HEY, leave that pencil alone! Do you know what you really WANT?

Part 2 of 9

What? You thought the thinking was over? If so, your art career is over. Thanks for completely stopping at my second ever blog post (it was my birthday yesterday, btw). Winners don’t do drugs.

A bunch of artists do, however, and while I don’t advocate doing that to your head, you want to use your brain to consider what will keep you going back to the literal drawing board.

How it’s going vs. How it’s still going.

I know they don’t tell you this in school, but learning new stuff is HARD. And while you have big dreams, you gotta be sure you actually like what’s in your long-term artistic relationship; the divorce rate with pencils is high these days. 

I’ve been writing and drawing Street Pedal Black for over 20 years because I like human subjects, the action/sci-fi genre, the possibilities with digital art effects, and most importantly, learning about all three. These are all the things I want in front of me as I work all day, all week, all month, all year.

GLOW UP!

My point is that you shouldn’t say “I want to learn how to draw.”

Instead, phrase it like “I want to know how to draw X.”

Be specific. Thinking about the goal of knowing feels a little better than the grind of learning.

I attended art school very briefly (by that, I mean I eventually took my time and money elsewhere), and they had us start with what you stereotypically expect: still lifes, live models, etc. You can see one of them in the previous blog post, but none of that is interesting if you want to draw boats, skyscrapers, or Lockheed SR-71 Blackbirds for a living.

Get obsessed with the particular thing you want to draw. Go bird-watching for a bit if you want designs with wings in them. If you love cars, it’ll soon become second nature to draw the brake system behind the rims. Knowing the individual parts and why they’re there will add to the realism, and you’ll be proud of your progress when you review your older work.

The main thing is to stay interested! When you come home after a long, rewarding day of slapping cattle or whatever it is productive adults do, artwork should be your refuge to stare at for hours on end. Make that thing your favorite thing.