A.K.A. "I try (and struggle) to draw a Pokémon."

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Decided to hold off on drawing my characters for August's pen sketch in favor of something a little different! Figured I could give fanart a try this time, since that's not something I usually do, and Lucario seems like a neat-looking Pokémon... why not try my hand at drawing him/her up (I had envisioned a male for this sketch, but it could just as easily be female, instead - I wasn't trying to make an Anthro version, after all)?

My original idea was to try some kind of combative pose utilizing Lucario's aura, but the initial sketches I made were either too unexciting or looked far too much like other sketches I've done in the past year. Eventually got the idea of going for a relaxing pose, instead, since I started drawing this around the time my home AC broke and I was trying to cope with the 110+ Arizona heat. Lucario seems like the type who'd want to catch some rays... or should I say "bask in the sun's aura?"

G-Get it? Cause auras are... Lucario's thing? Ahem, moving on...
This drawing was... a struggle. I thought I was going to really enjoy drawing something different, but a huge chunk of July was spent just practice drawing the face in a vain attempt to get the perspective right. Even when I could get the face right, attempts to draw the rest of the body proved troublesome - if it wasn't facial perspective I was having difficulties with, then it was the arms not being symmetrical enough, or the chest spike not being high enough, or Luke/Lulu's left leg looking odd. I just wasn't having any fun working on this and it got to a point where I started to dread touching it.

Even if this final draft wasn't initially intended to be the final draft; it was just the best sketch I had drawn up thus far and I simply couldn't produce any better ones afterwards, no matter how much I tried. Granted, this sort of scenario has happened before, but it's not one I'm happy about doing.

Coloring wasn't much easier, as I found myself questioning every choice I made. Is this blue too dark (not really)? Should I have gone with pink sand instead of yellow (maybe - I think it would've gone with Lucario's blue a bit better)? Was a Great Ball the best aesthetic choice of Poke Ball to put in there (yes)? Did I use too much blue for the lower half of the towel Luke/Lulu is resting on (YES)? Was a can of Monster really the best idea I could come up with (no, but I was kind of trapped into it when I failed to produce a better draft)? Things went a little more smoothly when I began shading, but the end result is still rather... disappointing for me.

Definitely not my best work, but it's at least presentable enough... and hopefully some of you who see this pic will like it!

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Artwork by  SilverMelee, A.K.A. myself.

Lucario is property of The Pokemon Company (Nintendo/Game Freak/Creatures, Inc.).

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Part of my "Day Job Doodle" series, in which I make sketches at work on cardboard scraps using whatever pens and other drawing devices I can find on-site.





BONUS
Colorless Draft
Although this draft would wind up becoming the final colored draft, some might find it neat to see it in it's earlier form. Not much really changed (the symbol on the cooler was improved and the sand has more detail), as there was only so much I could do without prompting a total redraw. At least texturing the towel was fun to do; didn't think to do that until soon after I started shading.