Drawing and Shading Kids

I spent the afternoon drawing and doodling and I ended up with this sketch.  It's fairly straight forward and simple, but I really liked the drawing in the corner.  It seemed very Norman Rockwell, middle America to me.  I tried to make the side view the same character, but I don't think I was as successful.  

Shading the characters with white can be a good technique - I have been experimenting with it for a few sketches now.  It's bringing out the areas that the light is hitting.  For some reason, I didn't shade in the darks on this drawing.  I think I was afraid that I would overwork the sketch. 

I have also been working at my cross hatching.  Looking again, I probably went too far with the lighting - it's a bit overpowering on these simple sketches and I definitely went too far on the last post!  Less is more.  I have to learn when to stop.

Is it me, or is it harder to stop sketching when you are doing it digitally?  I feel like the eraser is so complete and you never damage the paper or are left with faint pencil lines.  When I start a sketch on actual paper, I work faster and get through more sketches and more pages.  I am more willing to accept the imperfections of my line because I am more willing to accept the low shelf-life of the drawing. 

Enough of my rant.  Here's the sketch.  Comments are always welcome.

My Current SKETCHBOOK

I love peeks into people's sketchbooks.  I have been working on this Moleskine book for a couple years now, but you wouldn't know it by looking at it.  However, it has been with me to Africa, Europe, and India.  I really cherish some of the drawings, especially those I did in Africa - Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zanzibar.  They are all pencil and some have some watercolor color additions.  Here are a few from then, circa 2005. 

The top drawing is from Rwanda.  I was fascinated by the clothing - mostly the combinations of western clothing and the traditional prints.  I think you can read what I wrote in this journal styled entry.  Oh, and that was a white flower I pressed in the book.  It turned purple in a matter of weeks!

Next is from the second part of the African journey - Tanzania.  There we met many of the tribs that still exist (to an extent) in Eastern Africa.  This is my rendering of a Maasai warrior. 

Third is from the last leg of our African tour - Zanzibar.  It's an amazing island where I got the best buys.  I found one shop that had the best selection of antiques, both African and Islamic, I have ever seen.  I would go back just to shop.  However, we got to spend a bit of time on the beach where I did this drawing of the Muslim woman, a starfish, and the tower in the background.  It's unfinished.

Lastly, this was an unfortunate site we passed by on the way back from seeing the gorillas.  (Another story).  But this poor boy was biking and had been hit by a car on these gravelly, curving roads.  I can never let this image leave my mind.  This drawing was an attempt.