Reading · Your Creative Letter

👋 Morning, dear creative. How are you doing today?

Welcome to a new series I want to share. It is all about one of the biggest manifestos of this newsletter: Trust Your Hand, again and again.

With this series, I will share some right-on-the-spot illustrations I draw from the ordinary. I like to capture things, emotions, and those moments when I simply wonder, playing with graphic forms and seeing what comes out of them. I will share these experiments from time to time, along with a short exercise for you.

If you want to practice drawing, see things with fresh eyes, or just play with what you have at hand, join me on Saturdays. No pressure on my side. Whenever I capture something and feel like sharing it and wrapping it into a post, it will be delivered on your end.

Enjoy, and feel free to reply with any comments or questions, and why not share your own sketches in the chat? The goal is to trust the hand, again and again. Intention and conviction are all that is required. I like my sketches free, messy, and rough, letting the movement do its thing, trusting that the graphic structure is always there.

🎨 Illustrations into stories are a default.

🎈Follow your curiosity, ease, and joy; they will never fail you.

The server at the café. I intentionally wanted a long oval form, and this character came to life. He is waiting for his manager’s response after asking to lead the team attending to an acclaimed actress. © Keva Epale.

❇️ If he had a name, I would call him Xavier.
⚡ He arrived in France from the countryside and was always enchanted by the big city. He worked his way to the capital and eventually found himself a place in a five-star palace after working so many different jobs. He dreams of owning the palace one day. A big dream, yet he is so determined. He is up to something…

— An illustration that comes to life is not only a picture, it is also a story to tell, one that unfolds before your eyes. I believe illustration and writing are such a powerful combination of skills, crafts, and languages.

It is a success. She is on the throne, watching the assembly and those who never wanted her to claim her birthright. There he is, her future king, staring at the ancient statues. He is engrossed in their artistry and barely cares about the people or the flamboyance surrounding him. He glances back, and their eyes meet. © Keva Epale

❇️ If she had a name, I would call her Kira Mila.
⚡ An African princess from a distant and abundant land. She is destined to reign, but her siblings from another mother conspire to seize her throne. She is the chosen one. Her mother raised her, preparing and equipping her for power and for her people. She loves her land, and she loves someone who is not from it. Once on the throne, she intends to make him king. He is a scientific man, a literate man, a confident man who prefers books to the spotlight.

— It’s funny how some faces, expressions, postures, and even subtle details can set a scene. Looking at her, she had a royal air about her, a sense of nobility, and the story unfolded with ease. Her eyes have an edge and a boldness that contrast with the softness and cuteness of her round, square-shaped face.

Have fun observing traits and writing the story behind the character.

Xander is looking at the horizon, hopeful and resurfacing. His father’s loving shoulder, like a souvenir, has awakened his desire to do better and never give up. Despite his efforts, he nearly lost the hard-earned estate of his father. He will step onto the ship with everything he has been gifted with, and the dream is not only his. It also belongs to those who love him, his family. © Keva Epale

❇️ If he had a name, I would call him Xander
⚡A returning soldier, a son, a brother, a future architect, and a heart to win. Xander has everything to prove. He wants to save the family estate and believes he can, but on his own terms. He wants to change so many things. He has vision and grit, but he needs to make it happen without jeopardizing the family heritage.

He takes a risk and loses it all.

At the end of his dream road, he sits there, watching his heritage burn in flames. By his side, his father lifts him. As he sheds his tears and looks toward the horizon, he makes himself a promise: he will regain everything he has lost. Then he boards the next ship to the Americas.

— Just a few lines can draw a character—not only his figure, but also his ambition and his hidden desires. I like it when an illustration allows you to imagine and reimagine. When I saw this one, he had a very Victorian look. Perhaps my mind was wandering into Sanditon a little. With an illustration, you can expand and direct the story wherever you want. The face can challenge the story, or it can confide in it.

Orphea is walking away from the group. She is in battle, in turmoil. She is convincing herself of the right move, lifting herself up as she turns her back on the cold stare of the man she thought would have her back. As she opens her eyes, there he is, standing right in front of her… Confrontation. © Keva Epale.

❇️ If she had a name, I would call her Orphea
⚡ The last of five daughters, Orphea, is not happy with herself. She lost her courage when asked what she would do to win the man she loved, and she was unable to say anything. She looked into his eyes, and his cold stare made her doubt even her presence there.

She kept her gaze low while, deep inside, she knew exactly what to say. How dare you ask me to win you, to fight for you? Who do you think you are? Would you do the same for me?

She realizes she must choose herself and win herself first before anything else. There is no need to fight for what is undoubtedly yours.

— I did not know which beginning fit her. She has closed eyes. She could be sad, angry, or just lost in her thoughts, yet there is no sense of resting peace about her. So placing her in the middle of a romantic turmoil and inventing a story that allows her to rise and choose herself felt like a nice compromise. She could also be the villain of the story!

As Anouchka walks away from a young woman she has just advised, a group of teenagers watches her in awe. She is so cool, sharing her fashion wisdom so effortlessly. She did not care, and still does not care, whether she is liked or not. She speaks her mind and always follows one rule. She knows what makes a woman shine in her outfits: structure, nuance, audacity, what every silhouette needs, and a candid eye. She never forces. She rearchitects an outfit to celebrate the woman wearing it. © Keva Epale.

❇️ If she had a name, I would call her Anouchka
⚡ A woman who has seen it all in life and decided to become her own icon. She walks through the Paris subway, wondering why people do not care for themselves, why they do not choose themselves. She chose to live in this city. She escaped Russia to find herself, yet she misses her homeland so dearly. Her eyes wander to the youth, and she wonders about her own younger years as a model and an artist. She may look arrogant, but she is a tender teddy tiger of a woman. She is not married and scans the crowd like the fashion icon she is. She never looks down on people. She walks up to them and gives them the fashion advice they need. “Anouchka was here.” That is what people exclaim once her advice has worked its magic.

— Some characters have so much to say about themselves. Their poise, posture, and intention are so strong that the story demands to echo them. This face has lived. It has a profound presence, yet a bruised one too. Being beautiful is not the goal. It is charisma, and that is intangible and so hard to seize. Capturing more than a face is the goal. Seizing something unseen by the eye is the mission, and revealing it with care, even and especially if it comes from the imagination.

Creativity is in every little curious experimentation.

Like a recipe, these Trust Your Hand exercises are simply a playground for the imagination.

Congrats, you made it to the end! I hope you enjoyed this hand talk.

Enjoy your Saturday,
Keva.

What do you see in graphic shapes?

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