One line parallels another, and before I know it I’ve filled a page.
![Strange Noodle 1 Strange Noodle 1](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/strangenoodle1.jpg)
I start in the middle of the page, usually. Then the lines accrete upon themselves, like barnacles in a mosh pit. Sometimes I figure out in the middle of drawing that oh, it’s an eye. Or this might be a kite. In the noodle below, the bird’s perch was what I started with, not knowing it would be a perch, or that there would be a bird. The bird was the last to emerge.
![Strange Noodle 2 Strange Noodle 2](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/strangenoodle2.jpg)
With wider nibs, thicker lines and darker inks, the process remains relaxing, but the mood of the drawing changes, and becomes almost sinister.
![Strange Noodle 3 Strange Noodle 3](http://www.leighreyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/strangenoodle3.jpg)
If I’d drawn this with my left hand, it would have been perfectly sinister.