2024 Daily Doodle Diary - Batch #1 - Complete and utter nonsense!

Hello everyone, 

Man, it's already the middle of January and this is my first post!

How are things so hectic all the time T_T

I am nearly done with the Process Video for this month, and I also have a few sketchbook pages and a 2024 "plans and projects" post to share with you all, and I'm hoping to get a couple of small paintings done before the end of the month so I can ship the rest of your rewards out, but in the meantime, as our send-off into 2024 on here, here are a few Daily Doodles!

I know I sort of (completely even) fell off the wagon with my 2023 diary, but mostly because I was so steam rolled by 2023 that I needed a breather. I entered 2024 with a renewed sense of excitement for the project, but with a strong determination to keep it light and fun. 

Hence, the, as the title says, complete and utter nonsense of this first batch!

The goal starting off was simply to get my pen on the paper and to let that be enough. Just lines. A few words. Nothing fancy.

My parents were staying with us for a few days (their first time visiting since 2018!), so time was scarce, and fun was primordial.

Not gonna lie, I love the 4th. It's silly and I was giggling to myself, having plenty of the aforementioned primordial fun. 

For some reason, I found myself enjoying drawing silly little cartoonish faces, a style I have no particular desire to bring into my professional work, and therefore, something that feels personal and without pressure. And it is rather astonishing just how much one can learn about different face shapes by simplifying everything to the max!

Faces after faces after faces. Monday 8th is one of my favourite pages from this batch. I can recall the pleasure and whimsy I felt drawing it, and it makes me feel like a kid drawing again in the best of ways. Such a simple, delightful thing!

Wednesday 10th, I had some energy, so I did a few studies from ref with a 3D model, and practiced drawing the face from different angles. For some reason, although I was trying to keep all my heads the same size, they kept getting bigger and bigger XD

Look at me actually doing some work in there now, idea iteration and such. 

Blob faces to cut through the seriousness that was starting to creep through, and then some sketching for an idea I'm exploring for next month's Process Video. :)

Don't ask me what happened on Monday 15th, I couldn't tell you. I had fun though!

And finally, today's!
Something I'm having a lot of fun with is looking at the way simple face shapes and features' shapes and sizes alter a character's personality. Experimenting with those details with simple, cartoonish faces means I don't get bogged down with details or anatomical accuracy too much (one of my cardinal sins) and I can simply learn what gives a character...well, character!

It's also probably a good way to try and mitigate same face syndrome!

Anyway, all that to say, I'm keeping this diary fun, light, playful and filled with nonsense, all things I need more of but struggle to allow myself to indulge in. 

I'm sure the practice will evolve and some days will be more serious than others, but I'll let myself be silly too. 

I hope you enjoyed all the nonsense, and that you are all doing well so far!

Let me know if you have a favourite page?

I am working on a video tour on my 2023 diary, which I should have up for you either this month or in February!

Much love (and Happy New Year!) to each and every one of you, 

M