My biggest fear was: Am I doing this right?
I overcame this through just getting over the fact that a lot of my work was pretty basic. I just followed the assignment as best I could and tried to follow any feedback offered and by looking at the assignments created by other members of the larger cartooning group.
The first part of the journey seemed easy and fun.
The first part of the journey reassured me that, apart from a couple of people who had done a lot of drawing before, that my skills were similar to most of the other participants.
The second part of the course we started to draw individual scenes and started being taught how to add layer upon layer of skill to these scenes and focused on how you are executing the lessons that are being taught that week. So it was still quite easy to keep on with the assignments each week.
How I got my assignments done
I enjoyed the cartooning assignments. I found them a good break from work during my lunch hour. The routine I followed was to do the cartooning assignments each lunchtime in a cafe. Then I would upload the cartoons when I got home in the evening and comment on other particpants work. I would also check the forum in the morning before leaving for work to see if I had any feedback from Sean or other particpants.
The course is very relaxed and informal but follows a structured path.
I found the weekly assignments fun and informative. The assignments were not too detailed but were more aimed at allowing participants to uncover skills that were lying dormant. The way that the course was structured built up skill from a very basic level (of drawing circles) to encouraging us all to use colour and create three dimensional sketches using a variety of techniques.
I would ask anyone who says that they are not good at drawing ‘When was the last time they tried?' It may well be that their perception of drawing is based on something remembered from childhood or an attempt to teach themselves from some random book that they picked up in a bookshop or library. The cartooning course assumes no-previous experience and is a very non-judgmental atmosphere where more time is spent focussing on what is being done right for the exercise that week than on mistakes. I found this very encouraging.
I would recommend this course to two groups of people:
Those who would like to learn the basics of cartooning
Those would like to watch how to successfully run an online course that delivers value to the participants and keeps them actively engaged.
How the cartoons played a role in my daily life
My wife and family enjoy seeing the daily toon though it has become a bit run of the mill to them. They do enjoy it when they are featured.
My biggest reaction was when we were on holiday, staying on a farm during lambing time. I drew a cartoon of the farmer helping one of the sheep to give birth to twin lambs.
Later in the holiday my wife mentioned to the farmers wife (Anne) that I had drawn this cartoon and she said that she would like to have a look. Anne flicked through my sketchbook looking at my earlier sketches saying ‘Oh yes very nice' as you would.
However when she reached the cartoon of her husband with his arm up the rear end of a sheep, she hooted with laughter and asked that I make a copy of the drawing for her to put up beside her fireplace.
This was a very strong reaction to something that I had created and showed me just how far I had come during the 6 months or so duration of the course.
See John's Cartoons at the bottom of this page
