THE WILBUR EFFECT (aka, why you should never give up on drawing ever)
Hey everybody! Jessica here, once again starting a text post with a wonky, odd title. Â But it serves a purpose this time, honest!
So recently, Iâve seen a lot of people getting really discouraged about their art, both online and in real life. Â On an unrelated note, Iâve also gotten a couple of requests to post some of my old art to show my progress. Â So I decided Iâd blend the two.
And to make things even more interesting, Iâm not just going to pull out some old piece thatâs semi-presentable but still flawed. No, Iâm going to show you guys the oldest, most embarrassing, first-thing-Iâd-ever-drawn-on-a-tablet-before disgrace:
âŚThis is Wilbur. Whom my old roommate has since nicknamed âUrineface.â
I drew this originally in 2012 with literally no clue what I was doing. Â As you can see, I got so frustrated with the piece that I never actually finished itâthe lines were stiff, the colors were unnatural, and that poor kidâs hair is so jagged itâs about to gouge his eyes out.
As I cringe behind my computer with shame, I realize that one thingâs for sure: He came from a frustrated, embarrassed, and still-learning artist.  At the time, all of my best friends were astonishing visual artists, and, well, I wasâŚkinda not. There were so many times during this period where I just wanted to give up, to stop drawing.  Heck, there were times when Iâd actually cry myself to sleep over the fact that Iâd never be a good artist.  Iâm sure some of you have been in the same boat, and hereâs what I have to say to you:
DONâT! YOU DARE! GIVE UP!
Need more proof? Alright, embarrassing drawing number two. Â You guys are killing me here.
These were some characters from an animated film I wrote in 2012.  I amâŚnot sure why the guys are giants compared to the girl, nor why half the sketch lines look like these people got electrocuted.  Also, everybodyâs face seemsâŚreally stretched?  Their mouths are kind of melting off of their chins, that doesnât sound safe.
I revisited the film for a college project in 2016, and:
Iâd like to think these three look a little better.
Okay, okay, I know what youâre thinking. â2012? Alright, buddy, itâs 2016 now, of course youâre going to improve in like, 4 yearsâwho wants to wait that long?â But rest assured, while improvement doesnât come overnight, it doesnât always take four years, too!
In all honesty, I know that creating art can feel really hopeless and discouraging at times. Â We find ourselves comparing our work to other peopleâs, feeling obligated to work at a rapid-fire pace, or just plain giving up for whatever reason. But Iâm here to tell you that you can do this, no matter how inexperienced you feel. Â Even if youâre just picking up that tablet pen for the very first time: do not be afraid to keep going.
Iâm far from perfect as an artist, and I still have a lot to learn. Maybe four years down the road Iâll be looking back at my 2016 art and having a cringe-fest. But that would just prove that Iâd improved, and that things could only move forward from there!
Art is tricky, okay? Nobody expects you to master it in one night, or one month, or even one year.  But that doesnât mean you wonât reach it someday!  Save a bunch of tutorials for reference.  Watch speedpaints.  Try the occasional drawing challenge. Even if you donât get it right, at least youâre learning what to do and what not to do!  And in time, youâll be looking back and going, âWowâŚmy younger self would be so astonished right now.â  That, my friend, is a magnificent feeling.
So, to end this behemoth of a post, I decided to redraw Wilbur againâŚfor old timesâ sake. I donât know about you, but it seems to me that time made things a whole lot better. In the end, all you have to do is be patient:
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