My mind operates at about 1000 mph, and is constantly in idea mode. At times, I fear that I must be thinking aloud because a majority of the films, games, and images I have come across were once my ideas. Sure, someone beat me to it, but I thought of them first; well at least that is what I tell myself in order to ease the pain. 
If you read the title of this post and the first thought that popped into your mind suggested this is work, it is safe to assume that you either found this site by accident, or I owe you money – but you are definitely not cut from the ilk of individuals that I am. An artist by definition is a person who will spend their last breath, last bit of mental energy attempting to reach a plateau that eludes 99% of us; becoming worthy of ourselves. Thus, I find myself here again, battling the same dragon that continues to burn down my mental villages and strikes fear in the minds of the characters developed and underdeveloped in my head – forever gravitating back to the graphite sword.
The pencil is the ultimate test, the one tool that cannot lie, it is as revealing and as powerful as the Sword of Excalibur. In the hands of the vigilant, secret doors become unlocked, mysteries unveiled, and worlds unknown become familiar and commonplace.
Now the questions must be asked, before embarking on a journey that seems so simple, yet to the unsuspecting, deceptively elusive. With the restraints of everyday life, and the imposed wills of others, is there really enough time for a drawing a day? Moreover, what actually constitutes a drawing or defines the measurement that the time was well spent? Finally, is this mere sport or folly? Alternatively, is it something more? What would one hope to gain from attempting such a feat?
Modern day man has solved the riddle of satisfying our basic primal needs that consist of food, clothing, and shelter – a job. In some form or fashion, you are faced with contributing to society in order to achieve the basic standard of modern-day living. Someone or something has imposed its will on your time in order for you to meet your basic primal needs. It is the time that comes after these commitments I am attempting to address – me time. That highly sought after time of the day, which without much effort tends to elude the majority of whom desire nothing more but to become misers of it. Yet, a large number of people squander me-time without realizing it due to the exhaustion, or lack of motivation, induced by the commitments for attaining their primal needs. To complicate matters even further, the motivated artist is faced with a dilemma right off the bat, if you are not already drawing every day, why would you want to use the time that seems to elude us all to achieve this? The answer is simple, because drawing is one of the most fulfilling activities that reminds us how much in Gods image we truly are – possessing the ability to create, by using free will and whatever our minds can conceive. I would venture that blocking aside a minimum of thirty minutes a day is enough time to pull this off. Sure, you may have to carry your sketch pad in your backpack along with your prismacolor pencils to get it done, but who would not want to do that?
However, we now find ourselves faced with coming up with a set of parameters that defines what actually constitutes a drawing. For this exercise, I am not talking about the philosophical debate on the “Allegories of Modernism.” The goal is to define a set of rules that validates the effort, and allows us to look honestly in the mirror, and know that you actually drew “something” worthwhile. Seriously, could I just sit down and flesh out a circle, or maybe some simple stick figures, and attempt to say I satisfied my drawing requirement? Of course I can, am I mentally insane? No. The task at hand seems to be what to draw, not necessarily the level of detail. One could possibly address any weaknesses, or continue to develop a strength. Another possibility would be to venture into going all the way outside your comfort zone – discovering something new about yourself as an artist. Whatever is decided should be kept manageable, and completed in the daily allotted time. Alternatively, the drawing should at least stand on its own, revealing that some level of effort was attempted. Of course, only the artist can be the judge of time, effort, and the qualifier of the drawings overall effectiveness.
Admittedly, the only question that truly matters is why would anyone attempt to draw a picture every day for a year? Seriously, I could have sworn back when I six years old, I pulled this off with ease. All jokes aside, you really have to consider going into this what it is you expect to gain. The answers I am sure, even if 100 artists were polled, would not be automatically universal, as each reason for the pursuit is/should be a personal one. In my case, I am looking to improve mainly in two areas, character development, and perspective drawings. Oddly enough, I have always been in pursuit of these goals ever since I began to take my self serious as an artist. On a deeper level, the desire to see whom one “might” become, what new characteristic develops, or better yet, see what current set of characteristics become stronger is what is at stake here. Obviously, success would seem to weigh heavily upon what one expected to get out of this exercise from the beginning. Whatever goal, or goals chosen, this will be the mental-fuel needed to push you forward, especially on those days when you decided to fluff it off.
Consequently, one has to entertain the idea that there is always enough time in the day to pull something off like this. Sometimes, it is as simple as giving up one thing for another, validating a priority and eliminating what is not. If the choice is to venture forward, keep in mind that this exercise is strictly for the development and the benefit of the individual. Regardless of what someone else may think of the drawings, you alone understand its purpose, the reason for the drawing, and how this process is the next step towards your evolution as an artist. I am reminded of an interesting quote from Chuck Jones as he recalls a lesson from his art instructor, “…it was no discouraging surprise to me that my first instructor at Chouinard Art Institute, like Nicolaides at the Art Students League, greeted his beginning classes with the following grim edict: ‘All of you here have one hundred thousand bad drawings in you. The sooner you get rid of them, the better it will be for everyone.’ This was not a discouraging statement to me, because I was already well into my third hundred thousand.” (Jones, 1999)
Ok, so maybe a drawing a day for a year is nothing more than a drop in the bucket, but it is definitely a start in the right direction. Whatever the case may be, whatever your situation, and if you actually read this far, you know what to do – start drawing.
References:
Jones, C. (1999). Chuck Amuck. In M. G. Chuck Jones, The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist (p. 51). Farrar, Straus and Giroux .
Artists appear in order of images used – all copyrights reserved
Andie Tong
Mitsui
Espinojr
Joe Quesada
