Returning to Art

In my elementary school days, I remember drawing everyday. My inspiration came from Dragon Ball Z. For me, drawing was an outlet and I sketched up anything that came to mind.I would sit for hours with lined paper and a box of crayons, trying to perfect my DBZ characters.

My shading was never perfect and my lines were never neat. At that time, I would only draw 2D characters standing in the same position: tall, arms hanging down the sides and fists clenched --drawing 3D was virtually impossible for me…. unless it was a cube. I always aced those. Drawing the minor details in the hands of a character to make it look realistic drove me insane! On top of that, the eyes, eyebrows, ears on my drawings were never symmetrical. I will admit, however, the DBZ hairstyles I drew were always on point, clean and well-shaded. Although my art had plenty of room for improvement, I knew that if I continuously practice, I would perfect it. So no rush.

[-- My Animated Imagination --]

Came middle school and I stopped drawing. However, my mind never did stop imagining anime and cartoon characters. I thought about it so much, that I often drifted away in my classes, and think about what my life would be like in a animated world. By that, this is what I mean. I would convert my life story into an original anime/cartoon story line. For example, if I was dealing with a difficult situation, I would make up a story were the main character was also dealing with a challenging situation. That could mean the main character is trying to protect a loved one, protect their home/community/nation - or undertook an important task where by failing it would result in a disaster.

In my mind, my closest relatives and friends have all have an animated version. I gave them abilities and story lines based off their character traits, personality and personal stories. For example, my older brother, Leo, has the ability to manipulate earth. A common ability? Of course, but what’s important to me is why he has this ability. Sand, dirt, concrete and rocks all have the same properties, earth. The sand and dirt, to me within my brothers “earth abilities,” illustrates his early struggles. The concrete and rock indicate maturity and direction he has gained over the years. Each and every person who I converted into a cartoon share a similar set up in my mind.

This way of thinking began when I was young, but really became more frequent when I worked at Stop & Shop as a bagger-boy and cart pusher. I hated everything about that job. I would push cart for hours in awful weather conditions. If it was violently raining? Go outside. Thunderstorms? Go outside and collect the METAL carts. Over one hundred degrees outside? Go outside. Blizzards? Well, you get the point. On top of those horrible conditions, and because I worked in a high-traffic parking lot, headphones where prohibited for safety reasons….I still rocked them, though (actually, sometimes if I can hide them properly). Since I would be out there for hours, mindlessly collecting carts, I let my imagination run wild and I would really shape my animated story line, as well as my friends and family.

The best thing about it all, the drawing, the imagination, is bringing to life those designs that only exist in the mind. That’s why art a gateway into a person's organic and raw thoughts.