“Back in the day” (who thinks they’d ever say something like that?), I’d send my film out to be processed and … wait … maybe enlarge the photo on a color copier a few times and then draw on it with markers. Now with the magic of the computer, I can draw right on my tablet* and get my idea out quickly. I am not an expert at this, in fact, my tablet is so old that it wasn’t even available on Amazon anymore – the one I’ve linked to is a newer model that is so nice!

So, there it is – do you see the hippo? I have 2 questions:

1. What did you see in the first picture? Let your imagination go wild! If you’d like to save it to your computer and print/draw on it (any way you can, print/pen, tablet, collage, pencils, etc.) and send it back to me, I think that would be a fun display to see (leave a comment or click Conact). How about in a week, if anyone responds, I’ll do a blog post showcasing the art with your links?!? Let’s call it a Creativity Challenge.
2. If you know of an online course that could teach me how to use my Wacom tablet better, I’d appreciate a link! I bought it long ago with aspirations of digital design & it rests on my shelf, the most unused of all my craft supplies, but I think has the most potential!

I also have the photo in my Flickr page, much larger – but they just updated the entire site today and it was shockingly hard to navigate around at first. Here’s the original photo if you want to see & download it from Flickr.

Thank you for ignoring the crappy lawn.

*Disclaimer: The Amazon links provided are affiliate links, I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking. Thanks for your support!

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The post Drawing Wild Animals from My Imagination by Tammy appeared first on Tamdoll's Silver Mountain Originals.

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Final Upturned Face – Paint and Pencil

I procrastinated so much today until I stopped myself & decided that I couldn’t put off the inevitable – I finally sat down to work through the lesson & asked something that usually gets me through a tough spot - “What’s the worst than can happen?” That’s when I realized that the worst thing would be to have a horrible picture & about $20 in supplies that I may never use again. Things started to seem a little easier. Like I didn’t have too much to lose.

Sketch for Upturned Face

I almost stopped after just drawing the face – I wasn’t thrilled with it, but if I spent more time to draw another, I would never have gotten to the paint – it was just another excuse. I don’t know why I had such an aversion to trying it – fear of something new was the only thing I could think of. At this point I started looking at it like a challenge – I couldn’t let this get the best of me.

Final Upturned Face – Paint

When I was done, I breathed a sigh of relief and said “I’m done, now I never have to do that again.” But wait! It wasn’t so bad! I didn’t like this face so much – not the lips, or the shading – so yes, I will have to do it again. And each time I do, it will get better and easier. And my stash of paint won’t have to go to waste.

I may even start to like it.

I realized it’s been a very long time since I tried something new and out of my comfort zone.

Next time you have to do something you may be afraid of trying, ask yourself “What’s the worst than can happen?” When you realize that there’s nothing really to fear, accomplishing new things can be an adventure. (Unless you’re sky diving, or training lions or something like that.) Someone told me this over 20 years ago when I was just starting out in the corporate world and it has worked for me since – from facing an auditorium full of people when I had to give a presentation, to teaching classes and volunteer opportunities. Who knew I’d be using the same advice for something personal and creative?

The post Overcoming Fear of Doing Something New by Tammy appeared first on Tamdoll's Silver Mountain Originals.