Nala

[Originally posted to Tumblr in "Solving Cubes" on May 18, 2013]

The third in a series of drawings to commemorate my favorite character designs in the world of animated film. I have 13 characters picked out.

Have any good-looking characters in mind that you think I should draw? Send me your requests for number 14!

3) Nala

Nala has an elegantly simple design, but what I think I like most about her is that despite her simplicity, she can be very tricky to draw. It’s more difficult to make a drawing look like Nala than it may seem. There are intricacies about her that, if neglected, leave the lioness on the paper looking nothing like her. You can draw a lion in the Lion King style, you can color her with Nala’s simple shades of peachish tan, but she won’t truly look like Nala without those those thick ears, a wide muzzle, smooth cranial lines, blocky toes and body lines, and green eyes stretched up and diagonally. Drawing Nala, at least for me, is akin to drawing the likeness of a real person - you’ve got to get almost everything right in order for the art to be believable.

When the look is right, Nala is feminine yet rugged in her movements and attitude. She doesn’t need flashy colors or exaggerated proportions to be interesting. Placing lines just right is enough to make her beautiful.

Drawing by me, pose original, character ©Disney