This NPR interview with Mo Willems really struck a chord with me. He points out that while all kids draw, almost no adults do, and questions why:
“People stop when they decide they’re not good at it. Nobody stops playing basketball when they realize they’re not going to become a professional. The same thing should apply to cartooning.”
About a year and a half ago I started carrying around a notebook and sketching what I saw. Aside from the pure fun of it, my new hobby has enriched my life in more ways than I ever expected. Willems has some great things to say in favor of picking up the pen, and I can’t endorse his message enough.
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What’s even worse is that often times, people actively DISCOURAGE adults who like to draw for fun from drawing for fun because they “suck.” I happen to enjoy drawing comics and post them on my website, and pretty much everywhere I go, whenever people see my comics they go out of their way to tell me how much they suck. It’s pretty discouraging, except that I get enough positive comments to keep going.
I wonder where along the line people decided that you should only do things that you’re really good at.