Amdall Gallery

I’ve said this before – I have difficulty drawing small babies. This may not be surprising, but I have a long-winded theory as to why. I think most babies look very similar, but parents have some sort of innate biological drive to recognize their infants even with the slightest differences. As a parent, even when my kids were newborns, they seemed very unique looking to me. But, probably to most people, they looked essentially like generic crying infants. Trying to draw an infant busts through all that; you really have to nail the nuanced facial features that make a certain baby look like his or herself. I guess what I’m trying to say is, toddlers (like our oldest kid) have more distinguishing characteristics that you can rely on to create a recognizable portrait.

Along these lines, it has been a challenge to accurately draw my youngest girl. I think I’ve finally drawn something that looks solidly like her! If I’m being honest about it though, I wonder if that’s because she’s approaching one year old, and growing out of that “small baby” phase.

Here’s the latest:

I based this drawing on one of my favorite photos of our little one. She is a much more serious baby than our oldest, and often has a fairly grumpy look on her face. She typically only smiles at me when I’m not holding her; I think when I’m carrying her, she considers me a vehicle rather than a parent. But if she’s free and in the mood, she can throw out such a cute smile. Going back to the original photo; she actually posed this way on her own for just long enough for her mom to snap the photo. The pose, with her cheesy grin, and those two teeth, make it one of my favorites.