A Face in the Crowd

"Herman" pen and ink

At a recent SCBWI workshop, Lisa Cinar had our group draw faces.  We were given 10 minutes to fill a page.  I have done this exercise with her before, but it is always worth repeating.  Remember Sebastian?

This time, Lisa added a new spin.  We had to ask the character that we created questions like, "How are you?"  "Where are you?"  "What are you doing here?"

In the span of two hours I had a character named Herman, in the sewer, distraught, holding a fish, and looking for his friend, Gertie, the alligator.  It was a liberating exercise and I have the raw materials for a new story.

Herman Underground - charcoal

Here are some other favourite faces in my sketchbook, all in pen and ink: