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?

Hockey in Wichita has a new home!

The Wichita Thunder are moving into their new digs at the downtown Intrust Arena this weekend, and the Squid will be swimming among them.

Our multi-talented, multi-armed cephalopod has created some outstanding work to be featured during Thunder games. I won’t drop the puck just yet… wouldn’t want to spoil all the fun!  You’ll just have to check it out for yourselves. So far, 8000 seats have sold for the event but by face-off Saturday night, we’re hoping for a full house to hear our Thunder roar.

We are honored that the Thunder asked us to be part of the move to the new arena.  You can imagine our excitement to share the Squid’s creations with you on the big-screen! Support for our local events is important to our economy, not to mention a fine excuse to have a good time!  So we look forward to seeing many of our fellow Wichitans out there this weekend, cheering hard for our Thunder as they take on Tulsa and break in the new ice.

Keep your eyes on the bright lights, folks. There’s a whole lotta’ squid work coming your way this weekend!

What is it that drives us creative types?  What convinces us each morning to get out of bed and head to our studios/offices/computer stations and create something we call Art? Is it an overwhelming compulsion to be different, or to share our inner-most feelings, or to benefit financially from what must be natural talent at work?

And at the end of the day, is what we’re creating really art at all? Who defines it and clarifies it? Who gets to say, finally, that something we put on paper or canvas, or chisel from a stone is really artwork? What you see may not be the same as what I see, or what our coworkers see, or what the next guy off the street will see. Out of that group, whose opinion matters the most? Who benefits the most… the artist or the viewer? Or is it both?

So many questions about something so simple.

As the Creative Director for an agency, these questions all have merit for me. These are the things that drive what we do… and influence how we make our customers happy… and therefore have an impact on the success of the company. Every day, our job is create visual imagery and written words that inspire, convince, influence, celebrate, and decorate the world we live in. And at the end of our day, we leave the building knowing that what we created here was done in the best interests of our clientele. That makes us a good agency… but does that make us good artists? At what point in the creative process of pushing pixels around did we leave our own opinions or motives behind in order to satisfy the wants and needs of another, and is this a good thing or a bad thing? We get paid for this after all, and the person writing the check wants what they want. We can suggest and maneuver, justifying our positions and attempting to steer things our way, but ultimately what the client wants will be the deciding factor.

So… when it’s all said and done and the check has been written, is it still art that we’ve created?

I believe the answer is yes… we are creating art. It’s easy to portray our own personalities and display images that are reflections of ourselves… we do this every day, not just with the bits of creative genius we make and keep, but also with the clothes we wear, cars we drive, and color of plates we eat off of. However, the ability to turn our interests away and focus on the needs of those who cannot create this imagery on their own is a valuable and unique skill. We can – and should — experience genuine happiness when something we create is put to use by a client and it positively influences their world. In many ways, knowing that we can have such an impact on the lives of others is the greatest satisfaction of all, and that is why we continue to get up in the morning and create something we call Art.