month or so where I had no paints available, I found the opportunity to do some pencil rendering and I had forgot how much fun it is! A great medium, this pencil and paper...