6/1 Tedtalk

 Tedtalk linked here

Script attached below:

    This is an apple I drew. This (next slide) is a much better apple that someone else drew. I’m sure you can tell which apple’s artist had more talent in their field. Clearly, the person who drew this other apple has a much better idea of what they’re doing. However, I think that’s alright. I don’t need to be better than anyone else. I don’t need to be the best in the world. I only need to create something that I can appreciate and be proud of.                            

    I created several things throughout the course of this project I found myself proud of. I found my end goal to be to draw an at least decent-looking human face. The first step in this process was learning how to at least create a basic outline of the human face. (next slide) I learned how to do this from Dan Beardshaw. Dan Beardshaw is a very talented artist with a YouTube channel. On this channel, he provides tutorials for both beginners and experts on how to improve their skills with drawing. Obviously, I took to his videos geared toward beginners. The first video I watched by Beardshaw contained one very potent piece of advice. This piece of advice was to draw something you care about. I found this to be a rather interesting tip since it didn’t really tell you how to be a better artist. It didn’t tell you how to accurately draw eyes on a human face or how to realistically shade your drawings. It just told you to have fun with what you’re making. You don’t care about the Sherlock Holmes stories? (next slide) Don’t draw a scene from the Sherlock Holmes stories! Your best creations will arise from the convictions of your own passion.       

    So what did I do with this advice? I drew a Little Ghost. (next slide) Little Ghost is a character from Hollow Knight. Great game, by the way. I’d highly recommend it to just about anyone, assuming you don’t get frustrated too easily. I’ve spent a lot of time on this game and it’s become one of my many obsessions. I didn’t make this drawing because it helped me make much progress toward my end goal of drawing a human face. I didn’t draw it because I had made some previous goal to draw video game characters. I drew it because I just kinda felt like drawing it. (next slide)                                                      

    This is the progress I made in drawing the human face. You can see my skill improving with each new drawing, week after week. The strategy I settled on for drawing a face revolved around creating a complex grid and using this grid to tell yourself where all facial features belong, placing those features accordingly. This whole grid strategy really surprised me with its complexity, I figured drawing a face would be much simpler when I got into this. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And I think that right there is why I recommend trying your hand at drawing. The art of drawing is a whole world that is open to you. There is no linear path. Explore it how you want. Draw something not because you must, but because you want to. I think in that small sense, the world of drawing sort of connects to the world of this game, Hollow Knight. I ended up creating this drawing just a little bit ago. (next slide) This is a drawing I made of the game’s namesake, the Hollow Knight. I love drawing and I love this game for the same exact reason. It is completely open-ended. The world of Hollow Knight is very much non-linear and the player can explore it as they choose. In that regard, it’s a lot like drawing. I explore how I want and create what I want. This is the best human face I ended up creating. (next slide) It was shown earlier in the side-by-side comparison in my different drawings. Whether or not it is at least decent-looking, you decide. But I don’t really care. I don’t care if you like it, if you think it’s good, or even if you think I have literally no idea what I’m doing and I should never draw again. Because I like it. I’m proud of it.                                                                                                                                              

    So, if you wanna try drawing, go for it! Draw what you want and draw what you like. If you don’t feel like drawing, fine. I can’t tell you what to do. But if there’s one thing I took away from this exploration in the world of drawing…it’s that you should do what you love. Do things because they will make you a happier person for having done them. Make a life you’re proud of.