What one person can do, another can do.

So I'm talking to a good friend of mine over the facebook chat window. Just shooting ideas around at each other, talking about a few projects we want to work on. Characters and story lines, that sort of thing. I mention to him that next time we hang out, I want to show him some sketches of characters I have in my head-he had seen some earlier doodles but they were really rough. So he says to me, "I wish I could draw bro". Which is something I've heard from many people for most of my life.

I really hate phrasing it that way because it makes me seem like I'm gloating a bit (I assure you I'm not). I have much more of a self-loathing opinion of my work but I won't get into that. The truth is I've heard that for a long time and it has always bugged me when hearing someone confess that they can't draw or paint or just be creative in any way. I tell him "I believe everyone has the capacity to draw. The problem is people try to draw things realistically and thats not what drawing is about."

That little bit must have sparked some interest in what I had to say since he wanted to hear the rest of my theory. So I laid it out as simply as I can. "To me, drawing is like making a film. You don't try to film things the way they exactly are. You tell a story that is out of the norm. Something fantastic and magical. To me, drawing is a way to show people a different perspective of reality. When people who don't have the experience try to draw, they usually draw things exactly as the way they see it and thats where they fuck up. If you wanted to see things the way they are, then take a picture or open your fucking eyes. I think people need to embrace things from a different perspective and draw them differently. Lines don't have to be straight. The right colors don't need to be used. And you NEVER, EVER have to color inside the lines. Ever. Coloring inside the lines is for pussies"

Essentially, thats the essence of art. The magic of creating something. You're showing people a world through the view of a different lens. So to those who say "I wish I could.", fucking do it. If an idiot shmuck like me can, anyone else sure as hell could.