Learning to Draw

I’m trying to become an artist.

Oh, not in a big way: just scribbles and doodles for Deviantart, really. I’ve got a few Sherlock and Watson sketches of various quality online. Generally it’s just something I do while on hold at work: pull up a pic and try and copy it down.

I’ve wanted to draw for years. I attended art club after school in high school, but it was more about making ashtrays for bake sales than actually being taught anything, much to my dissapointment. I doodled fairies and freakish hands with chipped nails, none looking any better than something a child would produce. After years of frustration, I just gave up.

Now, it’s actually a little better.

Oh, it’s not good: I don’t hold any illusions to that. But it’s not terrible. It actually looks a bit like what it’s supposed to. So, why now, after years of struggle and angst, can I suddenly do...well, slightly better?

The only difference is I’m trying to copy photos. Copying drawings still results in dismal failure, and drawing from my mind is out of the question. But I can reproduce a face if I’m looking right at it: you can almost tell who it is, even. Sometimes.

I bought a book called ‘anyone can draw’. Haven’t cracked it yet. Still doodling Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as much as I can (usually one quick drawing a day). Ultimately, I’d like to draw some illustrations for my fan-fiction. It’s an old vice, but a poor whetstone is better than none at all. Sometimes I don’t have the time or inspiration to work on my manuscripts. Fanfiction is a nice stopgap.

What is most surprising is that my drawings are viewed and in a few special instances, FAVORITED. I mean, wow. That means a lot, perplexing as it is.