Years and years ago, probably around 1996 to 1998, I was in college taking some entry level university courses to get my commerce degree. A lot of times, I'd find myself in the study hall talking to friends and just doing sketches of anime characters. I eventually quit my degree and found my true calling as a graphic designer, and from then on, all my work ended up on computer. I lost touch with my sketching roots, and became mostly a commercial graphic artist for a better part of a decade and a half. I went to the Comic Con in Calgary over the weekend, and all the great artists there inspired me to try and get back into drawing. I don't know how long it will last, but tonight, I decided to sit down and start the process of sketching again. Here is the first pencil sketch I've done in years.
Man, that sounds similar to my own story. Years at the drawing board, sketchbooks full of stuff, then I got a job as a graphics guy. All my work was being done on a computer and it seemed to "scratch the itch." I pretty much stopped working in physical media. Trying to motivate myself back into drawing is tough.
The problem with sketches is, well, not a problem, but computer art just looks way better. Lines are cleaner, colors are crisper, and you don't have to bother scanning, cleaning, and filling broken lines when you start from a digital file or draw from a tablet. And if I drew something I ended up really liking, I would want to get it into the computer anyways to make it look better.
Hand drawn art doesn't have that much room for error and requires passion beyond "I'm gonna make this look cool-no matter how many times it takes". Not too mention the 'puter does half the grunt work for you. I'd disagree on the basis that with that many do overs and generations, you no longer have art but design. Which in itself, is fine. Design work should be tighter than a nun's knickers... art OTOH, is defined by human limitation.
