Sketchbook Gryphon and Warrior

Most of the time, my sketchbook is a place for doodles and beginnings. Other times I find myself compelled to finish out the tiniest details of a character or scene. Here is one of those obsessive little drawings. 

This image of a warrior girl and gryphon was drawn in my moleskin 9x12" sketchbook. The white spots are where I erased so much that it took the yellow coloring off the paper. I was initially going to draw an entire scene, but liked isolating the girl and the creature and leaving it like that.

I find I'm most likely to finish out a sketchbook drawing if I am drawn the the face of my character, and I really like the strength in hers. I also like drawing hair and clothing in a decorative way. Because this image is so simple, the little details (like the pattern on her sleeves) are more important to the overall piece.

I like adding patterns to almost everything I draw, apparently including Gryphons.

And most of my characters wear boots. I'm not sure why.

Sometimes I'll scan my sketchbook pieces into the computer and clean them up. Here is an example of how this drawing looks after I bring it into Photoshop, add a little contrast, clean it up a bit, and change the image to black-and-white.  

I'd like to continue this series and draw more warrior girls riding peculiar pets. When I do, I'll be sure to post the results!