Why did I start drawing?

The simple answer is due to an online friend at the time, Sy Swift. He made up a furry/sonic character called Trixie Furr and while I was never really into Sonic myself, we did play Phantasy Star Online together and were in a guild called The Syphid Corporation; which was basically us lot just having a lot of fun writing dodgy \’fan-fiction\’ and drawing. It was all a lot of fun and it encouraged me to start drawing.

At this time I was also at The College of West Anglia, studying Animal Management, thus I couldn\’t really avoid animals! Then one day, randomly my real life friend Kat introduced me to the artwork of Twira and Twiztid – two very awesome goth aesthetic anthro artists who I totally worshiped and found a lot of inspiration in.

I think, unlike a lot of more \’famous\’ artists out there I find inspiration in enthusiasm; so the people I look up to, are those who love what they\’re doing and can spread joy through their art and this is certainly the feeling I got from a lot of the \’old school\’ artists on DeviantArt and it\’s because of them I continued to draw. Enthusiasm and passion is infectious and it certainly got into my bones. Then, a lot of these shining stars left deviantArt for various reasons or another – art theft, life moved on, they forgot; etc.

But rather than fade away myself, I\’d gotten into this habit of drawing so I just carried on. I had other interests of course and after I\’d decided not to pursue a career in Animal Care, I lipped to photography; enjoying the technical side of photo development and black and white film; while working full-time in a super-market. All the while, sketching here and there – to the point I almost got fired from one job because I doodled instead of working – then I started University a major in \’Contemporary Lens Media\’ at Lincoln; which was a huge mistake really. I enjoyed drawing more than photography but it took a friend to point it out too me. I then took the very big and brave step to change my University degree to Illustration; the interviews were the scariest! I was told I\’d be having \’An informal chat\’ with the tutors; which turned out to be a portfolio review to see if I could change onto the course, at that point, everything I had done was self taught and I didn\’t even know what \’wet medium\’ was! Yet, somehow, I got onto the course. For better or worse.

You see, I still look back onto the early days as \’the best\’, sure my art style has improved; but I don\’t feel as connected to everything as I once did. I can\’t say (unfortunately) that there is a particular artist or group I feel a rush of excitement to see when they upload anymore – and I feel bad saying that because it sounds so mean!

I think because of this I have tried to find other avenues of creativity to see if I can \’feel\’ something akin to what I used too; such as abstract art and watercolours. I have felt lost at times with my art and that\’s a horrible feeling seeing as it is something that I have had in my life since 2003

I think at this point, I continue to draw for my own enjoyment – I have recently come across the realisation that I am best at drawing Pin-Up style artwork and while I know it doesn\’t technically suit all of my arty interests, I am finding a great deal of enjoyment in it. I\’ve learned to be my own \’beacon\’ of passion and enthusiasm; but it does help to have some wonderful friends to drag along for the ride with me.

This post was written as a Guest Post for The Psychedelic Scrapbookin bubblegum Mama