Drawing Blanks
I haven’t posted in awhile. There’s been a lot going on.
No there hasn’t. I’ve just been ignoring my blog.
I have a new toy. It’s a WACOM drawing pad. It’s a wondrous tool for drawing directly into digital software like Photoshop, Flash, and Illustrator. As marvelous (and expensive) as this tool proves to be, it fails to serve my needs in the animation software. Although it is technically precise, my abominable lack of coordination makes it only 50% more effective than drawing with a mouse. I need a tool where the mark I’m making on the monitor is actually created by the point of contact with the drawing surface. What I need is a Cintiq drawing screen.
I also have this new animation program called “Toon Boom” which is like an expanded version of Flash. It’s been a challenge to learn, even with the manual and hours of practice each night after work. That’s how I did the little unicorn drawing in my previous post.
Despite these two awesome technological acquisitions, I don’t have anything to show, and I’m beginning to get frustrated. This feels like the second weekend that’s been wasted sitting in front of the computer with my drawing pad, trying to push lines and shapes into place, and not getting them to do what I want. What I end up with feels clumsy and preschoolish…
Excuse me as I take a written moment to reflect and assess the situation, hoping to combat my frustration, because I’m really really frustrated and am not sure why. Take a look:
It’s like Dora the Fucking Explorer.
Something is missing. Maybe it’s time. Maybe it’s money. Maybe it’s focus. It’s certainly not discipline or determination, or inspiration… I have more ideas than I know what to do with. They’re starting to clog my head. I feel like I’m not connected with the tools I need to pull them into a tangible state. It’s stressing me out. I’m beginning to feel like I’m not where I need to be. I’m really feeling strongly that San Francisco is the wrong place for me and I need to get the hell out as fast as I can.
Where should I go?