Questions

My friend Jared asked me these questions in comments a few posts back, I left them be back then because I was busy but now I should probably answer them:

You used to draw a lot right? As a kid, I'm talking elementary school here I drew a ton. My father was a Kobol programmer through all of my young life and would always bring home the old-school computer paper where each sheet was connected end-to-end and it had the holes punched in each side (which I just hated tearing off at the time). Several times I remember covering my bedroom floor from wall to wall with this paper that had drawings on it. Mostly Megaman characters, and stuff like that... Then I hit a lull, and even during I wasn't sure why. Until early highschool when I was re-inspired and actually started using a sketchbook and trying to draw each day in it. Even through highschool I probably only filled one sketchbook, then in college I filled another one/two sketchbooks. Now I'm about 1/4 through a newish one, I think I started it in january of '07? I'm behind on that one.

What made you draw? Typically I draw because the ideas just keep building up, and eventually I get one that I really just have to express on paper. I need to make it a habit and just start doing it every day even if I have nothing I conciously think I want to draw, and just start jamming / improvising with it.

How did you get in the right mode? Drawing, honestly. Once I start doing it and force myself to sit down and do it, after 5 minutes things typically start going pretty well and then I get in the mode. It'd be so easy if something ELSE got me in the mode, then I could do that and lead into drawing...but we all know I'd procrastinate that too!

What did you like to draw/ where'd you get your ideas from? Always videogames, if a D&D game is ongoing then that provides some iffy inspiration. Friends have always been throwing ideas at me they want me to draw, and I'm ashamed to say I probably only ever do 5% of them. As a child I remember that I was always drawing tanks, fighter planes, and a lot of stuff like that because my dad had a big influence in weapons of war with me.

Did you need a certain environment to get anything done? Paper, a pencil, and a little bit of patience. The patience is what always does me in, I think. Often I don't even make it to the paper or with a pencil in hand. Painting was a great thing because attacking a blank canvas with a brush was very liberating and new to me so it helped me overcome that hump. Maybe I should use more mediums than just a pencil? Even a pen intrigues me more, but I typically hate using them! (except at work I've been using pens a lot....hmmm)

what's changed to pull you away and what can you change to bring yourself back? It's always forefront that "I don't have enough time", but I don't think I buy that because you can always make time for what you really want to do, and you can always find money for what you really want to buy. It's crazy, how we are so broke and busy all the time but when you really want to do something, you find the time and/or money. My excuse before March 15th was that I didn't have my drawing desk at our apt, but now we're in the house and I have it set up (which I LOVE, having it set up now!) and I'm still not drawing much more. I'll have to ponder this question a bit more, me thinks.

Thanks Jared!!! These are awesome questions and I always kick myself because I pretty much never think of these important questions on my own, but they're crucial to the problem at hand. Any idea if you specifically learned these questions to ask in a case like this, or do they just come to mind as intuition?