The cliché question rings out… Do you want me to draw you a picture?

Answer: Yes… please do.

With the advances in technology these days, we seem to have gotten farther and farther away from our roots as artists and designers. I see more and more folks who can jockey a computer, but fewer and fewer who actually draw anything on paper. Unfortunately I recently found myself fitting that same description and tried to do something about it.

I admit it… I went out and purchased a WACOM Bamboo tablet and have been trying to learn to draw in Photoshop with it. To be perfectly honest, I suck at it so far and it’s a complete source of frustration for me. The feel is different… the pressure of the pen against the texture of the tablet doesn’t resonate with me I guess. So I eventually did what I probably should have done in the first place, and simply picked up a pencil and some paper… and started drawing again… and I remembered how much I liked it! It had been too long since I felt the familiar drag of graphite across paper… watched the shapes evolve from imagination to reality on the page. Within an hour or so, I had put down a concept on paper with hand-skills that would have taken half a day in the computer. It began loosely… gestural and roughed-in… evolving and growing with light pressure. It then tightened up with bold marks and darker lines,eventually finishing with Sharpie Pens and erasers. I hadn’t done that much drawing in years… and that realization was kind of sad. I was the kid that always drew on his homework and that habit stuck with me all through college. I can’t tell you exactly when I put the pencils and pens down this last time, but it’s not something I intend to do again. Since this moment of self-discovery occurred I’ve found myself doing random sketches on napkins and notepads, as well as producing hand-drawn storyboards and ad concepts in the office. It’s great to draw again!

As we move further along in the development of our technologies, it seems we are working harder and harder to stay connected to what got us here. As much as I enjoy working with the tools afforded to us by today’s software packages, I have to say that my reunion with the “old-school” tools has sparked a renaissance of sorts. I’m studying and sketching again… not just for work or for clients, but for me personally. I hope that eventually I do improve with the WACOM tablet and learn to have some fun with it, but if I don’t that’s okay. I can still go back to the basics and enjoy every minute of it.

So… Do you want me to draw you a picture?