“Drawing is about two fundamental things,” I explained, my hand stabilizers compensating for the motion of the horse. “Use of shapes and use of shadows.” I did a quick sketch of her head, using broad, firm pencil strokes for the parts of the face. Some shading, a little more work on the eyes, and it started to pop. I’d always been good at faces; just don’t ask me do do hands.

  ”I’ve seen art before,” she said, curious. “But how do you make it seem so real?” “one of the tricks is something we call perspective,” I explained. “Some things are farther away, right? And some things closer? That goes for parts of a person too. On a face, some parts are close to you, other parts are farther away. The trick is to make it seem that way in a drawing.

  ”You can’t draw it like it’s flat. If I use shadows–and put the eyes on a curved line like this–and use just a touch of foreshortening. . .”

  There’s a moment in drawing, at least for me, when a face transforms from shapes and lines into a person. The eyes were a big part, and the dots of light reflecting in them, but the lips were important too.

Was not expecting a flurry of drawing craft notes as we drive towards the conclusion of act three, but Brandon Sanderson…

Sanderson, Brandon. The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. United States, Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC. pp284,285