When I was 10 years old I participated in my first art show. The show was hosted in Barrio Logan and I was mostly excited for it. The show isn’t a big deal, but back then it was. I wanted to grow as an artist and start an art career early, and this was the perfect opporunity.
My dad knew the person hosting the show and they showed interest in my art, so thanks dad! Comparing myself to me three years ago I wasn’t as skilled, so I made sure to try my hardest. I made a few roughdrafts before making the big piece, and all of the roughdrafts took longer than the actual piece. It was definetely a smart choice to plan and make roughdrafts before making the finished product, because that piece turned out to be my best drawing at the time.
My medium was colored pencils and Crayola markers, and I drew a girl in a flowy dress in a meadow. When I drew the first roughdraft I wasn’t very proud of her anatomy. Her legs and arms were straight and stiff, and I wanted her pose to flow more. The next roughdraft I drew the anatomy got a bit better after I made the observations, but I messed up while drawing the face. At the time I didn’t discover sketching before inking, so I took a long time redrawing the piece.
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After I was satisfied with the result of drawing the same picture about 5 times, I worked on the final piece. The final piece was easier to draw and took less time due to me drawing it multiple times and knowing what to do. Whenever I draw a roughdraft or do warmup doodles it reminds me of what Abraham Lincoln once said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” When making an important piece I usually spend less time with the finished product and more with warming up and making rough drafts.
When I went to the show to give the owner the piece so he could hang it up, I felt proud of my result because I made plenty of mistakes and took time to “perfect” it. By practicing first I prepared myself for success. Now I know whenever I work on a project of some sort I should try practicing before making the final product, because “practice makes perfect.”
