Gosh, that sounds like a self-help book. Yesterday there was no Sunday strip… I’ll blame Ben, he was out of town. Actually I was working on a project for the Indy Webcomics Group and took most of the day to produce something I’m not overly happy with- but it might do. I’m behind in everything I need to do for this project and I’m trying to be a “serious” artist while working on it, which frankly isn’t working.  “Serious” and me haven’t been friends for a long time- it seems to make me a happier person. I have hit this wall before and decided I should blog about it hoping that I might break through some of my apprehension.

So I’m working to meet the needs of the project head (it should be like this and this and here are some sites to help you figure it all out) and I just can’t get the drawing the way I think he wants. I finally decide to go with what I kind of want (after about three hours) and after scanning it- decide to try one other idea. I liked it much more and even scanned it and emailed a copy before moving on… then I went to work today.

While my students were reading (Silent Sustained Reading, Drop Everything And Read, whatever you want to call it) I was catching up on artwork for them. The draw me a monkey on a snowboard kind of stuff. I was enjoying it and pushing myself a little bit with different poses and points of view.  It was then I realized my problem- I have a style that I am comfortable with… and as I grow as an artist I’m sure my style will grow, but right now it is what it is. So I went home did today’s comic and will work on what I need to do for this project in my style- not trying to draw like anyone else- hopefully it will work out if not- I need to embrace who I am and how I draw.  Like I tell my students when they comment on my drawing- “Fine take a pencil and draw it yourself”- they have yet to take me up on the challenge.