Assignments
Since around the middle of last year, I started drawing again. I used to draw a lot when I was younger. Last year during a week that I was sick I didn’t have the energy to do much, and then the drawing hobby came back - to the rescue, you could say.
At the beginning of this year, after having watched many videos online for learning to draw I realized I needed something more analogic, more tangible, less digital, to learn from. And then… I thought of something unthinkable in these digital times: going to the library.
That’s where I found the book of Comic Sketchbooks by Steven Heller, and that’s where I found this phrase that I wanted to share today:
…the best comics artists manage to integrate their personal themes and imagery into their assignments…
I am not a professional artist, but I think the phrase can apply to many fields. I have found myself complaining about not having time to do exactly what I want because of having a job where I have to do what they ask me to do. It’s a very common human experience I think.
But here is this simple phrase that turns things around: we can use the assignments that we are given as an opportunity to integrate our personal goals into them and grow while also adapting to the environment we are in.
I am not saying it is easy, but I do think it is a skill that can be developed. The phrase inspired me and I remember it often to try to see the things that I have in front of me as an opportunity and not an obstacle.