Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A Fine Line

I've been thinking a lot about drawing lately. I used to draw all the time when I was younger, and it's like many skills in this life, you get better the more you do it and it is possible to get rusty if you don't do it for a while. You don't really forget how to do it, but because it uses such fine motor skills to get the message from the brain to the finger tips 'muscle memory' will only take you so far. It's not quite like riding a bicycle (or masturbation, for that matter) in that regard, if you haven't done those for a while you soon remember how.

I really admire people who can draw well. There's a very fine difference between something that really sings on the page, and a line that just doesn't look quite right.



The more I look at illustration the more I want to pick up a pencil again and get to it. What I need to do though is to get over that period of frustration at not being able to it as well as I used to. If you're a bit of a perfectionist like I am, then it's harder to get through that without packing it in.



So I need to give myself permission to suck at it for a while. Which is an extremely hard thing to do!

5 comments:

Thombeau said...

Just do it, kiddo!

As the Christians would say, don't hide your light under a bushel!

Of course, they say many silly things...

Andrea James said...

Ooh, if you want to draw well, I would recommend "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". I'm always stunned by the results when I follow the techniques in that book, and it has lots of good info that helps you through the initial "I suck at drawing" phase. If I remember I'll bring it the next time I'm at the Courthouse.

Mz. B.Trousers said...

You should try these things out - it's good for you!
The first image is beautiful BTW. She is gorgeous.

The Other Andrew said...

I love the magazine covers of this era, so stylish and beautifully drawn! The first cover IS gorgeous isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Yes, just do it. You don't need to worry about "drawing well", it should be more about the expression that comes out of the act. Jean Cocteau wasn't a natural draughtsman but he managed to play to the strengths of what he could do, helped in part by Picasso's innovations.

I often wonder why it is that most of us lose the confidence and curiosity we have about drawing when we're children.