how long did it take you to get good at your desired art style?

**Stealth** · 11 November 2010, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by handrawn

it helps a lot if you can write - it gives you a real incentive to draw something if you wrote it

when you say 'write' do you mean learning to draw on paper, (or in the world of xara) a tablet? because i now own a wacom bamboo pen and touch. im gonna return it next month and buy a bigger bamboo fun though. i know i never confirmed that i bought the wacom, but i did.

**ad1066** · 11 November 2010, 04:51 PM

I suspect that, by 'writing', Handrawn means just that. Something you've created, whether it's just one panel or a multiple page story. You'll have more of an investment in something that you yourself have plotted out (or at least had collaborative input in) rather than being handed something and told "here, draw some people doing/saying this." And I would have to agree.

It has taken me a long time to find my voice. I've been drawing my entire life (I'm told I started when I was about 3 or 4, but I can't remember back that far), but I've only developed my current style over the last 5 years or so. Before that, I was mainly trying to imitate other people's styles, and while it's possible that there is a career to be made doing that, I've found it much more fun to do my own thing.

As far as tablet size, I personally have found that bigger does NOT always equal better, in fact I'm exceedingly happy with my 4"x6" Bamboo. Bigger tablet means that you have to move your hand & arm more, which can contribute to muscle strain. The great thing about working with a tablet is that the size of your work itself is truly and completely independent of the size of your work *area* (unlike working on paper). With the ability to zoom in & out, you can do pretty much whatever you want.

-- Ben

**handrawn** · 11 November 2010, 04:52 PM

I mean the same as Paul :

Originally Posted by gnurf

And don't forget that the most important thing in comics is still the story: A great story saves poor drawing, but great artwork doesn't save a bad story! (Meaning you have to analyze the structure of the stories you like - what makes them good)

because cartooning is storytelling in pictures

even in a single panel there must be a story to tell, no matter how basic....

**handrawn** · 11 November 2010, 04:57 PM

just seen Ben's post

yep - good points

**masque** · 11 November 2010, 05:09 PM

I seriously believe that no one really knows if they are good or not. Being confident and presenting what you do well can often cover up a generally average talent just as presenting what you do by apologising for it in advance etc. can instil the idea into people that you don't really rate and so don't particularly care about what you have produced. Most people will generally say that they are still learning however accomplished they might appear.
Derek

**a4hire** · 11 November 2010, 05:40 PM

This thread has been a good read! I liked everyones comments. I have been drawing since I was old enough to hold a crayon or a pencil, so close to 50 years. It has always been something that I enjoy. When I was younger I tried to copy all kinds of styles and find my own too and course I enjoyed praise. I started doing work on the computer around 97 , sometimes I scan a drawing to use because it is easier than using my tablet but enjoy using a tablet too. Now a days I just do my artwork for me. I do get some freelance work sometimes for customers but I do my work and if someone says yay or nay does not matter to me. I do it because I enjoy it, not to hear hear what anyone else thinks of it.

**gnurf** · 11 November 2010, 11:22 PM

One more comment (or perhaps a couple) on good cartooning, praise and success, based on my own experience:
Just put your heart in your work! Don't do it for praise because you will never get any when you expect to! The cartoons I've got the most praise for are those that I did just because I wanted to make them... some of them aren't even funny (as in they don't have a punch line) but obviously they just feel right (for example, what is funny with a farting rubber duck?!?)!

**Stealth** · 12 November 2010, 12:58 AM

Originally Posted by gnurf

One more comment (or perhaps a couple) on good cartooning, praise and success, based on my own experience:
Just put your heart in your work! Don't do it for praise because you will never get any when you expect to! The cartoons I've got the most praise for are those that I did just because I wanted to make them... some of them aren't even funny (as in they don't have a punch line) but obviously they just feel right (for example, what is funny with a farting rubber duck?!?)!

lol i have no clue what could be so funny about a farting rubber duck. but it must have been funny. thats a good tip, dont do it for praise do it for enjoyment. do it because it comes from the heart.

**handrawn** · 12 November 2010, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by gnurf

what is funny with a farting rubber duck?!?)!

above or below the water line?

Originally Posted by Stealth

lol i have no clue what could be so funny about a farting rubber duck

as soon as I read Paul's comment half a dozen ideas sprang to mind - I may well use one

in another thread [on creativity] I mentioned that, for me, it all hinges on association - that's one thing that makes it individual - what your mind associates, when it comes from the heart and you have that voice, is yours alone