Over the last few months I’ve been living with a kind of internal ‘skills audit’ going on in the mental background – what am I any good at? what could I do more with? what do I need to learn more of? what is my work going to need from me? what could I do if I lost my job? etc
It’s propelled me into some interesting places and unexpected – graphics software such as Poser and sites and books about cartooning. This was sparked off by an excellent little documentary hosted by Jonathan Ross of all people about Steve Ditko, the eccentric comic book artist who gave us Spiderman and Doctor Strange. It re-ignited my teenage fascination for comics; at the library I discovered American Splendor – an autobiographical comic about the day to day life of a near-retirement filing clerk. I realised that yes, I can draw – or I could when I was younger – and it could be polished up to be a marketable skill. The final piece in the jigsaw which really fired my enthusiasm was Flash, in particular this site.
So I’ve been scratching away on my little graphics tablet, trying to get the hang of it. Also drawing caricatures, none of which are currently recognisable!