People More Talented Than Me
Now, when I was little, I used to draw all the time. I mean, I know lots of kids are constantly drawing, but I kept at it a while. The drives to swim meets were interminably long to a child of 2nd or 3rd grade, so I would spend long portions of the rides drawing. I don’t know if I would go so far as to say I was good – I mean, I was a little kid, so short of being an illustrative prodigy, I’m not sure what passes for good, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
At some point, though, I just stopped drawing. Not really sure why, but I did. I took an art class in junior high, but I’m certainly not proud of any of the drawings I did in that class – I did a very nice pen & ink, and a passable scratchboard piece, but not so much with the drawing.
So I didn’t give much thought to drawing until I became interested in RIT, and I needed to submit a portfolio that would include 5 drawings. This was pretty terrifying for someone who hadn’t drawn much in recent years, and I think even then I was a bit naive about the level of competition I would have from people who could actually, you know – draw.
I got in to RIT, obviously – the admissions department recommended that I consider the IT program rather than design, but I knew where I wanted to be. Drawing class was an eye-opening experience, however – my first few critiques were painfully bad, and I had to labor long and hard over drawing projects that others would breeze through, getting better results in a fraction of the time. Just when I was starting to get the hang of something, it would seem, we’d be on to something different that would leave me scrambling.
And now, it’s a point of some embarrassment that I never really draw. I’m sure that with practice, I could be okay, but I just don’t. Being in a creative industry, I feel like I should doodle in my notebook at work, but I’ve never really gotten the hang of doodling – I just can’t think of anything to doodle. Which isn’t the point, I know, but that’s how I seem to work.
This brings me to what I actually meant to post about – people who are way more talented than I am.
A while back, my friend Jon shared a link to Abduzeedo, an art & design roundup blog. It’s always interesting, though I don’t always agree about how great some of the things he posts are. I’ve found that a lot of the stuff he posts are coming from deviantART.
Back in the day, back before I went to RIT, or got a full-time job, some friends talked me into joining deviantART. I wound up posting mostly photos – I don’t know that I ever was really considering photography as a career path, but I suppose I fancied myself an amatuer photographer. (Looking back on it, even after a few years of design experience, I take fairly average photos.)
Once I got to RIT though, I stopped spending time on dA. It’s pretty common, I think, to hate on dA, so I won’t do that here.
When it comes down to it, there are some insanely talented people on deviantART. And by just visiting Abduzeedo, you just get exposed to people who are awesome.
Is a lot of it sort of nerdy? A lot of fantasy and scifi illustrations? Yes. But I’m okay with that, being a bit of a nerd myself.
The Kid’s Last Heist by imaginism
So, after all that jabbering, I just hope you enjoy some of the stuff I’ve posted up here, and maybe check out Abduzeedo if you want. Or not. Do what you want.
Nice post, and i agree with the “I don’t always agree about how great some of the things he posts are” in context to abduzeedo.