"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
Calvin Coolidge
When I was in school, a lot of my friends approached me and asked me to teach them how to draw. I told them to just copy everything I did. The end result, as you can guess, was one nice drawing and one not so nice drawing.
After several attempts, they would give up and attribute my skills to natural talent. "It's in your blood," they said.
Being a child, I just shrugged and said, "Maybe. I guess I'm lucky."
It wasn't until a few years later that I finally realised how wrong I was.
I have this younger cousin who really admires my drawing, even until now (I adore her because she makes me feel special). Whenever I slept over at her place, she would stare at my sketchbook as I drew. And she would stay things like, "I wish I could draw like you."
"Then try it. It's not hard," I said, very optimistic.
Then I went home. We didn't see each other for a few years. We had our own lives.
When we finally met again, she showed me her sketchbook full of beautiful drawings. I was mesmerised. And from that moment on, I realised that what I had wasn't natural talent at all. It was years of practice, years of accumulated experience and endless drawings. When I leafed through her sketchbook full of drawings, it felt like I was looking at myself.
"I'm completely addicted to drawing. When I see pretty pictures, I want to draw them. I even draw in Math class!" she said.
She sounded exactly like me.
This completely changed the way I looked at myself back then. I began to appreciate all the times I spent just drawing. When other children stopped drawing and played other games, I kept at it, just because it made me happy. Drawing was never practice for me. Drawing to me was as fun as playing video games or going out for a cycle with my friends. And since my parents used to bring back heaps of papers from the office, I would (with their permission) take the ones that were empty on one side. I never needed a drawing block, I had unlimited supply of blank paper.
Natural talent without practice is like an unpolished gem. It might look prettier than other normal stones, but it's of no use they way it is.
But practice and persistence can create so many things. If you want to create a comic, and you've tried drawing for months and you're still not happy with your current skills, don't throw in the towel just yet! Nobody said it was easy. Just know that all the amazing artwork you see in books, websites and even graffiti comes from practice.
The only thing that can make practising bearable or even fun is passion. If you have passion, no feat is too big I say. Guess what the subject of my next topic is? ;)
Click image for a larger version
After several attempts, they would give up and attribute my skills to natural talent. "It's in your blood," they said.
Being a child, I just shrugged and said, "Maybe. I guess I'm lucky."
It wasn't until a few years later that I finally realised how wrong I was.
I have this younger cousin who really admires my drawing, even until now (I adore her because she makes me feel special). Whenever I slept over at her place, she would stare at my sketchbook as I drew. And she would stay things like, "I wish I could draw like you."
"Then try it. It's not hard," I said, very optimistic.
Then I went home. We didn't see each other for a few years. We had our own lives.
When we finally met again, she showed me her sketchbook full of beautiful drawings. I was mesmerised. And from that moment on, I realised that what I had wasn't natural talent at all. It was years of practice, years of accumulated experience and endless drawings. When I leafed through her sketchbook full of drawings, it felt like I was looking at myself.
"I'm completely addicted to drawing. When I see pretty pictures, I want to draw them. I even draw in Math class!" she said.
She sounded exactly like me.
This completely changed the way I looked at myself back then. I began to appreciate all the times I spent just drawing. When other children stopped drawing and played other games, I kept at it, just because it made me happy. Drawing was never practice for me. Drawing to me was as fun as playing video games or going out for a cycle with my friends. And since my parents used to bring back heaps of papers from the office, I would (with their permission) take the ones that were empty on one side. I never needed a drawing block, I had unlimited supply of blank paper.
Natural talent without practice is like an unpolished gem. It might look prettier than other normal stones, but it's of no use they way it is.
But practice and persistence can create so many things. If you want to create a comic, and you've tried drawing for months and you're still not happy with your current skills, don't throw in the towel just yet! Nobody said it was easy. Just know that all the amazing artwork you see in books, websites and even graffiti comes from practice.
The only thing that can make practising bearable or even fun is passion. If you have passion, no feat is too big I say. Guess what the subject of my next topic is? ;)
Below is a drawing of one of my favourite webcomic artists, Sarah Ellerton. I put this image here to show how much she improved her artwork because she never stopped drawing. And what better way to improve your skills if not by committing yourself to a project?
Image 1 is from her first webcomic, Inverloch.
Image 2 is from her second one, Phoenix Requiem.
The third one is a character from Phoenix Requiem and it's on her DeviantArt account.
Image 1 is from her first webcomic, Inverloch.
Image 2 is from her second one, Phoenix Requiem.
The third one is a character from Phoenix Requiem and it's on her DeviantArt account.
Click image for a larger version
To appreciate the awesomeness of these images in full, I suggest you visit the links below. And while you're at it, why not start reading her comics? I have!
Inverloch - Completed
Phoenix Requiem - Almost at the end, you've got nothing to lose by reading it now
Dreamless - Completed
Inverloch - Completed
Phoenix Requiem - Almost at the end, you've got nothing to lose by reading it now
Dreamless - Completed
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