I proclaimed myself an artist at a very young age; typical behavior of a six year old, I know. Except while most girls my age were into horses and stick figures, the most fun thing to draw, for me, has always been faces. People just fascinated me, and I wanted to learn to capture their expressions and emotions.
The problem here was that I became so good at drawing faces, that I didn't practice anything else. I abhorred moments when people saw my art and asked me to draw something else, assuming that I was good at everything.
It wasn't until I was fourteen that I tried to expand my skills. My older sister had written a book for our baby niece and she wanted me to illustrate it. And as you can probably guess, she wasn't imagining pages filled with floating heads.
In fact, the story was about two baby squirrels. Now, animals have always been a particular weak point of mine, but I couldn't refuse. I did, however, put it off a long time. I'm good at that.
Eventually, though, our niece's birthday was too close for comfort and I was obligated to begin.
I worked furiously in the few months that I had, not only to draw the pictures but also to break through all the barriers that came with learning to draw something new. But because I was forced to do it, I did it, and I'll never regret that. I gained a lot of experience through this trial, and I can now say that I've illustrated a children's book.
BUT I still have a lot to learn. No matter how proud I am of those squirrel scribbles, I can't exactly call myself the expert. For example, I am only just learning about perspective; my previous experience souly reliant on common sense. And I still haven't come close to mastering the infamous human hand.
So why am I making a webcomic?
Because I want a motivator. The webcomic that I am planning will push my limits, and force me to learn things I haven't considered before. Plus, I'm super excited about my story and characters... I will be posting character bios in the near future.
Next week's post will be about the best methods, I've found, to teach yourself art. They are what I used while illustrating the squirrels, and what I am using for my comic. Be looking forward to Friday!