I have always wanted to make my drawings move. Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were little? What did you say when people asked you? Were you going to be a fireman? a doctor? a nurse, a mommy, a daddy? I remember wanting to work at Disney and be an animator.
I will call my mom tomorrow and ask her what I said when I was little and someone asked me. I don’t remember if I ever told anyone about wanting to learn animation. Working at Disney was not something that seemed possible. I never pursued the dream. When I went to art school my drawing teacher told me I couldn’t draw. I majored in photography instead, and moved to Japan after I graduated. I lived in Tokyo for seven years working as a photographer.
Then I moved to The United States, got married, had three children and washed dishes for twenty-five years. Okay, I know, I know, I probably did more than wash dishes for twenty-five years. I probably did laundry too, and maybe I mowed the lawn once in a while.
But, I never drew, and I didn’t try to make my drawings move.
Three years ago I started drawing and writing and taking classes again. An on-line class in writing called Tribe Writers, and classes at the local community college — Computer Graphics, Typography, and Page Layout and Design.
The book The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield, helped me silence the voice of the negative art teacher.
The most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off till our deathbed.
Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny. This second we can turn the tables on Resistance.
This second, we can sit down and do our work.”
― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Do The Work
This January I started a class in animation. The first assignment is a flip book. Making drawings move.
My flip book is a series of drawings of a person taking off her face, her mask.
I haven’t digitally animated the drawings yet. I will share those once I put them into Toon Boom, the animation software we are learning in class. I still have to learn how to use the program.
The dream is still there. The one I had as a child, to make my drawings move. I don’t want to work at Disney now, making some one elses drawings move, I want to make my drawings move. Creating, learning and chasing dreams.
Run Towards Your Dream
[share-quote]Not strolling towards a dream, or meandering, but chasing. Running. [/share-quote]
The flip book is called The Mask.
I will talk about the concept behind the story when I share the digital animation in a few days. And I will show you how I made the drawings.
Do you have a dream you want to run towards? Are you running? Strolling? Or did you stop somewhere along the way, sit down at a park bench, and give up on your dream?
Please tell me in the comments. Or just reply to this email if you are a subscriber. I always love to hear how you are doing. All we have is today. This moment.
p.s.
This month I am writing every day, sharing my life, my art, in little slices, at Two Writing Teachers.com. A supportive community of teachers and writers who participate in the challenge to write every day for the month of March. You can click on the slice and read other writers sharing their stories. Voices waiting and wanting to be heard.
