What not to wear - Lady of the Lake

What King Arthur myth is complete without a visit to the Lady of the Lake?

An early doodle - pen (2015)

As I'm working on the next draft of Age of Albion I'm clocking up lots of time doing sketches and crafting character details. I've already done tons of wee sketches in earlier drafts. But, I find it's particularly helpful as I'm redrafting to revisit the characters in drawing to make sure what's in my head is reflected on the page.

The Lady of the Lake in most Arthurian legends has a murky (pun intended) history. There are multiple stories that credit her as temptress or a heroine, a human or one of the fey folk. What is her true allegiance in King Arthur Returns? Well, you'll just have to see for yourself! But, she is definitely more fey than human.

Why does that look like that? What's it's purpose?

Not the Lady of the Lake

Some new doodles of the Lady -
pen on paper (2016)

Everything that I draw doesn't make it into the text. Too much detail and the writing becomes turgid and quashes the reader's imagination. You have to give just enough to convey an accurate sense of physical characteristics and personality but still leave some blanks for people to fill in themselves. A little mystery goes a long way!

However, drawing forces me to think about the choices I make about the various bits and bobs that a character wears (I'm a very visual person and need to 'see' things to consider them). When we, real people that don't just live in my head, get dressed in the morning we put on things that are of use to us in our day to day lives. Yes, this is fantasy, but it all needs to be grounded in the character's reality. Would the Lady of the Lake look awesome with a Lara Croft style gun belt on her thigh - the answer is always yes. But... why would she?

Who is the Lady?

Lady of the Lake -
pencil and ink (2017)

The Lady of the Lake has been swimming through my head for the last few weeks and I've been making lots of notes and sketches since finishing the last draft of AoA. I've picked up lots of details in the drawings that aren't necessarily noted in the text - like Pictish tattoos. Many of these details won't make it into the story because, while it's a cool idea, it's not necessary for the reader to totally grasp the character. And besides, this is MY version of the character. Every reader will have their own.

One big design feature is that she always looks like she's underwater, her hair floating about her. She also wears a dress made of tiny mother of pearl sequins.

There are details in some of the drawings I actually don't think the character should have. But, once I've drawn them, each incarnation makes the character fuller in my mind which ultimately adds to the authenticity of her interaction with other characters - just as our history and experience impacts ours.

From AnOther Magazine

A more etherial lady -
pencil on paper (2017)

It's fun watching the character come to life and drawing inspiration from various sources. For one drawing I came across the images of Tilda Swinton from AnOther Magazine which were too incredible not to draw (PS T-biggie Swins - if you want to play Lady of the Lake in the movie of my book... yes... Just yes! Or if you just want to you, ya know, swap numbers and hang out that's cool too). The pose is so dynamic and suggests movement even while static. Reinterpreting the silhouette of the dress begged for some interesting detail that would be relevant to a lake dwelling lore lady's dress (and before you ask, yes, you can get lake foam. So, boom). I don't know if this is what the final character design will be but it's still one of my favourite drawings of the Lady.

The Lady's history is growing in my mind and will help me fine tune her interactions in the book. It will also make a difference to how she engages in future stories.

I'm doing a series of drawings of other characters, so watch this space. This is one of my favourite moments because it's causing me to fall in love with all of my characters again. By learning more about them I can make the tapestry on the page richer and hopefully pass on that passion to the reader.


Hope you enjoy!
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