A lot of the drawings done during this period weren't just exercises in anatomical form but experiments with color and learning my way around the materials, figuring out what I liked and what I didn't. I think this was done with watercolor pencil, which I eventually decided that I didn't like using much.

I've noticed in the art communities that I'm involved in that some materials and programs will turn into fads if somebody particularly talented discovers or clicks with a tool and does a lot of excellent work with it; they'll invariably prompt a rush of other artists flocking to that tool, thinking that they'll produce comparable work. I've seen it happen with prismacolor pencils, Artrage, copic markers -- usually the more expensive the tool, the more 'magic' it has!

When, really, the magic medium is the one you are the most comfortable with. I have plenty of respect for people that can make colored pencils and markers sing, but they're not for me.