Drawing is one of my favorite things to do. I'm pretty good at it, but I used to seriously suck. I used to be so bad that over time I started drawing less and less. I didn't like this because I still love drawing, but I didn't like the results. I'd say that throughout school and the various art classes I was somewhat of a perfectionist when it came to my drawings. If I was drawing a portrait style picture and the head was a little off or the shoulders uneven, I'd instantly hate it. Instead of understanding that it was ok to be uneven, I strived to make everything symmetrical. As I grew older, I realized that a drawing can be horribly unsymmetrical and still be good or even amazing.

Around the seventh and eighth grade I started doodling everyday whenever possible. I doodled regardless of the outcome. Some of those doodles were really horrendous, but I really didn't care. I wasn't doodling to show my sick art abilities that I obviously had. I was drawing to relieve stress. At the time I did not realize it, but as time went by I found out that drawing really is an amazing way to get rid of nasty stress that builds up. I still doodle all the time. Now I am a lot better than I was back then, but sometimes I still draw a few terrible doodles. I need to keep my hands busy at times. My hands are always busy. Typically I fiddle with things, but drawing is still one good habit I have.

Today I doodle while listening to a lecture. Now I know a lot of people would say that I am not actually paying attention, but for me that isn't true. I obviously do pay attention to what is being taught. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't. I get decent grades on exams without needing to really study much, and I doodle from time to time in those classes. No, I don't doodle all the time in class. It truly is an occasional thing for me. Most often I am doodling in class to get rid of stress from knowing there is an exam or something like that. If I didn't doodle I might get too stressed out and end up not doing as well as I had originally intended.

Drawing allows you to tell a story. You can tell the world about an experience in your life without actually telling them. A lot of my drawing are scary, creepy, and dark because I consider myself that kind of person, but some are spontaneous creations of my subconscious mind. More often than not I'll find myself dooding on a newspaper ad. Then I usually transfer that same drawing concept and layout to regular paper. I typically use pen over pencil because I have found that pencil smudges too much. I can add a lot of texture and make my drawings bold or even fuzzy looking.

Here are a couple of my drawings that were originally drawn on the newspaper ads.