On 5000bc it seemed like folks were always off doing a course. So I decided to do a course in order to get to know people from 5000bc better; the Cartooning Course was the next one that was announced so I signed up.
As far as the subject, I didn't have high hopes of becoming a skilled cartoonist. But I figured I would at least get a better understanding of images and be able to make better decisions for illustrating my site and materials. That was how I justified taking a cartooning course.
I enjoyed the preliminary exercises (circles) a lot.
Then we started with teddy bears and Snoopy. All of those were pretty comfortable for me. I would carve out a half-hour each evening for my sketching.
On crazy days I kept a sketchpad in the car; since it was daylight during my commutes, I would do some sketching while at stoplights. But on normal days I'd do it in the evening at home.
My very favorite time was the week of Speed Snoopys. I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas, and it was still very early days so there were very low expectations for the quality level.
Part 2 was a lot harder.
The assignments became more challenging. I began missing assignments and feeling bad for letting the group down.
Despite all that, I was learning. It turned out that doing a less than optimal job on the cartoon course was better than not doing the course at all. This realization would come back to help me in Part 3.
I would get tripped up when I compared myself to the others in the class.
Some of them were doing clever, original work. Very high quality. One person completed and published an illustrated children's book during the course. Another person used his cartoons to illustrate a major presentation.
What helped me a lot was a daily comic in the Washington Post that's very poorly drawn.
I may not have been able to shine next to my classmates but I could leave this artist in the dust. It always gave me courage. I stopped my subscription and don't have access to that particular comic to show you, and I can't recall the name to find it on the internet.
I loved my group. I love group work anyway, and I love forums.
The participants were very personal, kind and gentle in their feedback. There was a core group that kept up with visiting each other's posts and in putting thought and care into their comments.
A few times I fell behind; when I got back on the wagon the response was consistently kind and welcoming. I feel like I made friends even though I've never met these people nor even heard their voice.
Why I think you should learn cartooning
Two things. (1) You weren't good at riding a bike or reading or writing or driving a car either — until you learned to do it. Of course you're not good at drawing. You haven't yet learned to do it.
(2) Everyone is better at some things than at others. You'll definitely attain some level of skill at drawing. Just as you may not be writing novels but you can write a thank-you note. Likewise you may not be drawing masterpieces but you'll be able to draw. It's surprising how handy it is to be able to quickly sketch something out.
The changes I've noticed
When they (my friends and family) ask about my cartooning and say they'd like to see my work sometime, they are a bit taken aback when I pull out my iphone and start to show them my work then and there. But they quickly become charmed by the cartoons, especially the daily diary where they see themselves in the sketches.
The biggest change I noticed is in myself. When I'm in a conversation and there's some aspect of it that's visual (how my yard looks or some change I've made in my house), I now easily grab a piece of paper and sketch out what I'm talking about. I no longer wonder if the person will even recognize what I'm about to draw.
At times I questioned the wisdom of trying to continue with cartooning while doing the Article Writing Course. But despite not being there all the time, I learned a LOT in cartooning that I would not have wanted to miss.
I'm really really really glad I did both.
