They say it’s always best to leave some things to the professionals. I tend to agree. Many times it is difficult to admit that we have our limits, but if we want quality, it’s best to do so.
When it comes to drawing, I am not good at it… at all. I once took a computer graphic arts class and the teacher insisted all of us could draw, if we drew something every day. I tried to do that, but I stopped, because I hated what I saw. Look at this:
Will you look at that? Sorry for hurting your eyes. The teacher gave an assignment on the second day of class. We were to look around the room and draw something we saw. I saw a jug of distilled water sitting on a shelf.
I kept drawing every day, but I didn’t seem to be getting any better at it. One day I drew a pocket comb and from the looks of my drawing it looked like it got zapped in the microwave a few times. Then I drew a tree that looked like it was about to die. A tree removal service should have been called right away.
I saw my wife’s hair dryer lying on the bathroom vanity. When I drew that, it looked like a warped power drill or maybe a bloated anteater.
Not having any luck or confidence that I was getting better, I decided I would write instead. I would describe everything I saw or pictured in my mind. But in the age of images and videos, I would have to figure out a way to make it work.
After two weeks of class, our teacher wanted us to create an advertisement that contained something we drew, and “add a little color to your drawing.” Are you ready for this?
That’s supposed to be a swelling bump in the middle of her head. I tried. I barely got a passing grade only because the teacher thought it was a decent ad idea. “Don’t do window treatments yourself, call the pros!” It was quite foreshadowing now that I think of it, because now I am writing books for kids and drawings are important. So I got smart about it and hired a professional artist.
Here is a drawing I did of a numismatist for one of my stories:
And here is what my good friend Jeremy Pellegrin (www.JeremyPellegrin.com) created for me:
If you ask me, not everyone can draw. But I did have fun trying.
