How To Be A Better Artist (There is Only One Way)
Practice and learn. Repeat every day.
When my daughter Ruby was ten, I bought her a copy of Raina Telgemeier’s book Smile. She was on the verge of getting braces to correct an underbite. She was scared, and I thought Telgemeier’s graphic novel about her own experience with braces might help.
It did. Ruby’s one of those kids who would rather be outside riding her bike or playing soccer than sitting down with a book — but Smile struck a chord. She even took her copy with her when she had her braces put on.
So, Ruby got her braces. But something else happened. Inspired by Smile, she started drawing. After a couple of months, she spent hours on her eleventh birthday looking at herself in a mirror and working on a self-portrait.
Everyone was impressed. I remember being a little stunned, even. But the most important thing was that Ruby impressed herself. After she finished this drawing, she decided that she really wanted to learn…
