There’s no better time than the New Year to set goals and strive for self betterment. Ironically, in illustration, going back to scribbles – more intuitive and less “correct” drawing – is often the best way to get to the bottom of who you are as an artist. Even better, when you do, there’s a good chance that you’ll end up with comedic gold.
Going Back to Scribbles…
Takes a lot of self awareness though.
In my case, even though it’s scary as hell, I’m learning to trust in the natural rhythm of drawing. What does that mean? It means keeping your pencil on the paper rather than stopping to assess your progress. It means letting go of the urge to “correct” as you go. If a drawing was like a piece of music, going back to scribbles is like playing jazz rather than striving to play a few beautifully turned notes and phrases.
Going out on a limb…
To learn new things is always scary. So if you don’t see me here quite as much, be glad. Rest assured I’ll be busy flexing my drawing limbs (and those of my characters!) to test their – and my – limits.
And speaking of limits…
I’m also trying to get better at writing limericks! I’ve got a patient tutor, but sometimes there’s only so much a girl can cram into her brain at a time:
Here’s to staying creative and happily busy in 2021!
What a chill kitty! My cats would never tolerate hats. Yes, meter is very important in limerick writing!
Hi Helen,
I thought I’d written you back, but see that I didn’t. Tsk tsk. The only excuse is that I was busy vacuuming up pine needles. We took down our tree on Saturday. This year, in an effort to make it easier on the building staff to haul away, we chopped the tree up into little pieces. Needless to say, the living room was littered with sawdust and pine needles even though I tried to sweep most of the debris up immediately after our “massacre.” As much as I love having a Xmas tree, it’s also nice to have more space and access to the balcony again.
Hope you have a lovely week! Is the weather still conducive to x-country skiing?
xox – Joana
Oh Ziggy is tired of all the new year’s celebrations! My fur babies would have fits if I put hats on them. Your dedication to limericks is very commendable!
I did feel bad since he looked so sleepy in that video…or just fed up with me. But he forgave me pretty quickly. 😉
I’m stumped where it comes to today’s limerick, so I think I’ll give my little brain a rest and just do a drawing video.
xox – J