I doodled often as a kid. From little characters drawn on my notes or the corners of class work (after I’d finished completing them), to silly comic strips I’d make at home, to art class where I had a knack for still lifes, it was a casual interest that I really enjoyed.
By high school, though, I had friends who were incredible at manga-style drawing. I could never make drawings in that style, so I thought I couldn’t compete. I’d also been bullied a lot in childhood and was terrified to draw for school projects if I knew they’d be displayed around the class room, so I didn’t even try. I didn’t consider myself an artist at all, and had managed to internalize the idea that I couldn’t draw.
Then I became an adult and realized there’s nothing wrong with being unable to draw in a particular style, even if it’s popular. I began embracing my own style. I also began branching into painting, and before long I redid my childhood bedroom to create a different season on each wall, complete with a light blue ceiling full of realistic-looking clouds.
I’ve since become known for making art at the places I worked. At a craft store I taught classes and a coworker made a fake nametag for me as the “Official Doodler” of the store. Then my brother had kids and by the age of 2, one of his boys was enthralled by me drawing on a magna-doodle. He would ask me to draw particular things over and over again, watching every stroke I did, then copying me until he developed an amazing artistic skill in his own right. Today his classmates ask him, “How did you draw that?” and it annoys him, because it’s become so easy as to be intuitive and he doesn’t understand how they don’t get it.
My parents recently sold my childhood home. My old bedroom was a selling point - the new owners fell in love with it, and have already decorated the room to go along with the “seasons” theme. They’ll be turning it into a nursery. :)
So yes, 100%, go back to your childhood interests! You never know what skills might be lying dormant because you haven’t practiced them in a while. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or not at first, because if you’ve got a passion and you practice enough, you might surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.
I doodled often as a kid. From little characters drawn on my notes or the corners of class work (after I’d finished completing them), to silly comic strips I’d make at home, to art class where I had a knack for still lifes, it was a casual interest that I really enjoyed.
By high school, though, I had friends who were incredible at manga-style drawing. I could never make drawings in that style, so I thought I couldn’t compete. I’d also been bullied a lot in childhood and was terrified to draw for school projects if I knew they’d be displayed around the class room, so I didn’t even try. I didn’t consider myself an artist at all, and had managed to internalize the idea that I couldn’t draw.
Then I became an adult and realized there’s nothing wrong with being unable to draw in a particular style, even if it’s popular. I began embracing my own style. I also began branching into painting, and before long I redid my childhood bedroom to create a different season on each wall, complete with a light blue ceiling full of realistic-looking clouds.
I’ve since become known for making art at the places I worked. At a craft store I taught classes and a coworker made a fake nametag for me as the “Official Doodler” of the store. Then my brother had kids and by the age of 2, one of his boys was enthralled by me drawing on a magna-doodle. He would ask me to draw particular things over and over again, watching every stroke I did, then copying me until he developed an amazing artistic skill in his own right. Today his classmates ask him, “How did you draw that?” and it annoys him, because it’s become so easy as to be intuitive and he doesn’t understand how they don’t get it.
My parents recently sold my childhood home. My old bedroom was a selling point - the new owners fell in love with it, and have already decorated the room to go along with the “seasons” theme. They’ll be turning it into a nursery. :)
So yes, 100%, go back to your childhood interests! You never know what skills might be lying dormant because you haven’t practiced them in a while. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or not at first, because if you’ve got a passion and you practice enough, you might surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.