If you’re an artist, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about with this post. And if you’re not an artist, I’m sure there are numerous other things you can relate to about it. Anyhow, being the cartoonist-illustrator-artist that I am, there are things I hate to draw.
In fact, there are things I hate to draw so much, I’ll scrap a good comic with a great premise at times to avoid doing so. (Okay, not so much now, but back in the day I would. Now I like to challenge myself a bit more. Still though, doesn’t mean I enjoy drawing the stuff.)
It’s funny because a lot of times I don’t know why that is. Why are some things fun to draw and other things just – well – suck?
I may have a few reasons.
One of the big ones for me is drawing bicycles. I absolutely hate drawing bikes. They’re awkward, goofy and every time I draw one, I’m never happy with it. A big reason for me also disliking to draw them so much is the circle aspect of it. I hate drawing circles (perfect circles, that is). And with a bike, if your circle isn’t “perfect” it doesn’t come across as a good bike. It looks like a crappy bike that was just hit by a city bus.
Above: Past examples of bike drawings I did for Tommy Blaze’s series, Knocking On Heaven’s Door.
Ugh.
Moving on….
I hate drawing cars. Okay, let me rephrase that – I’m bad at drawing cars.
If I have a picture of a car in front of me, I’m usually okay. However, if I go off my memory, well, the results are a bit more lackluster.
Above: A car of mine. Notice the misshapen wheels, ugly rims and general crappiness.
Again, like the bike (and the above example points out) I think the roundness plays a big role. I’m just not good at those pesky circles!
Caricature is another thing I don’t enjoy drawing. Likeness isn’t a strong trait of mine. I can get in the ballpark, but I can’t seem to hit a home run.
Above: Would Edgar approve? Well…not too sure.
I’ve always been a bit envious of great MAD Magazine cartoonist like Tom Richmond who nails it regularly (getting likeness down and creating an awesome caricature.)
Another area I’m not too great in is when it comes to having certain body parts twisted or turned a certain way that I’m not used to.
Above: Even a simple cartoon like this can be awkward for me to draw. I forget how many times I erased pencil marks to get it right, but I’m guessing quite a few.
So, that’s just a little run-down of things I’m not good at or happy drawing.
There are more as well and I’m sure I’ll run across more as time goes through, but these were some of my biggest ones where I think to myself, “Anything but that!”
Again though, even if you’re not an artist, I’m sure there are things you can relate to. A car mechanic might not enjoy oil changes, a pilot might hate landing and a psycho path probably hates straightjackets. Anyway, as an artist, these are mine. I’ll probably just try to avoid them all from here on out.
What are your “things” that you hate?
Nate's Ramblings 
LOL! I wouldn’t attempt drawing bicycles or cars either for the same reasons. I hate drawing buildings too. I draw nature and animals in a realistic fashion. If I try to draw buildings, I try to draw them realistically. But since I can’t draw a straight line without a ruler, it is really difficult. And getting the right perspective can be a pain in the you-know-what.
Glad I’m not the only one! Yes, they’re tough for some reason. BTW – very cool you draw realistic animals and nature. One thing I do is (realistic) pet illustrations – if I have a picture to go off of.
I was just posting about how I hate to draw rocks. And I found out that broccoli isn’t fun either. I’m also with you on cars and bikes.
Broccoli….hmm…that could be a tough one for me (I’m just trying to think if I ever drew broccoli). Rocks I can handle but again, those measly cars and bikes – yeah – I will never enjoy drawing them.
I’m with you on cars and bicycles. Some backgrounds can be difficult too, especially forests and landscapes if it’s detailed. You can end up spending serious time doing them. You are in good company with many artists and cartoonists depending on what they are trying to achieve with the specific illustration. And yes I have avoided drawing certain things at times as well.
I’m getting better at really simplifying things (if needed). For example, if I had a city in the background, I used to painstakingly draw the windows of buildings, signs, people, etc. Now, I just do a black silhouette. Simple and easy! OH – and I don’t add cars back there, either.