Lately, I’ve felt like drawing. This may not seem like a big deal, but it kind of is to me, because I haven’t really done much drawing in quite some time. I just haven’t really had any motivation to do it.
Sometimes I wonder if the people I know are aware that I used to draw quite a lot when I was younger. With the current company I keep these days, I can’t say that I’d be surprised if there were people that were unaware of my more artistic childhood, given the fact that most of my current hobbies and interests revolve around sports, athletics, physical fitness or things like reading books or playing video games. But the truth is that I used to draw a whole lot when I was much younger.
Whether I was any good or not is completely subjective to the eye of whomever is looking at anything I’ve drawn, but as is often the case with lots of artistic types, I can’t say that I’ve ever really been that satisfied with the things I’ve drawn in my lifetime.
I believe that one of the reasons why I kind of strayed and wandered away from the days of lots of drawing is that as I grew older, my world expanded, and I was introduced to the many talented artists I know today, I guess I felt that I wasn’t really that good, in comparison to others. Eventually, my drawing dwindled, and then I eventually just stopped doing outright, aside from a brief reprisal a few years ago when I partook in a few local drink ‘n draw events, but even the things I was doodling then weren’t the least bit serious, and I was often more interested in dinner, booze, or at one point a girl I was trying to impress.
But anyway, it would be correct to say that I had an inferiority complex when it came to drawing, which had a large part in why I wandered away from the hobby for the most part. So it is somewhat interesting to me that lately, I’ve had an urge that I kind of feel like drawing again.
Times have changed. Whereas I’ve always seen it simply as “drawing,” the act of putting a marking utensil to paper and creating has so many terms and intricacies these days; illustrating, sketching, concepting, ideating, etc.
If there’s one things the evolution of comics have taught me is that sure, the art and quality of the drawings is important to a degree, but still, are often times accessories to telling a story. The facet of me that likes to pretend that I’m a writer of some sort appreciates that notion, that the words and messages are of the highest priority, although it can easily be debated that a truly talented artist would be able to interpret an entire story in just drawing alone.
But the bottom line is that I think I find a little bit of inspiration in artists out there that make comics that tell fantastic stories, but with artwork that in my personal opinion, isn’t necessarily always the most aesthetically pleasing. It doesn’t really matter though, because somewhere out there, or perhaps the artist themselves is satisfied with what they’re doing, and when the day is over, that’s all that really matters.
So, I kind of feel like drawing every now and then. Given my self-imposed workload, it’s hard to say that I’ll find the time to strike while the iron is hot and actually put a pencil down into one of the many unused sketchbooks I have laying around. But I have to say that the feeling, even if it’s just fleeting feels kind of refreshing.
The funny thing is that this complex is very similar to my feelings towards playing Street Fighter. Growing up, I was pretty much the best Street Fighter player in my little world. I remember when I was capable of beating SFII on the SNES at the highest difficulty rating without any continues. I used to run the table against live people at Springfield Mall in SFII Champion Edition, and eventually Turbo. I got pretty good at the Alpha series as well, even winning a few SFA3 tournaments at some cons long ago.
But then eventually my world expanded, and I met people that were on whole new levels of competition that I had never faced in my life. Players that were analytical and studied me while I played, and put this uncomfortable feeling in the back of my mind that they were deciphering my play style before actually playing me. And of course, they were excellent players in their own right, and it eventually got to a point where my inability to adapt to their adaptations ceased, and I would be repeatedly beaten.
I don’t really play much Street Fighter these days.
The connection to me wanting to draw however, is that one of the ideas floating around in my head actually involves Street Fighter.
